George W. Hawk, Jr.
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Direct: (216) 694-5446 | |
General Counsel and Secretary
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Fax: (216) 694-6741 | |
gwhawk@cleveland-cliffs.com |
Attention: | April Sifford Accounting Branch Chief Division of Corporation Finance |
Re: | ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Inc Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004 Filed February 22, 2005 File No. 1-089447 |
1. | Comment: We note the use of the description minerals. In our prior review, you had agreed to use the terms land rights or mineral rights in your future filings. Please amend your filing to change the description of this item. |
Response: The Company supplementally advises the staff that its failure to use the terms land rights and mineral rights in the Form 10-K was an inadvertent oversight and that it will use those terms in future filings. The Company respectfully requests that the staff not require the Company to amend the Form 10-K for this oversight given the additional information added in connection with the previous review on page 64 of the 10-K |
regarding the Companys net book value of land rights and mineral rights (disclosed as surface lands and mineral lands, respectively) pursuant to the requirements of EITF 04-2. |
2. | Comment: You have reported a reduction in marketable securities as an operating cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2004. Please support your determination that this classification was appropriate. We may have further comment. |
Response: The Company supplementally advises that it believes this classification was appropriate. Paragraph 8 of SFAS 102 states that [c]ash receipts and cash disbursements resulting from purchases and sales of securities classified as trading securities as discussed in FASB Statement No. 115, Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities, shall be classified as operating cash flows. The Company has classified $182.7 million of its highly-liquid securities as trading securities and disclosed this classification in its Marketable Securities accounting policy on page 62 of the Form 10-K. Accordingly, the Company has treated the cash disbursement for the purchase of these securities as an operating cash flow. In future filings, the Company will clarify the nature of these securities as trading securities on the Statement of Consolidated Cash Flows. |
3. | Comment: This statement includes a line item showing total cash flow before changes in operating assets and liabilities, and a line item showing changes in operating assets and liabilities. Please remove these inappropriate subtotals in an amended filing, as they are not contemplated by SFAS 95. | |
Response: The Company supplementally advises the staff that it will remove the subtotals Total cash flow before changes in operating assets and liabilities and Total changes in operating assets and liabilities from the Statement of Consolidated Cash Flows in future filings. The Company respectfully requests that the staff not require the Company to amend the Form 10-K for this change. | ||
As requested in your letter, the Company acknowledges that: |
| it is responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filing; |
| staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to staff comments do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the Form 10-K; and |
| it may not assert staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
cc: | Gary Newberry, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Sandra Eisen, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Donald J. Gallagher, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Inc David P. Porter, Jones Day |