1.
Insurance
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Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss. It is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, an entity which provides insurance is known as an insurer, insurance company, or insurance carrier. A person or entity who buys insurance is known as an insured or policyholder, the insured receives a contract, called the insurance policy, which details the conditions and circumstances under which the insured will be financially compensated. The amount of money charged by the insurer to the insured for the coverage set forth in the policy is called the premium. If the insured experiences a loss which is covered by the insurance policy. Methods for transferring or distributing risk were practiced by Chinese and Babylonian traders as long ago as the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, Chinese merchants travelling treacherous river rapids would redistribute their wares across many vessels to limit the loss due to any single vessels capsizing. The Babylonians developed a system which was recorded in the famous Code of Hammurabi, c.1750 BC, and practiced by early Mediterranean sailing merchants. If a merchant received a loan to fund his shipment, he would pay the lender an additional sum in exchange for the guarantee to cancel the loan should the shipment be stolen. At some point in the 1st millennium BC, the inhabitants of Rhodes created the general average and this allowed groups of merchants to pay to insure their goods being shipped together. The collected premiums would be used to any merchant whose goods were jettisoned during transport. Separate insurance contracts were invented in Genoa in the 14th century, the first known insurance contract dates from Genoa in 1347, and in the next century maritime insurance developed widely and premiums were intuitively varied with risks. These new insurance contracts allowed insurance to be separated from investment, Insurance became far more sophisticated in Enlightenment era Europe, and specialized varieties developed. Property insurance as we know it today can be traced to the Great Fire of London, initially,5,000 homes were insured by his Insurance Office. At the same time, the first insurance schemes for the underwriting of business ventures became available, by the end of the seventeenth century, Londons growing importance as a center for trade was increasing demand for marine insurance. These informal beginnings led to the establishment of the insurance market Lloyds of London and several related shipping, the first life insurance policies were taken out in the early 18th century. The first company to offer life insurance was the Amicable Society for a Perpetual Assurance Office, founded in London in 1706 by William Talbot, edward Rowe Mores established the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. In the late 19th century, accident insurance began to become available and this operated much like modern disability insurance. The first company to offer accident insurance was the Railway Passengers Assurance Company, by the late 19th century, governments began to initiate national insurance programs against sickness and old age
2.
Northbrook, Illinois
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Northbrook is an affluent village on Chicagos North Shore, located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, United States. When incorporated in 1901, the village was known as Shermerville in honor of Frederick Schermer, the village changed its name to Northbrook in 1923 as an effort to improve its public image. The name was chosen because the West Fork of the North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the Village, Glenbrook North High School, founded in 1953 as Glenbrook High School, is located in Northbrook. The village is home to the Northbrook Park District, founded in 1927, Northbrook Court shopping mall, the Ed Rudolph Velodrome, the Chicago Curling Club. Members of the Potawatomi tribe were the earliest recorded residents of the Northbrook area, in 1833 the Potawatomi ceded their Illinois lands and moved to a place near Council Bluffs, Iowa. Afterwards Joel Sterling Sherman and his family bought 159 acres of land in the northwest quarter of Section 10 for $1.25 per acre, as of 2010 Northbrooks downtown is located on this site. A man named Frederick Schermer donated the land used for the first railroad station, named Schermer Station and later Shermer Station, by the 1870s Shermerville was a farming community. In 1901 the community was incorporated as the Village of Shermerville after a referendum for incorporation. At the time of incorporation it had 311 residents and 60 houses, a renaming contest was held, and a man named Edward Landwehr submitted the name Northbrook. In 1923 Northbrook, the winner, was adopted, at the time Northbrook had 500 residents, after the end of World War II, Northbrooks population began to rapidly increase. Between 1950 and 1980, the population rose from 3,319 to 30,735. Northbrook is located at 42°7′45″N 87°50′27″W, according to the 2010 census, Northbrook has a total area of 13.255 square miles, of which 13.19 square miles is land and 0.065 square miles is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 33,170 people,12,642 households, the population density was 2,514.8 people per square mile. There were 13,434 housing units at a density of 1,018.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 86. 1% White,0. 6% African American,0. 04% Native American,11. 7% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,0. 4% some other race, and 1. 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2. 5% of the population,22. 5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14. 6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57, and the family size was 3.03. In the village, the population was out with 23. 5% under the age of 18,4. 9% from 18 to 24,17. 0% from 25 to 44,32. 2% from 45 to 64
