LIFE Plans to Implement cGMP

Recently, Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) announced that it intends to enhance production of its genetic analysis products by investing $18 million for the expansion of its Pleasanton, Calif. facility. Life Technologies is planning to implement Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) capabilities at this facility to broaden its portfolio of molecular diagnostic products in order to meet increased demand.  The project is expected to take effect in the second quarter of 2013.

As of now, TaqMan assays, GeneArt and Ion AmpliSeq product lines are manufactured at the Pleasanton facility. In the first phase of the project, the company will convert 10,000 square feet of the facility to manufacture molecular probes and primers in compliance with the cGMP standards. Subsequently, the company plans to expand the facility by 30,000 square feet over a span of three years. The expanded facility will be used to produce regulatory-complaint material for qPCR workflows.

The products manufactured at the cGMP-certified facilities have to maintain a high standard of quality and control. As of now, LIFE manufactures a number of products including assays, various reagents, sera, cell culture media and instruments under the cGMP standards and ISO 9001/1348 certification, in nine facilities.
Currently, LIFE carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Over the last two years, LIFE has been focusing on creating an optimal portfolio of products through innovation and acquisitions. We are also encouraged by LIFE’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the high growth markets such as Latin America, the Middle East, China and India. Over the next few years, LIFE’s focus on developing industry-leading franchises in high-growth technology areas, applied markets and emerging geographies will be the key drivers of long-term growth.

Mother testifies to spare son's life in Ohio case

Seeking to have jurors spare her son's life, the mother of a triple killer who lured his victims with Craigslist job offers testified Wednesday that he had a troubled childhood and suffered physical and sexual abuse.

"I love Richard with all my heart," a teary-eyed Carol Beasley testified during the sentencing phase of the trial of her son, 53-year-old Richard Beasley. He was convicted last week of killing three men and wounding a fourth, all lured with offers of farmhand jobs in southeast Ohio in 2011.

The same jury must decide whether to recommend the death penalty. The other options are life in prison without the chance of parole or life with a chance for parole after 25 or 30 years.

Beasley's co-defendant, then 16 years old, was too young to face the death penalty. Brogan Rafferty was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on his conviction last year.

In an opening statement, prosecutor Jonathan Baumoel said the "enormous" weight of Beasley's crimes should be considered in deciding on life or death.

The defense responded by calling witnesses to portray Beasley sympathetically in a bid to have the jury recommend prison as his punishment.

As his mother testified, Beasley slumped forward, his chin on his chest and his right hand covering his eyes.

She described a difficult childhood for her son, with a verbally and physically abusive stepfather whom Carol Beasley characterized as a mean drunk.

She testified that she learned only within the past year that her son had been sexually abused by neighborhood youngsters when he was a boy. She had known that the boys had forced him to remove his pants in a large drainage pipe but hadn't known about the abuse at the time, she said.

"I always felt there was much more than he told me," she testified. Her son apparently kept the abuse secret out of fear he would be held responsible for it, the mother said.

Her first husband neglected Richard and her, Carol Beasley testified, and her second husband broke dishes and a window while drinking and whipped Richard as a toddler. "Richard was very mistreated by him," she testified.

Carol Beasley testified that Richard and the couple's own two daughters would be put to bed early and sometimes were sent to relatives for the weekend to avoid contact with the father.

"Everybody was afraid when he came home," she said.
The defense also called a psychologist, John Fabian, who testified that Beasley suffers from depression, alcohol abuse, low self-esteem and a feeling of isolation, all possible results of a troubled, abusive childhood.

"These are all potential mitigating factors" in favor of leniency, Fabian testified.
Fabian said Beasley's issues should be considered in multi-generational terms involving him and his family life. "This is all his personality development," he said.

One of Beasley's victims was killed near Akron, and the others were shot at a southeast Ohio farm during bogus job interviews.

The slain men were Ralph Geiger, 56, of Akron; David Pauley, 51, of Norfolk, Va.; and Timothy Kern, 47, of Massillon.

The survivor, Scott Davis, testified that he heard the click of a gun as he walked in front of Beasley at the reputed job site. Davis, who was shot in an arm, knocked the weapon aside, fled into the woods and tipped police.

Beasley, who returned to Ohio from Texas in 2004 after serving several years in prison on a burglary conviction, testified that he met with Davis and Davis had pulled a gun in retaliation for Beasley serving as a police informant.

Defiant teen gets life sentences in Ohio shooting

Wearing a T-shirt with "killer" scrawled across it, a teenager cursed and gestured obscenely as he was

given three life sentences Tuesday for shooting to death three students in an Ohio high school cafeteria.

T.J. Lane, 18, had pleaded guilty last month to shooting at students in February 2012 at Chardon High

School, east of Cleveland. Investigators have said he admitted to the shooting but said he didn't know why

he did it.

Before the case went to adult court last year, a juvenile court judge ruled that Lane was mentally

competent to stand trial despite evidence he suffers from hallucinations, psychosis and fantasies.

Lane was defiant during the sentencing, smiling and smirking throughout, including while four relatives of

victims spoke.

After he came in, he calmly unbuttoned his blue dress shirt to reveal the T-shirt reading "killer," which

the prosecutor noted was similar to one he wore during the shooting.

At one point, he swiveled around in his chair toward the gallery where his own family members and those of

the slain teenagers were sitting and spoke suddenly, surprising even his lawyer.

"The hand that pulled the trigger that killed your sons now masturbates to the memory," he said, then

cursed at and raised his middle finger toward the victims' relatives.

A statement released later to local media by the court on the judge's behalf said that he wasn't aware of

the shirt and that if he had noticed it he would have halted the proceedings and ordered Lane to wear

proper attire.

A student who was wounded in the rampage dismissed Lane's outburst.

"He said it like a scared little boy and couldn't talk slow enough that anyone could understand him," said

Nate Mueller, who was nicked in the ear in the shooting.

Dina Parmertor, mother of victim Daniel, called Lane "a pathetic excuse for a human being" and wished upon

him "an extremely, slow torturous death." She said she has nightmares and her family has been physically

sick over the crimes.

"From now on, he will only be a killer," she said, as Lane's smile widened. "I want him to feel my anger

toward him."

Prosecutors say Lane took a .22-caliber pistol and a knife to the school and fired 10 shots at a group of

students in the cafeteria. Daniel Parmertor and Demetrius Hewlin, both 16, and Russell King Jr., 17, were

killed.

