World

World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth or pertaining to anywhere on Earth.

In a philosophical context it may refer to:

In a theological context, world usually refers to the material or the profane sphere, as opposed to the celestial, spiritual, transcendent or sacred. The "end of the world" refers to scenarios of the final end of human history, often in religious contexts.

World history is commonly understood as spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia, from the first civilizations to the present.

World population is the sum of all human populations at any time; similarly, world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies (all countries), especially in the context of globalization. Terms like world championship, gross world product, world flags etc. also imply the sum or combination of all current-day sovereign states.

World Bank

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. It comprises two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), and the International Development Association (IDA). The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group, which is part of the United Nations system.

The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. However, according to its Articles of Agreement, all its decisions must be guided by a commitment to the promotion of foreign investment and international trade and to the facilitation of Capital investment.

World Bank Group

The World Bank is not to be confused with the World Bank Group, an extended family of five international organizations:

Global Analyst Research Settlements

The Global Analyst Research Settlement was an enforcement agreement reached in the United States on April 28, 2003, between the SEC, NASD, NYSE, and ten of the United States's largest investment firms to address issues of conflict of interest within their businesses in relation to recommendations made by financial analyst departments of those firms.

Decision

The central issue at hand that had been judged in court previously was the conflict of interest between the investment banking and analysis departments of ten of the largest investment firms in the United States. The investment firms involved in the settlement had all engaged in actions and practices that had allowed the inappropriate influence of their research analysts by their investment bankers seeking lucrative fees. A typical violation addressed by the settlement was the case of CSFB and Salomon Smith Barney, which were alleged to have engaged in inappropriate spinning of "hot" IPOs and issued fraudulent research reports in violation of various sections within the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Similarly, UBS Warburg and Piper Jaffray were alleged to have received payments for investment research without disclosing such payments in violation of the Securities Act of 1933.

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., of "188 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments difficulties can borrow money. As of 2010, the fund had SDR476.8 billion, about US$755.7 billion at then-current exchange rates.

Through the fund, and other activities such as statistics-keeping and analysis, surveillance of its members' economies and the demand for self-correcting policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries. The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are: to promote international monetary cooperation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.

John C. Bogle

John Clifton "Jack" Bogle is the founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group. His 1999 book Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor became a bestseller and is considered a classic within the investment community.

Early life and education

John (Jack) Bogle was born on May 8, 1929 in Verona, New Jersey to William Yates Bogle, Jr., and Josephine Lorraine Hipkins.

His family was affected by the Great Depression. They lost their inheritance and had to sell their home, with his father falling into alcoholism which resulted in his parents' divorce.

Bogle attended Manasquan high school on the New Jersey shores on a full scholarship. His academic record was excellent that enabled him to join the prestigious Blair Academy where he showed a particular aptitude for math as numbers and computations fascinated him. In 1947, John graduated from Blair Academy cum laude and got accepted to Princeton University where he decided to study economics and investment. During his university years, John was determined to examine the subject of mutual fund industry that had not been analyzed before. Bogle spent his junior and senior year working on his thesis “The Economic Role of the Investment Company”.