notes to consolidated financial statements for the years ended february 3 , 2006 , january 28 , 2005 , and january 30 , 2004 , gross realized gains and losses on the sales of available-for-sale securities were not mate- rial . the cost of securities sold is based upon the specific identification method . merchandise inventories inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market with cost determined using the retail last-in , first-out ( 201clifo 201d ) method