Lane was at Chardon waiting for a bus to the alternative school he attended, for students who haven't done

well in traditional settings.

Six days before the rampage, Lane had sent a text message to his sister, who attended Chardon High school,

and mentioned a school shooting, Geauga County Prosecutor James Flaiz disclosed after the sentencing. He

gave no details about what the message said.

"The way the text message was phrased to his sister, I'm not sure she would have taken it as anything. I

think only when you look at it in retrospect does it really have the impact that it does now," Flaiz said.

Lane's sister, Sadie, was in the cafeteria the day of the shooting, and said outside the snow-swept

courthouse that the brother she saw in court wasn't the one she remembers. She asked for prayers for her

family.

"It may be hard for some to understand, but I love my brother and hope that whatever the sentencing in life

takes him in the future, that he can touch others' lives in a positive way from the point of view that only

he can give," she said.

She spoke and left the courthouse before Flaiz addressed reporters.

Flaiz said he has a theory about the motive but wouldn't discuss it until he has a chance to meet with the

families of victims and answer their questions.

Lane's courtroom behavior came as a surprise, he added.

"I am totally disgusted by that," Flaiz said. "What he did today is consistent with what we thought of him

all along."

One of Lane's defense attorneys, Ian Friedman, also said he was caught off-guard by the comments. The

defense had signaled earlier that Lane wouldn't speak in court and didn't want anyone to speak for him.

Lane had pleaded guilty last month to three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated

murder and one count of felonious assault.

Life imprisonment without parole was the maximum sentence Lane faced. He wasn't eligible for the death

penalty because he was 17 at the time of the shootings. Relatives of the slain students indicated earlier

they wanted Lane to get the maximum sentence.

In addition to three life sentences without chance of parole, Geauga County Common Pleas Judge David Fuhry

also gave Lane sentences totaling 37 additional years for attempted murder and felonious assault and using

a weapon in the crimes.

Life Time Fitness In Bad Shape After Weak Quarterly Results

Life Time Fitness (LTM) pre-announced a bad quarter and gave a weak outlook for 2013 sending the stock from 52-week highs to 52-week lows.

The most recent quarter excluded $0.07 per share due to the effects of Super Storm Sandy. The company faced a street estimate of $0.66 but guided estimates to between $0.60-$0.63, and also took down guidance for 2013.

Life Time operates sports and athletic, professional fitness, family recreation, and spa centers. As of February 28 it operated 105 centers under the Life Time Fitness and Life Time Athletic brands in the United States and Canada. Life Time Fitness, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

One look at a price chart of LTM and you can see why guiding lower can really hurt a stock. The most recent quarter will go down as a beat, with the company topping the refined Zacks Consensus Estimate by $0.01 about three weeks after LTM warned that it would not meet Wall Street expectations.

The December 2011 quarter saw a similar problem, but this time it was a just a straight miss. LTM reported earnings of $0.48 when the Zacks Consensus was calling for $0.55 for a 12.7% negative earnings surprise. Seems the New Years Resolutions aren’t being kept.

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Estimates for LTM have been declining of late. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2013 for LTM stood at $3.19 as of September 2012. The consensus has since dropped to $2.90 in January 2013 and now stands at $2.89. Similarly, estimates for 2014 have moved from $3.57 in September 2012 to their current level of $3.26.

Following the big drop in share price, the valuation for LTM has become more reasonable. The trailing twelve months P/E multiple of 16x is less than the industry average of 29x. The forward earnings multiple of 15x is much closer to the 22x industry average, but still trading at a discount. Price to book and price to sales multiples for LTM are pretty much in line with the industry averages.

The three- month chart below shows the stock doing the Wall Street equivalent of “pulling a muscle.” With the stock close to 52-week highs before the pre-announcement, a one day drop of 10 points put the stock much closer the its 52-week lows. Since that time, the stock has increased small amount, but the expectations for the future seem to get weaker and weaker.

Brian Bolan is a stock strategist for Zacks.com. He is the editor in charge of the Zacks Home Run Investor service, a buy and hold service where he recommends the stocks in the portfolio. Brian is also the editor of Follow The Money Trader a trading service that tracks institutional money flows and looks for great stock picks from that data.

Life on ancient Mars? What you need to know

Mars was capable of supporting microbial life in the distant past, scientists announced Tuesday.

They reached this conclusion after studying the latest observations from NASA's Curiosity rover, which just analyzed the first-ever sample collected from the interior of a Red Planet rock.

Here are answers to a few basic questions about Curiosity's discovery, and what it means about the Red Planet's past and the rover's future.

What exactly did Curiosity find?
Last month, Curiosity drilled 2.5 inches into a rock on a Martian outcrop that mission scientists have dubbed "John Klein." [The Search for Life on Mars (Photo Timeline)]

The rover's onboard Chemistry & Mineralogy (CheMin) and Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments found some of the chemical ingredients for life in the collected powder, including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon. The mix of compounds also suggests that the area may have contained chemical energy sources for potential Red Planet microbes, researchers said.

'If this water [discovered on Mars] was around and you had been on the planet, you would have been able to drink it.'
In addition, the sample contains clay minerals, indicating that the rock was exposed to a benign aqueous environment — such as a neutral-pH lake, for example — billions of years ago.

To be clear, Curiosity found no evidence that life has ever existed on the Red Planet. But its results suggest that the John Klein site could have supported microbes long ago, if they ever evolved on Mars or were transported there.

So what? Didn't we already know that ancient Mars was wet?
Scientists have known for years that water flowed or pooled on the surface of Mars in the ancient past. But there's more to habitability than the mere existence of liquid water.

For primitive microbial life to survive, a site must also have the right chemical makeup and a potential energy source, researchers say. And all of these ingredients were apparently present at John Klein.

Doesn't the right chemical makeup include organic compounds? Did Curiosity find any of those?
The SAM instrument can detect complex organics — the carbon-containing building blocks of life as we know it — and Curiosity is looking for these molecules on Mars, but it hasn't found anything conclusive yet.

The rover did detect two simple chlorinated organics at John Klein, as it did in a scoop of soil at another site called Rocknest late last year. There's no sign of complicated, long-chain organics such as amino acids yet, however.

But such molecules are not necessary for life to thrive, Curiosity scientists said. Here on Earth, many microbes do just fine by incorporating inorganic carbon — such as that contained in carbon dioxide — into their metabolic processes. And SAM did detect carbon dioxide in the John Klein sample.

"That's what we're real excited about," Curiosity chief scientist John Grotzinger, of Caltech in Pasadena, told reporters Tuesday.