3.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
United States dollar
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The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States and its insular territories per the United States Constitution. It is divided into 100 smaller cent units, the circulating paper money consists of Federal Reserve Notes that are denominated in United States dollars. The U. S. dollar was originally commodity money of silver as enacted by the Coinage Act of 1792 which determined the dollar to be 371 4/16 grain pure or 416 grain standard silver, the currency most used in international transactions, it is the worlds primary reserve currency. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. Besides the United States, it is used as the sole currency in two British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. A few countries use the Federal Reserve Notes for paper money, while the country mints its own coins, or also accepts U. S. coins that can be used as payment in U. S. dollars. After Nixon shock of 1971, USD became fiat currency, Article I, Section 8 of the U. S. Constitution provides that the Congress has the power To coin money, laws implementing this power are currently codified at 31 U. S. C. Section 5112 prescribes the forms in which the United States dollars should be issued and these coins are both designated in Section 5112 as legal tender in payment of debts. The Sacagawea dollar is one example of the copper alloy dollar, the pure silver dollar is known as the American Silver Eagle. Section 5112 also provides for the minting and issuance of other coins and these other coins are more fully described in Coins of the United States dollar. The Constitution provides that a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and that provision of the Constitution is made specific by Section 331 of Title 31 of the United States Code. The sums of money reported in the Statements are currently being expressed in U. S. dollars, the U. S. dollar may therefore be described as the unit of account of the United States. The word dollar is one of the words in the first paragraph of Section 9 of Article I of the Constitution, there, dollars is a reference to the Spanish milled dollar, a coin that had a monetary value of 8 Spanish units of currency, or reales. In 1792 the U. S. Congress passed a Coinage Act, Section 20 of the act provided, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units. And that all accounts in the offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation. In other words, this act designated the United States dollar as the unit of currency of the United States, unlike the Spanish milled dollar the U. S. dollar is based upon a decimal system of values. Both one-dollar coins and notes are produced today, although the form is significantly more common
5.
Economy of the United States
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The United States GDP was estimated to be $17.914 trillion as of Q22015. Several countries use it as their currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency. The United States has an economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate. Its seven largest trading partners are Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the US has abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. It has the worlds ninth-highest per capita GDP and tenth-highest per capita GDP as of 2013, Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007. It has been the worlds largest national economy since at least the 1890s, the U. S. is the worlds third largest producer of oil and natural gas. It is one of the largest trading nations in the world as well as the second largest manufacturer. The US not only has the largest internal market for goods, US total trade amounted to $4. 93T in 2012. Of the worlds 500 largest companies,128 are headquartered in the US, the United States has one of the worlds largest and most influential financial markets. The New York Stock Exchange is by far the worlds largest stock exchange by market capitalization, foreign investments made in the US total almost $2.4 trillion, while American investments in foreign countries total over $3.3 trillion. The economy of the U. S. leads in international ranking on venture capital and Global Research, consumer spending comprises 71% of the US economy in 2013. The United States has the largest consumer market in the world, the labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world and its net migration rate is among the highest in the world. The U. S. is one of the economies in studies such as the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Global Competitiveness Report. The US economy went through a downturn following the financial crisis of 2007–08. The economy, however, began to recover in the half of 2009. In December 2014, public debt was more than 100% of GDP. Domestic financial assets totaled $131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities totaled $106 trillion, the economic history of the United States began with American settlements in the 17th and 18th centuries. The American colonies went from marginally successful colonial economies to a small, independent farming economy, in 180 years, the US grew to a huge, integrated, industrialized economy that made up around one fifth of the world economy
6.
