| Industries |
|---|
| Construction and Engineering |
| Construction Materials |
| Construction and Farm Machinery and Heavy Trucks |
| Environmental Services |
| Health Care Facilities |
| Home Improvement Retail |
| Application Software |
| Technology Hardware Storage and Peripherals |
| Information Technology |
| Technology Hardware and Equipment |
| Exposures |
|---|
| Military |
| Judicial |
| Provide |
| Rights |
| Regime |
| Leadership |
| Political reform |
| Event Codes |
|---|
| Solicit support |
| Sports contest |
| Seize |
| Demand |
| Release or return |
| Adjust |
| Acknowledge responsibility |
| Force |
| Warn |
| Request |
| Riot |
| Yield to order |
| Promise policy support |
| Agree |
| Yield |
| Wiki | Wiki Summary |
|---|---|
| Operation Mincemeat | Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain (Acting Major) William Martin. |
| Outline of construction | The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to construction:\nConstruction – process of building or assembling infrastructure. A complex activity, large scale construction involves extensive multitasking. |
| Public works | Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings (municipal buildings, schools, and hospitals), transport infrastructure (roads, railroads, bridges, pipelines, canals, ports, and airports), public spaces (public squares, parks, and beaches), public services (water supply and treatment, sewage treatment, electrical grid, and dams), and other, usually long-term, physical assets and facilities. |
| Simple public-key infrastructure | A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of roles, policies, hardware, software and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store and revoke digital certificates and manage public-key encryption. The purpose of a PKI is to facilitate the secure electronic transfer of information for a range of network activities such as e-commerce, internet banking and confidential email. |
| Market trend | A market trend is a perceived tendency of financial markets to move in a particular direction over time. These trends are classified as secular for long time frames, primary for medium time frames, and secondary for short time frames. |
| Weather | An interrogative word or question word is a function word used to ask a question, such as what, which, when, where, who, whom, whose, why, whether and how. They are sometimes called wh-words, because in English most of them start with wh- (compare Five Ws). |
| Severe weather terminology (United States) | This article describes severe weather terminology used by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the United States. The NWS, a government agency operating as an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) branch of the United States Department of Commerce (DoC), defines precise meanings for nearly all of its weather terms. |
| Fill line | A fill line is a marking on drinkware indicating the volume of liquid held by the glass. Many countries mandate fill lines on glasses used commercially as a consumer protection measure. |
| Demand forecasting | Demand forecasting is known as the process of making future estimations in relation to customer demand over a specific period. Generally, demand forecasting will consider historical data and other analytical information to produce the most accurate predictions. |
| Economics of nuclear power plants | Nuclear power construction costs have varied significantly across the world and in time. Large and rapid increases in cost occurred during the 1970s, especially in the United States. |
| SGSecure | SGSecure is a national movement in Singapore.\nIt was launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 24 September 2016. |
| Reformed methanol fuel cell | Reformed Methanol Fuel Cell (RMFC) or Indirect Methanol Fuel Cell (IMFC) systems are a subcategory of proton-exchange fuel cells where, the fuel, methanol (CH3OH), is reformed, before being fed into the fuel cell.\nRMFC systems offer advantages over direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) systems including higher efficiency, smaller cell stacks, less requirement on methanol purity, no water management, better operation at low temperatures, and storage at sub-zero temperatures because methanol is a liquid from -97.0 °C to 64.7 °C (-142.6 °F to 148.5 °F) and as there is no liquid methanol-water mixture in the cells which can destroy the membrane of DMFC in case of frost. |
| Nanocomposite | Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material where one of the phases has one, two or three dimensions of less than 100 nanometers (nm) or structures having nano-scale repeat distances between the different phases that make up the material.\nThe idea behind Nanocomposite is to use building blocks with dimensions in nanometre range to design and create new materials with unprecedented flexibility and improvement in their physical properties. |
| Regulatory law | Regulatory law refers to secondary legislation, including regulations, promulgated by an executive branch agency under a delegation from a legislature. It contrasts with statutory law promulgated by the legislative branch, and common law or case law promulgated by the judicial branch. |
| Law of the United States | The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as various civil liberties. The Constitution sets out the boundaries of federal law, which consists of Acts of Congress, treaties ratified by the Senate, regulations promulgated by the executive branch, and case law originating from the federal judiciary. |
| ACCURATE | Accuracy and precision are two measures of observational error. \nAccuracy is how close or far off a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their true value, while precision is how close or dispersed the measurements are to each other. |
| National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America) | The National Scout jamboree is a gathering, or jamboree, of thousands of members of the Boy Scouts of America, usually held every four years and organized by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Referred to as "the Jamboree", "Jambo", or NSJ, Scouts from all over the nation and world have the opportunity to attend. |