How sure is the Curiosity team about all of this?
Pretty sure. Scientists typically are careful people loath to go out on a limb about their findings (with good reason, as their colleagues will quickly snap that limb in two if it's not sturdy enough). But there was no hemming and hawing about John Klein's long-ago habitability.

"We have found a habitable environment that is so benign and supportive of life that probably — if this water was around and you had been on the planet, you would have been able to drink it," Grotzinger said.

Does this mean life could survive on Mars today?
Curiosity's new results don't really speak to this issue, instead shedding light on Mars as it existed three billion years ago or so.

The Red Planet is much drier and colder today, making it considerably less hospitable to life as we know it. However, some researchers think Mars may still be capable of supporting microbial life, perhaps in damp, protected pockets underground.

Is Curiosity's mission over now? Hasn't it done what it set out to do?
Curiosity's main goal was to determine if the area around its landing site — Mars' huge Gale Crater — has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. And the 1-ton rover has indeed checked that box, just seven months after touching down.

However, the Curiosity team has no plans to quit now. They want to keep searching for signs of complex organics and investigate other sites, to gain a better understanding of how the Gale Crater area has changed over time. The John Klein site is not even the rover's final destination; at some point, Curiosity will turn its wheels toward interesting deposits at the base of Mount Sharp, the mysterious 3-mile-high (5 kilometers) mountain that rises from Gale Crater's center.

Scientists continue to stress that Curiosity's mission is discovery-driven, meaning they'll shape their plans around whatever the robot finds as it rolls across the Martian surface.

"Mars has written its autobiography in the rocks of Gale Crater, and we've just started deciphering that story," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars Exploration Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington.

Why some places are bigger on life insurance

A Bankrate survey of life insurance statistics found that the three states with the highest marriage rates -- Utah, Idaho and Wyoming -- are not the top states for life insurance coverage. We identified the life insurance leaders by dividing the numbers of life insurance policies in force in each state by population.
However, factors other than marriage rates probably have a bigger impact on life insurance coverage, says Lisa Gardner, associate professor of statistics and insurance at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She outlines her thoughts in the interview below.

We compared the latest insurance industry statistics with the U.S. census data on marriage and found that the top states for tying the knot -- Utah, Idaho and Wyoming -- are not the top states for life insurance. In your opinion, why is this?

I prefer using measures that include benefits payable or premium volume because they reflect the economic significance of life insurance. So I want to raise the question of whether you are using the right measures to consider the importance of life insurance.

Let's consider how differences in policy benefit amounts could affect the number of policies sold. In the South and, to a lesser extent, the Midwest, a form of low-face-amount life insurance called industrial life insurance was very popular during part of the last century. Also called debit policies, these policies were sold door-to-door and required a small weekly or monthly premium payment to remain in force. The policies provided an affordable option for many lower-income folks who might not otherwise be able to afford life insurance. The face amounts varied but were typically low. (Less than $10,000 was normal.)

In order to get enough coverage, a policy owner might need to purchase more than one policy. In fact, it was not unusual for a policy owner to have more than one debit policy. Hence, one might observe higher-than-normal numbers of policies in force per capita in the states where industrial life insurance was widely sold. That does not mean that life insurance is more economically important in these locations. One can own, say, two low-death-benefit policies, (such as) $5,000 death benefits, and have considerably less protection than if one owns a single $50,000 death-benefit policy.

What it means is that benefit amounts help explain how many policies get sold. Industrial life insurance policies were not sold much, if at all, in places like Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. They were sold widely in the South and Midwest.

Besides differences in face amounts, another reason why states might have different numbers of policies in force per capita is because of population per square mile. The states of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming are very large states, among the 15 largest in the country. They are also among the 10 least densely populated. If a person wants to make a living selling (a) life insurance product, it is a very good idea to live around other people, and lots of them.

Life insurance is a voluntary policy, meaning that there are no state laws that require one to purchase it or something similar (unlike, say, auto liability insurance). When approached, most people will not want to talk about life insurance. Of those who do, few will actually purchase a policy. In a place like Wyoming, a state with fewer than 600,000 people spread out over almost 100,000 square miles, one might have to drive a lot of miles to make a living as a life insurance agent. Thus, I would expect fewer policies to be sold in Wyoming simply because it is harder to find people to insure.

The prospects for selling life insurance seem a little more hopeful in Idaho and Utah, with a few more densely populated urban areas found in each, and of course, with Salt Lake City dominating the population of Utah. Still, one has to consider whether a lower number of life insurance agents per capita helps explain lower numbers of policies sold per capita in these states as opposed to some others.

A state might have a lower number of life insurance policies in force simply because more lives are insured under group term insurance contracts, often offered by employers. Nearly 40 percent of the life insurance in force in the U.S. is through group term insurance, often provided by employers. A single contract between an employer (the policy owner) and an insurance company may cover hundreds, if not thousands, of employees' lives. Sometimes the dependents of employees, like their spouses and children, are covered under these contracts, too.

So a single contract does not equate to coverage for a single life but instead to coverage for many lives. States where group term insurance covers more lives will likely have lower policy counts, everything else the same. That doesn't mean that life insurance is less important in that state. But it does help explain why more policies may be in force in some states than others.

Average household sizes could also explain differences in the number of policies in force. Utahans have larger-than-average household sizes because they tend to have more children. Minors usually don't buy life insurance, and so it would make sense that where minors are more prevalent, fewer policies get sold, everything else (being) the same.

So I have offered four possible explanations as to why the number of policies sold per capita might vary among the states, including some explanations that are specific to the states of Idaho, Utah and Wyoming. There are also other possible explanations, too, that I (won't get into) now.

Your finding that the three states with the highest marriage rates do not have the highest number of policies in force probably speaks more to differences in marketing systems (influenced by incomes and geography) than it does to anything having to do with marriage. It also seems possible that differences in group term coverage rates and average household size (the last item for Utah only) affect policy counts per capita.
Besides being the states with the highest marriage rates, Utah, Idaho and Wyoming are also the states with the youngest median ages at which women first marry. Do you believe that young married couples should not worry about life insurance until later in their lives?

No. Life insurance provides money when the insured dies. There are many reasons why a young spouse might need this money, including to pay for burial expenses, living expenses and the costs of raising children, for example.