Transportation in the United States
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Transportation in the United States is facilitated by road, air, rail, and waterways. The vast majority of passenger travel occurs by automobile for shorter distances, in descending order, most cargoes travel by railroad, truck, pipeline, or boat, air shipping is typically used only for perishables and premium express shipments. The overwhelming majority of roads in the United States are owned and maintained by state, federally maintained roads are generally found only on federal lands and at federal facilities. The Interstate Highway System is partly funded by the federal government, there are a few private highways in the United States, which use tolls to pay for construction and maintenance. There are many private roads, generally serving remote or insular residences. Passenger and freight rail systems, bus systems, water ferries, civilian airlines are all privately owned and financed. Most airports are owned and operated by government authorities. The Transportation Security Administration has provided security at most major airports since 2001, each state has its own Department of Transportation, which builds and maintains state highways, and depending upon the state, may either directly operate or supervise other modes of transportation. Aviation law is almost entirely a matter, while automobile traffic laws are enacted and enforced by state. Economic jurisdiction over tidelands is shared between the state and federal governments, while the United States Coast Guard is the enforcer of law. Passenger transportation is dominated by a network of over 3.9 million miles of highways which is pervasive, Passenger transportation is dominated by passenger vehicles, which account for 86% of passenger-miles traveled. The remaining 14% was handled by planes, trains, and buses, the worlds second largest automobile market, the United States has the highest rate of per-capita vehicle ownership in the world, with 865 vehicles per 1,000 Americans. Bicycle usage is minimal with the American Community Survey reporting that bicycle commuting had a 0. 61% mode share in 2012, freight transportation is carried by a variety of networks. The largest percentage of US freight is carried by trucks, followed by pipelines, rail, ship, other modes of transportation, such as parcels and intermodal freight accounted for about 3% of the remainder. Air freight is commonly used only for perishables and premium express shipments, the difference in percentage of rails share by ton-miles and by weight is accounted for by the extreme efficiency of trains. A single railroad locomotive may pull fifty boxcars full of freight while a truck only pulls one, trucks surpass trains in the weight category due their greater numbers, while trains surpass trucks in the ton-miles category due to the vast distances they travel carrying large amounts of freight. Usually cargo, apart from petroleum and other commodities, is imported in containers through seaports, then distributed by road. The quasi-governmental United States Postal Service has a monopoly on letter delivery but several large companies such as FedEx and UPS compete in the package
7.
AGCO
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AGCO Corporation is an American agricultural equipment manufacturer based in Duluth, Georgia, United States. KHD had purchased portions of the Allis-Chalmers agricultural equipment business five years earlier, the company was first called Gleaner-Allis Corporation, then rearranged to be Allis-Gleaner Corporation, or AGCO. The Deutz-Allis line of tractors were renamed AGCO-Allis, and Gleaner became a brand of its own for combines, the Deutz-Allis brand continued in South America until 2001, when they were renamed AGCO-Allis. In 2001, AGCO Allis was renamed AGCO in North America, in March 1991, AGCO purchased the Hesston Corporation gaining hay and forage equipment as well as technologies such as the grain auger, invented in 1947 by Lyle Yost. Hesston had a 50 percent joint venture with Case International, now a part of CNH Global, AGCO purchased the White Tractor line from the Allied Corporations White-New Idea company. In 1993, AGCO purchased the remainder of White-New Idea, gaining New Idea hay equipment and manure spreaders, White New Idea had a large manufacturing plant operating in Coldwater, Ohio, USA. Also in 1993, AGCO purchased the North American distribution rights to Massey Ferguson, in 1994, they purchased McConnell Tractors, manufacturer of the large articulated Massey Ferguson tractors. AGCO developed the Agcostar line of articulated tractors, later in 1994, the Black Machine line of planters was purchased. 