SEC Rule 144A

Rule 144A. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") provides a safe harbor from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 for certain private resales of minimum $500,000 units of restricted securities to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), which generally are large institutional investors that own at least $100 million in investable assets. When a broker or dealer is selling securities in reliance on Rule 144A, it may make offers to non-QIBs through general solicitations following an amendment to the rule in 2012.

Since its adoption, Rule 144A has greatly increased the liquidity of the securities affected. This is because the institutions can now trade these formerly restricted securities amongst themselves, thereby eliminating the restrictions that are imposed to protect the public. Rule 144A was implemented in order to induce foreign companies to sell securities in the US capital markets. For firms registered with the SEC or a foreign company providing information to the SEC, financial statements need not be provided to buyers. Rule 144A has become the principal safe harbor on which non-U.S. companies rely when accessing the U.S. capital markets.

Æsir

In Old Norse, ǫ́ss (or áss, ás, plural æsir; feminine ásynja, plural ásynjur) is the term denoting a member of the principal pantheon in the indigenous Germanic religion known as Norse religion. This pantheon includes Odin, Frigg, Thor, Baldr and Týr. The second pantheon comprises the Vanir. In Norse mythology, the two pantheons wage the Æsir-Vanir War, which results in a unified pantheon.

The cognate term in Old English is ōs (plural ēse) denoting a deity in Anglo-Saxon paganism. The Old High German is ans, plural ensî. The Gothic language had ans- (based only on Jordanes who glossed anses with uncertain meaning, possibly 'demi-god' and presumably a Latinized form of actual plural *anseis). The reconstructed Proto-Germanic form is *ansuz (plural *ansiwiz). The a-rune ᚫ was named after the æsir.

Unlike the Old English word god (and Old Norse goð), the term ōs (áss) was never adopted into Christian use.

Etymology

Æsir is the plural of áss, óss "god" (gen. āsir) which is attested in other Germanic languages, e.g., Old English ōs (gen. pl. ēsa) and Gothic (as reported by Jordanes) anses "half-gods". These all stem from Proto-Germanic *ansis ~ ansuz, which itself comes from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énsus (gen. h₂n̥sóus) "life force" (cf. Avestan aŋhū "lord; lifetime", ahura "godhood", Sanskrit ásu "life force",ásura "god" (< *h₂n̥suró)). It is widely accepted that this word is further related to *h₂ens- "to engender" (cf. Hittite hass- "to procreate, give birth", Tocharian B ās- "to produce").

A2S

A2S is used as an abbreviation for

Sęp, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship

Sęp [sɛmp] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radoszyce, within Końskie County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It lies approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) south of Radoszyce, 25 km (16 mi) south-west of Końskie, and 32 km (20 mi) north-west of the regional capital Kielce.

The village has a population of 90.

References

Coordinates: 51°0′53″N 20°13′26″E / 51.01472°N 20.22389°E / 51.01472; 20.22389

Standard & Poor's

Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC (S&P) is an American financial services company. It is a division of McGraw Hill Financial that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds. S&P is known for its stock market indices such as the U.S.-based S&P 500, the Canadian S&P/TSX, and the Australian S&P/ASX 200. S&P is considered one of the Big Three credit-rating agencies, which also include Moody's Investor Service and Fitch Ratings. Its head office is located on 55 Water Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City.

History

The company traces its history back to 1860, with the publication by Henry Varnum Poor of History of Railroads and Canals in the United States. This book compiled comprehensive information about the financial and operational state of U.S. railroad companies. In 1868, Henry Varnum Poor established H.V. and H.W. Poor Co. with his son, Henry William Poor, and published two annually updated hardback guidebooks, Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States and Poor's Directory of Railway Officials.

Policy Planning Staff (United States)

The Policy Planning Staff (sometimes referred to as the Policy Planning Council, the Office of Policy Planning or by its in-house acronym S/P) is the principal strategic arm of the United States Department of State. It was created in 1947 by renowned Foreign Service Officer George F. Kennan at the request of Secretary of State George Marshall to serve "as a source of independent policy analysis and advice for the Secretary of State." Its first assignment was to design the Marshall Plan.

Past directors include George F. Kennan, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Jake Sullivan, Dennis Ross, Gregory B. Craig, Paul Wolfowitz, Paul Nitze, and Richard Haass, and past members include Zbigniew Brzezinski, Sandy Berger, and Michael Armacost. At least 14 past members of the Policy Planning Staff have served as Ambassadors.

The Staff is headed by the Director of Policy Planning. The current director is David McKean who previously served as CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and Chief of Staff to then Senator John Kerry.