In the state of Utah, couples not only get married at a younger age than the norm, but they also start having children at younger ages than the norm and have larger families. Because they have not been in the workforce for many years, they haven't had much time to build up a nest egg to provide for (their) loved ones when they die.
So many young married couples in these states really do need a product like life insurance or a rich relative who is going to give their survivors a lot of money when they die.

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are the top three states with the highest policies-to-population ratio. Why is life insurance more popular in the South than in the rest of the states?

I think the debit insurance system helps explain part of the differences, as does population density. I also think savings rates probably have something to do with it. Median incomes in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are much, much lower than those in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. This means that the share of folks with significant savings in the three Southern states mentioned is probably a good bit smaller than the share of people with significant savings in the three Western states noted. Life insurance death benefits are a substitute for savings. If a person has enough money saved to provide for their loved ones, then some say they don't need life insurance.

Another theory is that Southerners value their families more than others. I have lived in Wyoming and I have lived in Georgia, and I was raised in Iowa. I do not believe that family is any more or less important to anyone simply because of the state in which they were raised. Taking care of your loved ones is a value held all over this country. In the right circumstances, life insurance can help you do just that.

Life Time Fitness to Present at UBS Global Consumer Conference March 13

Life Time Fitness, Inc. (LTM), The Healthy Way of Life Company, today announced that Michael Robinson, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will present at the UBS Global Consumer Conference in Boston on March 13. John Heller, senior director of investor relations, also will attend on behalf of the Company.

The Conference will be held March 12 through 14, 2013, at the Ritz Carlton, Boston Common hotel. The Life Time presentation will occur on March 13th at 1:30 p.m. ET. A webcast of the presentation may be accessed via the Company's Investor Relations section of its website at lifetimefitness.com. A replay will be available through Wednesday, April 12, 2013.

Salt Life Announces 2013 Brand Ambassadors

Salt Life today announced the addition of Colin McPhillips to its 2013 roster of brand ambassadors. Salt Life is an authentic sport, performance and lifestyle brand that embraces those that love the ocean and everything associated with living the Salt Life. Salt Life Holdings selected IMG Worldwide in 2010 as its exclusive licensing agency to manage and grow the Salt Life brand.

In making the announcement, Richard Thompson, a Founding Partner of Salt Life, said, "It has been our dream to have a team of pro athletes that defines our brand vision. Collin joining our team gives Salt Life that extra boost in the surf industry as the sport is very core to our brand. Colin is really the whole package -- hard core waterman, competitor and family man -- and we are extremely excited to welcome him to the Salt Life family."

As part of Salt Life's continued efforts to expand its offerings to all ocean lifestyle enthusiasts, Salt Life has signed 3x Longboard World Champion and Pro SUP Colin McPhillips as a Brand Ambassador and Team Salt Life member with an exclusive apparel and headwear deal. Exuding the ethos of "living the Salt Life," McPhillips will introduce and promote the Salt Life brand to an entirely new segment of consumers. Currently competing in the 2013 ISA World Stand Up Championships in Peru for Team USA, McPhillips is already officially clad in Salt Life apparel and headwear in competition as an official ambassador and member of team Salt Life.

Since its inception, Salt Life has identified and engaged in licensing agreements that are natural brand extensions of the creed "I Live the Salt Life." From its viral decal origins, Salt Life now offers branded men's and women's apparel, headwear, footwear, sunscreen and skincare, sunglasses, beach and boat gear, decals, technology, pet and personal accessories, as well as beach themed restaurants and flagship retail stores.

Salt Life Announces 2013 Brand Ambassadors

Salt Life today announced the addition of Colin McPhillips to its 2013 roster of brand ambassadors. Salt Life is an authentic sport, performance and lifestyle brand that embraces those that love the ocean and everything associated with living the Salt Life. Salt Life Holdings selected IMG Worldwide in 2010 as its exclusive licensing agency to manage and grow the Salt Life brand.

In making the announcement, Richard Thompson, a Founding Partner of Salt Life, said, "It has been our dream to have a team of pro athletes that defines our brand vision. Collin joining our team gives Salt Life that extra boost in the surf industry as the sport is very core to our brand. Colin is really the whole package -- hard core waterman, competitor and family man -- and we are extremely excited to welcome him to the Salt Life family."

As part of Salt Life's continued efforts to expand its offerings to all ocean lifestyle enthusiasts, Salt Life has signed 3x Longboard World Champion and Pro SUP Colin McPhillips as a Brand Ambassador and Team Salt Life member with an exclusive apparel and headwear deal. Exuding the ethos of "living the Salt Life," McPhillips will introduce and promote the Salt Life brand to an entirely new segment of consumers. Currently competing in the 2013 ISA World Stand Up Championships in Peru for Team USA, McPhillips is already officially clad in Salt Life apparel and headwear in competition as an official ambassador and member of team Salt Life.

Since its inception, Salt Life has identified and engaged in licensing agreements that are natural brand extensions of the creed "I Live the Salt Life." From its viral decal origins, Salt Life now offers branded men's and women's apparel, headwear, footwear, sunscreen and skincare, sunglasses, beach and boat gear, decals, technology, pet and personal accessories, as well as beach themed restaurants and flagship retail stores.

SimCity rebuilt for modern life

A 10-year wait ends Tuesday with the arrival of ‘SimCity,’ a computer game that challenges players to build thriving cities in the face of conditions such as limited funds and climate change.

The sequel to the city-building computer game that factors in real-world consequences of energy choices, urban plans, and policy decisions debuts in the US for $60 a copy.

‘SimCity’ will be available in Britain three days later as part of a global rollout, according to game publisher Electronic Arts. The game is tailored for play on personal computers powered by Windows software.

Millions of people have played SimCity since the computer game designed by Will Wright was first released in 1989 but the Maxis Studio title to hit on Tuesday will be the first fresh installment to the franchise in a decade.

The original title won a broad, devoted following and led to a successful line of “Sims” strategy games in which players manipulate worlds and animated characters in simulations of real life.

Technology in ‘SimCity’ has been updated along with forces influencing the health of cities and the happiness of inhabitants, according to Maxis.

Along with rich 3-D graphics, the game will have a new simulation engine that enhances its realism and extends ramifications of urban design decisions past borders to affect neighboring cities.

SimCity has garnered enthusiastic reviews and won early endorsements from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and the director of the Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”Maxis collaborated on the title with Games For Change, a group devoted to the creation of games that combine fun with learning about social issues.

“I love the game,” said “Inconvenient Truth” director Davis Guggenheim, who played an early version with his son last year.