1995 saw the purchase of the AgEquipment Group, which manufactured equipment and loaders under the Glenco, Tye. In 1996, acquisitions went international with the purchase of Iochpe-Maxion in Brazil and this was the Brazilian company that had rights to the Massey Ferguson brand and manufacturing in the region, as well as the Maxion brand of industrial equipment. This was also the year that AGCO purchased Deutz Argentina, the one leader of tractors in Argentina. Also in 1996, AGCO purchased Western Combine Corporation and Portage Manufacturing in Canada, Western Combine had previously purchased the assets of the Massey Combine Corporations combine operation, which had been spun off by Massey-Ferguson. 1997 was the year of the purchase of Fendt in Germany. Fendt is well known for its advanced technology, AGCO also acquired Dronningborg Industries in Denmark, the manufacturer of European Massey-Ferguson combines, and former manufacturer of Dronningborg combines. In 1998, AGCO made a joint venture with Deutz AG to produce engines in Argentina, Spra-Coupe and Willmar are leading sprayer companies in North America. Upon purchase by AGCO, the manufacturing of SpraCoupes was moved to Willmar, Minnesota where the Willmar branded fertilizer tenders, spraCoupe and Willmar products were manufactured in Willmar from 1998 to 2001. For the year 2000, AGCO bought out its partner CNH Global N. V. in the Hay, in 2001, AGCO purchased Ag-Chem Equipment, expanding its application equipment business. Ag-Chem Equipment was based in Jackson, Minnesota and developed the TerraGator flotation-type,2002 was the year that AGCO purchased rights to the Challenger name and the tracked tractors from the Caterpillar Corporation, giving AGCO a well-known brand name and high-power tracked tractors
8.
Autocar Company
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The Autocar Company is an American specialist manufacturer of severe-duty, Cab Over Engine vocational trucks, based in Hagerstown, Indiana. Started in 1897 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a manufacturer of Brass Era automobiles, the last cars were produced in 1911 and the company continued as an innovative maker of severe-duty trucks. In 1953 Autocar was taken over by the White Motor Company which made Autocar their top-of-the-line brand, White was taken over in turn by Volvo Trucks in 1981 with Autocar continuing as a division. In 2001, it was sold to GVW Group, LLC, Autocar now builds three models of custom-engineered, heavy duty trucks and has regained leading positions in several vocational segments. One of the early cars was the Pittsburgher. By 1907, the company had decided to concentrate on commercial vehicles, Autocar is the oldest surviving motor vehicle brand in the Western Hemisphere. Both Louis Semple Clarke and his brother John S. Clarke were members of the fabled South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club of Johnstown Flood fame, Autocar founder Louis Semple Clarke was a successful mechanical engineer. Among Clarkes innovations were the spark plug for gasoline engines, a drive shaft system for automobiles. The patented porcelain-insulated spark plug process was sold to Champion and remains the industry standard, Clarke was also a talented photographer. His family were members of the exclusive South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club above Johnstown, Pennsylvania, whose earthen dam at Lake Conemaugh burst on May 31,1889, Clarke sold his interest in Autocar in 1929 and retired from business. He died in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 6,1957, Autocar experimented with a series of vehicles from 1897, with a tricycle, Autocar No.1 now in the collection of the Smithsonian. In 1899 Autocar built the first motor truck ever produced for sale in North America, the first production Autocar automobile was a 1900 single cylinder chain drive runabout. In 1901 Autocar built the first car in North America to use shaft drive and this vehicle is also now in the Smithsonian collection. The 1904 Autocar was equipped with a tonneau, it could seat 4 passengers, the horizontal-mounted flat-2, situated at the front of the car, produced 11 hp. This was an unusual engine design for the time, with most companies producing inline designs. The steel and wood-framed car weighed 1675 lb, the early cars had tiller steering. In 1905 the company was selling the Type XII car for $2,250 and it discontinued the Type XI and sold the last of them in 1905. The cars now had wheel steering with left hand drive, the Type X was a runabout
9.