| Milk quota | A milk quota (or more accurately dairy produce quota) was one of the measures used by governments in the European Union to intervene in agriculture. Their purpose was to bring rising milk production under control. |
| Operating expense | An operating expense, operating expenditure, operational expense, operational expenditure or opex is an ongoing cost for running a product, business, or system . Its counterpart, a capital expenditure (capex), is the cost of developing or providing non-consumable parts for the product or system. |
| Regulation A | In the United States under the Securities Act of 1933, any offer to sell securities must either be registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or meet certain qualifications to exempt it from such registration. Regulation A (or Reg A) contains rules providing exemptions from the registration requirements, allowing some companies to use equity crowdfunding to offer and sell their securities without having to register the securities with the SEC. Regulation A offerings are intended to make access to capital possible for small and medium-sized companies that could not otherwise bear the costs of a normal SEC registration and to allow nonaccredited investors to participate in the offering. |
| Right to Recall laws in India | "Right To Recall (RTR)" are existing laws in some states of India that allow citizens to remove or replace public servants holding posts of Sarpanch, Mukhiya, Corporator and Mayor in the government.\n\n\n== History ==\nIn modern India, Sachindra Nath Sanyal was the first to demand the right to replace public servants. |
| Internal security | Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. Responsibility for internal security may range from police to paramilitary forces, and in exceptional circumstances, the military itself. |
| Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency | Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency (THBD, BH4D) is a rare metabolic disorder that increases the blood levels of phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is an amino acid obtained normally through the diet, but can be harmful if excess levels build up, causing intellectual disability and other serious health problems. |
| Effective radiated power | Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would have to be radiated by a half-wave dipole antenna to give the same radiation intensity (signal strength or power flux density in watts per square meter) as the actual source antenna at a distant receiver located in the direction of the antenna's strongest beam (main lobe). |
| Electric power system | An electric power system is a network of electrical components deployed to supply, transfer, and use electric power. An example of a power system is the electrical grid that provides power to homes and industries within an extended area. |
| List of British Rail classes | This article lists the wide variety of locomotives and multiple units that have operated on Great Britain's railway network, since Nationalisation in 1948.\nBritish Rail used several numbering schemes for classifying its steam locomotive types and other rolling stock, before settling on the TOPS computer system in the late 1960s. |
| Road train | A road train, land train or long combination vehicle (LCV) is a trucking vehicle used to move road freight more efficiently than semi-trailer trucks. It consists of two or more trailers or semi-trailers hauled by a prime mover. |
| Marketing management | Marketing management is the organizational discipline which focuses on the practical application of marketing orientation, techniques and methods inside enterprises and organizations and on the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities.\n\n\n== Structure ==\nMarketing management employs tools from economics and competitive strategy to analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. |
| Yoda conditions | In programming jargon, Yoda conditions (also called Yoda notation) is a programming style where the two parts of an expression are reversed from the typical order in a conditional statement. A Yoda condition places the constant portion of the expression on the left side of the conditional statement. |
| Emirates subsidiaries | Emirates Airline has diversified into related industries and sectors, including airport services, event organization, engineering, catering, and tour operator operations. Emirates has four subsidiaries, and its parent company has more than 50. |
| Cambrian explosion | The Cambrian explosion, Cambrian radiation, Cambrian diversification, or the Biological Big Bang refers to an interval of time approximately 538.8 million years ago in the Cambrian Period when practically all major animal phyla started appearing in the fossil record. It lasted for about 13 – 25 million years and resulted in the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla. |
| Mega Society | The Mega Society is a high IQ society open to people who have scored at the one-in-a-million level on a test of general intelligence claimed to be able to discriminate at that level. It was founded in 1982 by Ronald K. Hoeflin to facilitate psychometric research.The public profile of the Mega Society increased with the publication of the Mega Test in 1985 by Hoeflin. |
| Dudeism | Dudeism is a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle inspired by "The Dude", the protagonist of the Coen Brothers' 1998 film The Big Lebowski. Dudeism's stated primary objective is to promote a modern form of Chinese Taoism, outlined in Tao Te Ching by Laozi (6th century BCE), blended with concepts from the Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BCE), and presented in a style as personified by the character of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a fictional character portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the film. |
| Corporate social responsibility | Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethically oriented practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy, that time has passed as various national and international laws have been developed. |