“Climate change is the biggest crisis of our time, but there is a disconnect because it is not in front of us,” he added.

“When you play ‘SimCity’ it is in your face; if you build a coal power plant you feel the consequences — smog in the city, water table getting dirty, and your people getting angry.”Twitter co-founder Stone described ‘SimCity’ as encouraging systems that help make “better humans, a smarter world and a healthier planet.”Players become virtual mayors, guiding development of pretend cities and reaping rewards or suffering ramifications of decisions.

“Their mission is to make a thriving, happy city,” Erik Reynolds of EA said of the game on the eve of its release. “It you don’t have enough schools, you will have uneducated Sims and uneducated Sims get up to no good.”People can play SimCity solo, or establish in-game regions open where as many at 16 cities can be built by different players.

“If you have a super-dirty coal burning town and a neighbor is green, when the wind is blowing in their direction they will reap what you’ve sown,”Reynolds said.

Play in regions is hosted at the EA online Origin game forum.

Early this year, EA kicked off a SimCityEDU project with in-house nonprofit studio GlassLab to test the game’s potential as a tool for promoting science, math, and engineering in public schools.

Some teachers and children in schools in the California city of Oakland dabbled with SimCity game as part of a GlassLab effort to explore its potential for teaching children and getting them excited about technology studies.

“There is huge focus on mastering new skills to run a successful city,”said GlassLab general manager Jessica Lindl.

“These children are coming in on their own during recess to play the game and we literally have to tear them away from the computer when it is time to go back to class,” she continued.

Feedback from the students will be used to specialize a version of SimCity for schools, according to Lindl. Backers of GlassLab include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Is your life insurance part piggy bank?

There are two basic types of life insurance: term plans, which provide coverage for a set number of years and usually offer a payout only if the policyholder dies during the term; and permanent policies such as whole, universal and variable life, which can provide a death benefit for as long as you live and also offer a savings component. While permanent plans are generally more expensive than term plans, a major perk is that often you can borrow from the savings reserve or cash it in. It's not always easy to tell if you can treat your policy as a piggy bank. These highlighted keywords and phrases in the sample policy below are giveaways that you can pull money from your life insurance.

Cash value: This is the formal term for the reserve that builds up in a permanent life insurance policy. The premiums are split two ways: Part of your money covers the actual cost of insurance, and part gets invested and accumulates value, tax-deferred, the longer you hold it. The cash value of a policy is determined by how long you've held the policy and how well the policy's investments are performing, says Keith Friedman, founder of FBO Strategies LLC, an insurance and estate planning firm in Stamford, Conn.

Rate of accumulation
Rate of accumulation: Also called "rate of return," it's how fast your policy builds its cash value. Many policies come with guaranteed interest rates, meaning your policy will accrue value steadily for as long as you pay the premiums. Some variable and universal life policies tie their rates of accumulation to the plan's investments, says Damon Bates, a vice president at MassMutual insurance. Policyholders may earn more or less depending on how those investments perform.

Policy dividend
Policy dividend: It's a refund of a portion of your life insurance premiums that's paid when the insurance company's investments have had a good year. This potential spreading of the wealth is a feature of many policies, which might be borrowed from or cashed in.

Surrender value
Surrender value: Before letting policyholders cash out, insurance companies deduct outstanding loans and may charge substantial surrender penalties. "Surrender value would be the amount of net cash value that you could cash in or surrender your policy for" after taking into account the various costs, says Bates. Surrender values are oftentimes significantly lower than the policy's true cash value.

Surrender value
Loan value: This is the maximum amount that can be borrowed from a life insurance plan. Loan values can vary, depending on the type of policy, how long it has been in force and whether the policyholder has kept up with premiums, says Friedman. "Most carriers only allow you to borrow a percentage (of the policy's cash value or surrender value), usually up to 80 percent," he adds.

Life is good Donates 10 Percent of Net Profits to Help Kids in Need

Life is good, the Boston-based lifestyle brand, today announced that the company will now donate 10 percent of its net profits to help kids in need through The Life is good Kids Foundation. This commitment is a new way the brand is fulfilling its mission of spreading the power of optimism.

"To date, we have helped raise $9.5 million to help kids in need, but we're just getting started. With this 10% donation announcement we are making an ongoing, long-term commitment," said Bert Jacobs, chief executive optimist of Life is good. "This decision solidifies how Life is good chooses to use business as a driver of social change by making it simple: When you do business with Life is good, you help kids in need."

In addition to committing 10 percent of its net profits to The Life is good Kids Foundation, Life is good will continue to spread optimism and help kids in need through the following channels:

Products: Optimistic apparel and accessories that feature positive messages and emphasize simplicity, humor and humility.

The Life is good Festival: An annual two-day celebration of music and optimism that raises money for kids in need. The Life is good Kids Foundation receives 100 percent of the funds raised.

Partnerships: Best-In-Class partnerships with brands like Hallmark Cards, Inc., announced in October 2012, that extend the brand's message and reach new optimists.

Community fundraising: The brand's fundraising engine that provides ideas, inspiration and tools to its community of optimists that allow them to fundraise all year long, from birthday parties to Monday night football.
Speaking engagements: Co-founders Bert and John Jacobs donate all proceeds from their speaking engagements to The Life is good Kids Foundation.

To reinforce the brand's latest commitment, Life is good is calling on its community of optimists to share something good in their day or to be the good that happens to somebody else on Facebook and Twitter using #PositivePurpose.

Nokia Life Services to Expand to Kenya

Nokia Life surpasses 95 million global user milestone and debuts in the African country.

Nokia today announced that Nokia Life, one of the most popular mobile services for high growth markets, will launch in Kenya, one of Africa's largest economies. Continuing on its path to connect 'the next billion and beyond', Nokia Life services will be available to the subscribers of Kenya's leading mobile operators, Safaricom and Airtel.

Nokia Life is one of the most popular life improvement information services suites specifically designed for people in fast growth, emerging markets. It delivers tailored, locally relevant content in local languages and works on a wide variety of Nokia mobile phones, without the need for a data plan. Nokia first introduced Nokia Life in India in 2009. The service quickly expanded to China, Indonesia and Nigeria, offering daily tips and actionable advice on topics such as education, health, infotainment and agriculture, delivered to millions of people. Nokia Life services have since been experienced by more than 95 million people in 18 local languages, through content co-developed by more than 90 knowledge partners including academics, local and national governments and NGOs.