Blue Bird Corporation
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The Blue Bird Corporation is an American bus manufacturer headquartered in Fort Valley, Georgia. Currently, Blue Bird concentrates its product lineup on school and activity buses, what is now Blue Bird Corporation began life as a side project in a Ford Motor Company dealership in Perry, Georgia. Along with the dealership in Perry, Luce owned the Ford franchise in Fort Valley, Georgia, in 1925, Luce had sold a customer a Ford Model T with a wooden bus body, the customer sought to use the bus to transport his workers. Driven to produce a design to sell to his customers. In place of wood, Luce constructed his bus body from steel and sheetmetal, completed in 1927, the bus was put into use as a school bus. While buses would remain a side project for Luce, the onset of the Great Depression would make a change in his company forever. Following a 95% decline in car sales in 1931, Luce sold both of his Ford dealerships, using the $12,000 proceeds from the sale to begin his own company, concentrating solely on bus production. Inspired to begin production in order to support the local economy, the early use of farm wagons on a part-time basis soon evolved into purpose-built school bus products, each with economy and function as major priorities. In 1937, the company production of full-steel bus bodies. In a 1939 conference, Blue Bird engineers helped to develop the school bus yellow. During World War II, bus production was diverted to the armed forces, with Blue Bird producing buses. Due to rationing of steel, company engineers were forced to re-engineer several body assemblies to minimize use of steel, by the end of the war, increased bus production lead Blue Bird school buses to come into use in many school districts in the Southern US outside of Georgia. Following World War II, the configuration of schools throughout the United States continued to change, in rural communities, school districts transitioned away from schoolhouses towards centralized schools while urban populations moved into suburbs. Depending on location, the practice of walking to school had become increasingly impractical. In both rural and suburban districts, the addition of the baby-boom generation lead to a new demand for school transportation. Near the end of 1945, Blue Bird would see its factory in Fort Valley, Georgia destroyed by fire, though the factory building was destroyed, a significant amount of equipment was salvaged, allowing bus production to resume shortly afterward. In the post-war period, Blue Bird would grow substantially, becoming one of the body manufacturers in the United States. During the late 1950s, the leadership of Blue Bird changed, Company founder A. L. Luce retired, handing over operations to his three sons
10.
Brammo
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Brammo, Inc. is an American producer of electric traction motors and traction batteries based in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Brammo marketed its motorcycles via the companys website and they were also available for sale and service at some motorcycle dealers throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. On January 15,2015, Polaris Industries announced that it had purchased the electric motorcycle business from Brammo. Production of a motorcycle, the rebadged Victory Empulse, commenced at Polaris factory in Spirit Lake. Bramscher, who was a player at his high school, Shawnee Mission South, is 6 ft 3 in tall but has described himself as long-waisted. Bramscher set out to design and build a car comparable to the McLaren Formula 1 car, on September 4,2002, he registered the name Brammo Motorsports with the state of Oregon. Brammo began importing the Ultima Can Am in an attempt to understand at a level the components, tools. The company continued to import the cars from Ultima in component form, assemble them, customers were offered “build journals, which enabled them to watch their vehicle being built in near real-time online. The Enertia GT was a car planned for production, intended to be powered by a naturally aspirated Falconer V12 engine, however, it has since been announced that the project has shifted to making the GT a battery electric vehicle to compete with the Tesla Roadster. Brammo applied for a trademark of Pro GT in April 2004, Brammo finalized the design for the Brammo Motorsports Pro GT and hired Brian Wismann as the lead designer prior to building the prototype. The Pro GT prototype had a 600 cu in V12 engine producing 800 hp, Brammo commissioned a six-speed transverse synchro-mesh gearbox with Xtrac, Inc. of Berkshire, England. They also built a custom Falconer V12 engine, Brammo changed the name of the Pro GT to the Rogue GT. They also imported some Gardner Douglas T70s, but demand for the vehicle was not sufficient, in 2006, Brammo executed an assignment of its interest in the trademark Rogue to Nissan Motors, which introduced the Nissan Rogue, a compact crossover SUV in October 2007. In early 2005, Brammo purchased a license to produce the Ariel Atom, Brammos license allowed the company to produce the vehicle for the North American market only. After it secured the license from Ariel CEO Simon Saunders, Brammo reverse-engineered the vehicle, making several improvements along the way, the company sold just over 130 of the cars during a 20 month period. Jay Leno bought one of them and wrote a review of it for Popular Mechanics. The decision was made to produce a lighter motorcycle, Brammo focused on designing and building the Enertia powercycle prototype. After completing the prototype, the met with investors and determined that Brammo Motorsports needed to become Brammo, Inc