| Procurement | Procurement is the process of finding and agreeing to terms, and acquiring goods, services, or works from an external source, often via a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a governing body acquires goods through this practice, it is referred to as public procurement.Procurement generally involves making buying decisions under conditions of scarcity. |
| Risk Factors |
|---|
| LAFARGE NORTH AMERICA INC Item 1A RISK FACTORS The factors set out below may have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows or on the value of our stock |
| We depend heavily on construction sector activity levels, which tend to be cyclical and which differ throughout the regions in which we operate |
| Our results depend heavily on residential, commercial and infrastructure construction activity and spending levels |
| The construction industry in our markets tend to be cyclical |
| Construction activity and spending levels vary across our markets and are influenced by interest rates, inflation, consumer spending habits, demographic shifts, environmental laws and regulations, employment levels and the availability of funds for public infrastructure projects |
| Economic downturns may lead to recessions in the construction industry, either in individual markets or nationally |
| While our geographic diversification mitigates risks associated with downturns in construction spending, we may be affected significantly by downturns nationally or in individually significant markets |
| Adverse weather lessens demand for our products, which is seasonal in many of our markets |
| Construction activity, and thus demand for our products, decreases substantially during periods of cold weather, when it snows or when heavy or sustained rains fall |
| Consequently, demand for our products is significantly lower during the winter, particularly in Canada and in the Northern United States, where winter weather significantly reduces our first quarter sales |
| Our operations in these and similar markets are seasonal, with sales generally peaking during the third quarter because of normally better weather conditions |
| However, high levels of rainfall can adversely impact our operations during this period as well |
| Such adverse weather conditions can materially and adversely affect our results of operations and profitability if they occur with unusual intensity, during abnormal periods, or last longer than usual in our major markets, especially during peak construction periods |
| 12 _________________________________________________________________ Competition in our industry could adversely affect our results of operations |
| Substantially all markets we operate in are highly competitive |
| In each of our business segments, we compete with several other domestic suppliers as well as with importers of foreign cement in our cement segment |
| Many factors affect the competitive environments we face in our markets |
| Among others, they include the number of competitors in the market, the pricing policies of those competitors, the financial strength of those competitors, the total production capacity serving the market, the barriers that potential competitors face to enter the market, the proximity of natural resources to the market, as well as economic conditions and product demand within the market |
| Such factors come together in each of our markets in varying ways, sometimes in ways that adversely impact demand for our products and our results of operations |
| Increased energy and fuel costs may have a material adverse effect on our results |
| Our operations consume significant amounts of energy |
| The price and availability of energy are subject to political, economic and market factors that are generally outside our control |
| As described more fully in Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk, we take measures to protect ourselves to some extent against rising energy and fuel costs |
| Despite these measures, energy and fuel costs have significantly affected, and may continue to affect, our financial condition results of operations and liquidity |
| Litigation could affect our profitability |
| The nature of our business exposes us to various litigation matters including product liability claims, employment, health and safety matters, environmental matters, regulatory and administrative proceedings, governmental investigations, tort claims and contract disputes |
| We contest these matters vigorously and make insurance claims where appropriate |
| However, litigation is inherently costly and unpredictable, making it difficult to accurately estimate the outcome of existing or future litigation |
| Although we make accruals as we believe warranted, the amounts that we accrue could vary significantly from any amounts we actually pay due to the inherent uncertainties in the estimation process |
| Governmental policies and laws, particularly those relating to protection of the environment, could significantly impact our operations |
| As described more fully within “Environmental Matters” in Item 1 Business and Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, our operations are regulated extensively by national and local governments, particularly in the areas of land use and protection of the environment (eg regulations relating to greenhouse gases) |
| Our operations require numerous governmental approvals and permits, which often require us to make significant capital and maintenance expenditures to comply with zoning and environmental laws and regulations |
| Stricter laws and regulations, or stricter interpretation of existing laws or regulations, may impose new liabilities on us, require additional investment by us in pollution control equipment, or impede our opening new or expanding existing plants or facilities |
| If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements could be impaired |
| Our business organization is complex in scope |
| Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place to help ensure that we produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort |
| In connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we annually assess the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting and our independent auditor issues an attestation report on management’s assessment of such internal control |
| During this process, we may identify material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting, or areas for further attention or improvement |
| Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may require specific compliance training of certain personnel, entail substantial costs in order to modify our existing accounting systems, or take a significant period of time to complete |
| Such changes may not be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls |
| Any failure to maintain that adequacy or our ability to produce accurate financial statements (including the proper application of our critical accounting policies) on a timely basis could increase our operating costs and materially impair our ability to operate our business |
| In addition, investors’ perceptions that our internal controls are inadequate or subject to material 13 _________________________________________________________________ weaknesses or significant deficiencies or are otherwise perfectible, or that we are unable to produce accurate financial statements may adversely affect our stock price |
| We may be adversely affected by disruptions in our information technology systems |
| Our operations are dependent upon our information technology systems, which encompass all of our major business functions |
| As a result of significant growth in our operations in recent years, we recently began implementing an enterprise resource planning system (“ERP”) |
| In 2006 and continuing through 2007, we will continue to implement various modules of the ERP system in a phased approach |
| We rely upon such information technology systems to manage and replenish inventory, fill and ship customer orders on a timely basis, bill customers and coordinate our sales activities across our products and services |
| A substantial disruption in our information technology systems for any prolonged time period could result in delays in receiving inventory and supplies or filling customer orders and adversely affect our customer service and relationships |
| In addition, we may experience delays in such implementation or problems with the functionality of the ERP system, which could increase the expected cost of the implementation |
| We rely heavily on third-party transportation, which is subject to rate fluctuations and rail, shipping and trucking hazards |
| Because freight costs represent a significant portion of our total cost to customers, fluctuations in freight rates can change the relative competitive position of our production facilities |
| Rail, shipping and trucking operations are subject to various hazards, including extreme weather conditions and operating hazards, as well as slowdowns due to labor strikes and other work stoppages |
| If we are unable to ship our products as a result of the railroads or shipping or trucking companies failing to operate or if there are material changes in the cost or availability of rail, shipping or trucking services, we may not be able to arrange alternative and timely means to ship our products, which could lead to interruptions or slowdowns in our businesses |
| Exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition |
| As described more fully in Item 7A Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk, a significant amount of our net assets and net income are attributable to subsidiaries that prepare their financial statements in Canadian dollars |
| Consequently, exchange rate fluctuations between the US and Canadian dollars may significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations |
| This effect may be positive or negative depending on the actual exchange rate movement, as well as the nature of any currency hedging instruments we may put in place from time to time |
| Increase in our indebtedness could limit our operating and financial flexibility |
| If our total debt increases materially: a) we could face increased financial charges, b) we may need to allocate a greater portion of our operating cash flow to cover debt service payments, c) our credit ratings may be downgraded, with resultant increases in our borrowing costs and a possible decrease in the availability of adequate financing sources, d) our exposure to interest and exchange rate fluctuations may increase substantially, and e) lenders may impose significant restrictions on our capital resources and/or operations |
| Some of our debt agreements contain and some of our future debt agreements may contain financial, operating and other covenants and obligations that could limit our operating and financial flexibility |
| Our ability to comply with these obligations depends on the future performance of our businesses |
| Our failure to abide by these obligations or to meet these covenants may impair our ability to finance operations, distribute dividends, finance acquisitions and expansions and maintain flexibility in managing our operations |
| 14 _________________________________________________________________ Changes in the cost or availability of raw materials supplied by third parties may adversely affect our operating and financial performance |
| We generally maintain our own reserves of limestone, gypsum, aggregates and other materials that we use to manufacture our products |
| Increasingly, however, we obtain certain raw materials from third parties who produce such materials as by-products of industrial processes, such as synthetic gypsum, slag and fly ash |
| While we try to secure our needed supply of such materials through long-term renewable contracts, we have not always been, and may not in the future be, able to do so |
| Should our existing suppliers cease operations or reduce or eliminate production of these by-products, our costs to procure these materials may increase significantly or we may be obliged to procure alternatives to replace these materials |