The expansion to Kenya recognises a significant opportunity to reach a young and aspirational population, for whom the mobile phone is an essential, everyday tool. Nokia Life is an easy-to-use service, delivered as richly formatted messages to engage people, facilitate learning and help bridge information gaps that impact their quality of life. In Kenya, Nokia Life will offer a full suite of services under the Education, Health, Spirituality and Entertainment categories. These include services like Learn English, developed in partnership with the British Council; Life Skills, developed with Foundation for Social Change; and Parenting Advice, developed with Plan International.

"Access to information and knowledge is key to unlocking opportunities for youth and overall progress in society," said Jawahar Kanjilal, Global Head of Nokia Life. "We are delighted to introduce Nokia Life to Kenya with its rich set of relevant services that will help users connect easily to information that matters to them, and in the longer-term, help entire communities thrive."
Nokia Life will be available starting next month. Nokia Life services will be available free of charge for an initial 30-day trial period, with the option to subscribe monthly for as little as 2 Kenyan Shillings per day, to receive messages on a daily basis. The service will be available in both English and Swahili languages.

Standard Life Investments becomes first Worldwide Partner in Ryder Cup history

The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles will welcome the first designated Worldwide Partner in the event's history following an agreement between Standard Life Investments, Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of America that will see the global asset management company become a Worldwide Partner to both the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups.


Never before has a company partnered with The Ryder Cup on both sides of the Atlantic, with the new ground-breaking agreement enabling Standard Life Investments to promote and market its association with The Ryder Cup on a truly global scale.


With a potential daily TV audience of 500 million people across 183 countries, The Ryder Cup has evolved into one of the sport's most valuable and prestigious global brands, making it the perfect partner for a dynamic company such as Standard Life Investments.


Keith Skeoch, CEO, Standard Life Investments, said: "Standard Life Investments is thrilled to become the first Worldwide Partner of The Ryder Cup. This sponsorship complements our reputation as a leading global asset manager with strong performance and a distinctive team culture. It is an integral part of our long-term brand building strategy and is a perfect match in terms of our heritage, client base and strong team ethos."


Pete Bevacqua, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of America, said: "We are delighted to welcome Standard Life Investments as a Worldwide Partner to both the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cups in what is an historical agreement.


"We believe The Ryder Cup is among the most valuable sponsorship investments in sport and are confident that Standard Life Investments will reap tremendous value from their Worldwide Partnership on both sides of the Atlantic.
"This announcement follows the launch of the unified Ryder Cup global brand identity and the stated aim of Ryder Cup Europe and the PGA of America to secure global partnerships going forward."


Richard Hills, Europe's Ryder Cup Director, added: "As a company, with a strong global reach and Scottish heritage, Standard Life Investments share our commitment to teamwork and helping people achieve their full potential.
"We look forward to working closely with the Standard Life Investments team in delivering a world class Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel; a Ryder Cup that will create a positive and long lasting legacy for the game in the 'Home of Golf'."


Notes on Standard Life Investments / Standard Life
With assets under management of £163.4bn ($263.9bn) Standard Life Investments is one of Europe's major investment houses. Employing over 1,000 people and headquartered in Edinburgh, Standard Life Investments maintains offices in a number of locations around the globe including Boston, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Montreal, Sydney, Dublin, Paris and Seoul. In January 2012 Standard Life Investments teamed up with John Hancock Mutual Funds to make its award-winning Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) Fund available to the United States retail marketplace.


Standard Life Investments was launched as an investment management company in 1998. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Life Investments (Holdings) Limited, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Life plc. With a reputation for innovation in pursuit of client investment objectives Standard Life Investments' capabilities span equities, bonds, real estate, private equity, multi-asset solutions, fund-of-funds and absolute return strategies.


Established in 1825, Standard Life is a leading provider of long term savings and investments to around 6 million customers worldwide. Headquartered in Edinburgh, Standard Life has around 9,000 employees internationally.
The Standard Life group includes savings and investments businesses, which operate across its UK, Canadian and European markets; corporate pensions and benefits businesses in the UK and Canada; and its Chinese and Indian Joint Venture businesses. The Group has total assets under administration of over £211bn ($342bn).


Standard Life plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has approximately 1.5 million individual shareholders in over 50 countries around the world. It is also listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, ranking it among the top 10% of sustainable companies in the world. All figures at 30 September 2012.

Life of Pi Wins Best Visual Effects Oscar

Two-time winner Bill Westenhofer spoke on behalf of the team who brought the film to life though technology.

"The irony is not lost on any of us up here that in a film, whose central premise is to ask the audience what they believe is real and not real, most of what you see is well, fake," Westenhofer said. "That's the magic of visual effects."

See the full list of 2013 Oscar winners here

The team suggested the film took a little persuading before being made. "Sometimes it takes a risk to make something special," Westenhofer said. "And Life of Pi was a risk worth taking."

While thanking director Ang Lee, his family and close friends, the theme music to Jaws began playing, signaling it was time for Westenhofer to wrap it up.

After his mic was eventually turned off, the camera panned to Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Kidman summed it up best when she mouthed, "Oh poor thing."

Allianz Life Reports Financial Results for 2012

Minneapolis-based Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) today reported operating profit of $586 million for its 2012 financial year, an increase of 37% from $428 million in 2011. Growth in operating profit was driven by disciplined pricing, a growing asset base, a commitment to expense management, and realized gains on the company’s conservative and stable investment portfolio. Operating profit is reported on the International Financial Reporting Standards basis and includes earnings from recurring business operations.

In addition, Allianz Life also improved its capital position, reporting a 16 percentage point increase in regulatory risked-based capital (RBC) ratio – from 361% in 2011 to 377% in 2012.

Allianz Life reported total premium (new sales and recurring premiums) of $9.4 billion for 2012, down 14% from the prior year total of $10.8 billion. Fixed annuity sales declined 16% to $5.5 billion in 2012 compared to $6.5 billion of premium in 2011. Variable annuity sales decreased 12% to $3.3 billion of premium in 2012 compared to $3.8 billion in 2011. Life insurance sales increased 75% from $37 million in 2011 to $65 million in 2012. Sales results reflected the impact of market conditions, pricing discipline, and an increasingly focused distribution strategy.

At the close of 2012, Allianz Life’s assets under management increased 8% to $102.9 billion, compared with $95.3 billion at the end of 2011.

“Allianz Life is financially strong, which is what Americans expect when working with us to help grow and protect their retirement savings. We posted very strong operating profits and continued to deliver innovative products, despite low interest rates,” said Allianz Life President & CEO Walter White. “Our focus on financial strength, as demonstrated by our improved capital ratio, places us as one of the strongest financial companies in our marketplace.”

