Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

DISCLOSURES ABOUT FAIR VALUE

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DISCLOSURES ABOUT FAIR VALUE
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]  
Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]
13. DISCLOSURES ABOUT FAIR VALUE

 

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized in the following tables according to FASB ASC 820 pricing levels.

 

    Fair Value Measurement Using  
          Quoted prices              
          in active     Significant        
          markets of     other     Significant  
          identical     observable     Unobservable  
    Recorded     assets     inputs     Inputs  
    value     (Level 1)     (Level 2)     (Level 3)  
                         
December 31, 2011                                
Assets:                                
Available-for-sale securities   $ 318,353     $ 316,853     $ 1,500     $ -  
                                 
December 31, 2010                                
Assets:                                
Available-for-sale securities   $ 352,500     $ 101,500     $ 251,000     $ -  

 

At December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company's available-for-sale equity securities were valued using Level 1 and Level 2 inputs as summarized above. Level 1 inputs are based on unadjusted prices for identical assets in active markets that the Company can access. Level 2 inputs are based on quoted prices for similar assets other than quoted prices in Level 1, quoted prices in markets that are not yet active, or other inputs that are observable or can be derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets.

 

The Company does not have any investments that are measured on a recurring basis using Level 3 inputs.

 

Certain assets are not carried at fair value on a recurring basis, including investments accounted for under the equity and cost methods. Accordingly, such investments are only included in the fair value hierarchy disclosure when the investment is subject to re-measurement at fair value after initial recognition and the resulting re-measurement is reflected in the consolidated financial statements.

  

In 2010, the Company considered a cost basis investment to be impaired and recognized an impairment loss of $250,000 in the consolidated statement of operations. This impairment was determined using Level 3 inputs to determine the estimated fair value, which was determined to be less than the recorded amounts.

 

See Note 4 for further details of the Company's investments.