U.S. rating agencies recognized Allianz Life’s commitment to strengthening its capital base. The agencies sustained the company's high financial strength ratings throughout 2012, which have remained unchanged throughout and after the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In October 2012, Standard & Poor’s affirmed Allianz Life’s rating as AA (very strong); this is the third highest out of 21 possible ratings. On Oct. 4, 2012, Standard & Poor’s affirmed the financial strength rating of Allianz SE of “AA” with a “negative outlook” which applies to Allianz SE and other entities, including Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. Allianz SE remains one of the highest rated insurance companies in the world.

In addition to the solid 2012 financial results, the company earned distinction as:

#1 FIA Leader – Allianz Life was named the top seller of fixed index annuities for 13 consecutive quarters (based on sales), according to AnnuitySpecs.com, Indexed Sales & Market Report, 3Q 2012;

FORTUNE Magazine Best Places to Work For – Named to FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, ranking 59th as one of only two Minnesota companies to earn this distinction;

Superior Service – Awarded 2012 Excellence in Sales Support because of the company provided “far superior” sales support compared to others in the financial services industry by DALBAR, the nation’s leading financial services market research and consulting firm;

Top Workplace – Allianz Life received the Minneapolis Star Tribune Top Workplace award (June 2012) and the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Best Places to Work award (August 2012);

Financial Literacy Focus – Received the Humanitarian Award in January 2012 by BestPrep for the company’s commitment to promoting financial literacy;
Community Giving – Donated $1.8 million to local organizations in 2012 primarily focused on senior services and financial literacy programs; and
Retirement Leader – Continued thought leadership in baby boomer retirement insights through a 2012 update to the Allianz American Legacies Study.

Exclusive: Life Technologies sale process cools - sources

An $11 billion-plus sale of Life Technologies Corp is looking less likely as a gap in price expectations with the company has left potential buyer Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc skeptical about a deal while buyout firms' offers came up short, people familiar with the matter said this week.

Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment and scientific instruments, had held discussions with Life Technologies but is no longer actively pursuing a deal, as a big run-up in Life Tech's shares made the economics of a transaction less attractive, one of the people said.

Likewise, private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP , KKR & Co LP , Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital LP, have made initial offers that value Life Technologies close to where its shares are now trading, after their recent rise. The offers would need to be increased significantly to win the approval of Life Tech's board, other people familiar with the matter said.

The talks with the interested parties are continuing and other potential buyers could still emerge, the people added. They asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Life Technologies said in a statement it was continuing with its annual strategic review, but did not refer specifically to the sale process.

"As the Board continues its annual strategic review, Life Technologies remains focused on transforming relationships with life science customers, winning in genetic analysis from discovery to diagnostics and leveraging our world-class platform to drive growth," it said.

Thermo Fisher, KKR, Bain and TPG declined to comment, while Blackstone did not respond to a request for comment.

Analysts have said Thermo Fisher would benefit from the scale and synergies that a tie-up with Life Technologies would bring, with the exception of Life Tech's genetic sequencing business, which Thermo Fisher could choose to divest after a deal. Yet a lot depends on the price Thermo Fisher would be willing to offer.

Life Tech's shares are up 30 percent since the start of the year, spurred primarily by its announcement on January 18 that it had retained investment banks to advise it on its annual strategic review, fanning investor hopes for a sale.

The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $63.36, giving it a market value of close to $11 billion, after trading above $60 throughout February. At this level, Thermo Fisher is skeptical that it could make an offer that Life Tech's board would accept, one of the people said.

"We wonder if Thermo Fisher's shareholders would be willing to pay in the $75-per-share range that we expect Life Tech's shareholders might require from a strategic buyer in order to acquire a company with a lower organic growth profile," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note on February 5, following the publication of Life Tech's fourth-quarter earnings.

Life Tech now trades at 14.4 times its 12-month projected earnings versus a 13.4 times average for its peer group, and has an enterprise value 9.1 times forward earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), compared with 7.9 times for its peers on average, according to Thomson Reuters data.

SPENDING CUTS
On the private equity front, the proposed $24.4 billion leveraged buyout of PC maker Dell Inc has raised market expectations for other huge deals not seen since the financial crisis of 2008.

But several private equity executives have pointed out that the Dell deal is atypical because the company's huge cash pile and the rollover of its founder's stake in the deal allow for relatively low leverage.

"You have to pay 10.5 times EBITDA roughly to convince Life Tech shareholders to sell. You can borrow only up to seven times, which leaves 3.5 to four times to equity, which is a very sizeable equity check," said one of the dealmakers, on condition of anonymity.

Life Technologies, which makes genetic testing equipment and products used in biotechnology development, has said its 2013 outlook does not presume that automatic U.S. budget cuts, known as sequestration, will kick in - a move that would constrain spending by Life Tech's government and academic customers.
The Carlsbad, California-based company has forecast revenue growth of 3 to 5 percent over 2012 sales of $3.8 billion. If sequestration is implemented, it would reduce revenue by about 1 percent and the company would expect to be at the low end of its $4.30-to-$4.45-per-share earnings guidance range for 2013, Life has said.

Thermo Fisher has said that sequestration is likely to happen and that it has taken steps to prepare. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company declined to comment about a possible bid for Life Tech when asked about it repeatedly during the publication of its earnings.

The U.S. government's efforts to curb spending to fix its budget deficit have already resulted in a lull in government-sponsored medical research, hurting companies that make life-science tools. Thermo Fisher has responded by expanding in emerging markets such as China.

With Congress off this week, chances are diminishing that a political compromise will be reached by a March 1 deadline to avoid about $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts, which would kick in at the beginning of March and continue through September 30 as part of a decade-long $1.2 trillion U.S. budget savings plan.

Exclusive: Life Technologies sale process cools - sources

An $11 billion-plus sale of Life Technologies Corp is looking less likely as a gap in price expectations with the company has left potential buyer Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc skeptical about a deal while buyout firms' offers came up short, people familiar with the matter said this week.

Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment and scientific instruments, had held discussions with Life Technologies but is no longer actively pursuing a deal, as a big run-up in Life Tech's shares made the economics of a transaction less attractive, one of the people said.

Likewise, private equity firms, including Blackstone Group LP , KKR & Co LP , Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital LP, have made initial offers that value Life Technologies close to where its shares are now trading, after their recent rise. The offers would need to be increased significantly to win the approval of Life Tech's board, other people familiar with the matter said.

The talks with the interested parties are continuing and other potential buyers could still emerge, the people added. They asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

Life Technologies said in a statement it was continuing with its annual strategic review, but did not refer specifically to the sale process.

"As the Board continues its annual strategic review, Life Technologies remains focused on transforming relationships with life science customers, winning in genetic analysis from discovery to diagnostics and leveraging our world-class platform to drive growth," it said.

Thermo Fisher, KKR, Bain and TPG declined to comment, while Blackstone did not respond to a request for comment.

Analysts have said Thermo Fisher would benefit from the scale and synergies that a tie-up with Life Technologies would bring, with the exception of Life Tech's genetic sequencing business, which Thermo Fisher could choose to divest after a deal. Yet a lot depends on the price Thermo Fisher would be willing to offer.

Life Tech's shares are up 30 percent since the start of the year, spurred primarily by its announcement on January 18 that it had retained investment banks to advise it on its annual strategic review, fanning investor hopes for a sale.

The shares ended trading on Tuesday at $63.36, giving it a market value of close to $11 billion, after trading above $60 throughout February. At this level, Thermo Fisher is skeptical that it could make an offer that Life Tech's board would accept, one of the people said.

"We wonder if Thermo Fisher's shareholders would be willing to pay in the $75-per-share range that we expect Life Tech's shareholders might require from a strategic buyer in order to acquire a company with a lower organic growth profile," Credit Suisse analysts wrote in a note on February 5, following the publication of Life Tech's fourth-quarter earnings.

Life Tech now trades at 14.4 times its 12-month projected earnings versus a 13.4 times average for its peer group, and has an enterprise value 9.1 times forward earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), compared with 7.9 times for its peers on average, according to Thomson Reuters data.

SPENDING CUTS
On the private equity front, the proposed $24.4 billion leveraged buyout of PC maker Dell Inc has raised market expectations for other huge deals not seen since the financial crisis of 2008.

But several private equity executives have pointed out that the Dell deal is atypical because the company's huge cash pile and the rollover of its founder's stake in the deal allow for relatively low leverage.

"You have to pay 10.5 times EBITDA roughly to convince Life Tech shareholders to sell. You can borrow only up to seven times, which leaves 3.5 to four times to equity, which is a very sizeable equity check," said one of the dealmakers, on condition of anonymity.

Life Technologies, which makes genetic testing equipment and products used in biotechnology development, has said its 2013 outlook does not presume that automatic U.S. budget cuts, known as sequestration, will kick in - a move that would constrain spending by Life Tech's government and academic customers.
The Carlsbad, California-based company has forecast revenue growth of 3 to 5 percent over 2012 sales of $3.8 billion. If sequestration is implemented, it would reduce revenue by about 1 percent and the company would expect to be at the low end of its $4.30-to-$4.45-per-share earnings guidance range for 2013, Life has said.

Thermo Fisher has said that sequestration is likely to happen and that it has taken steps to prepare. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company declined to comment about a possible bid for Life Tech when asked about it repeatedly during the publication of its earnings.

The U.S. government's efforts to curb spending to fix its budget deficit have already resulted in a lull in government-sponsored medical research, hurting companies that make life-science tools. Thermo Fisher has responded by expanding in emerging markets such as China.

With Congress off this week, chances are diminishing that a political compromise will be reached by a March 1 deadline to avoid about $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts, which would kick in at the beginning of March and continue through September 30 as part of a decade-long $1.2 trillion U.S. budget savings plan.

Mindy McCready, Whose Life Was A Country Song, Has Died

A hot-rod blonde with a high-drama life, Mindy McCready, like Tammy Wynette, hit fans and the music industry hard in the mid-1990s with that wide-open sob in her voice. As she plied country music's classic long-suffering female trope defined by Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and " 'Til I Can Make It On My Own," McCready also made girl power manifestos. The 37-year-old singer allegedly took her own life on Sunday, at her home in Arkansas.

Her first single, "Ten Thousand Angels," and another from her 1996 debut album, "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now," told of the struggle to avoid bad love and take care of oneself in romance. But the songs in which she asserted equal rights when it comes to kicking up stilettos — including her No. 1 hit "Guys Do It All The Time" and "A Girl's Gotta Do (What A Girl's Gotta Do)," from her second album — were the ones that struck a nerve.

'Life of Pi' wins two Motion Picture Sound Editor Awards

"Life of Pi" won two awards Sunday evening at the 60th Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards.

The adventure fable which is nominated for 11 Academy Awards won for sound editing: music in a feature film and sound editing: dialogue and ADR in a feature film.

Academy Award-winning Ang Lee, who is nominated again for directing  "Life of Pi,"  was also the recipient of the 2013 MPSE Filmmaker Award.

Oscar-nominee "Les Miserables"won the Golden Reel for sound editing: music in a musical feature film and "Skyfall" earned the honor for sound editing: sound effects and Foley in a feature film.

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" won for sound editing: sound effects, Foley, dialogue and ADR in an animation feature film and "Last Call at the Oasis" picked up the Golden Reel for sound editing: sound effects, Foley, dialogue, ADR and music in a feature film.

France's "Rust & Bone" won the Golden Reel for sound editing: sound effects: Foley, dialogue and ADR in a feature foreign language film.

Among the television winners were "Game of Thrones Season 2," "The Newsroom," "American Horror Story" and "Hemingway & Gellhorn."

John Roesch was also the receipient of the 2013 MPSE Career Achievement Award at the ceremony at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites.

Sun Life Financial Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results

Sun Life Financial Inc.(3) (SLF.TO) (SLF) had operating net income of $453 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to an operating loss of $221 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. Our operating EPS was $0.76 in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to an operating loss per share of $0.38 in the fourth quarter of 2011. Reported net income was $395 million or $0.65 per share in the fourth quarter of 2012, compared to a reported loss of $525 million or a reported loss per share of $0.90 in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Our financial results in the fourth quarter reflect continued execution against our growth strategy, as well as positive impact from investment activity. Market factors had no material impact in the quarter, as the positive impact of improved equity markets was largely offset by declines in the fixed income reinvestment rates in our insurance contract liabilities, which were driven by the continued low interest rate environment, and unfavourable impact from credit spread and swap spread movements. Operating net income excluding the net impact of market factors(1) was $420 million. The following table sets out our operating net income measures for the fourth quarter of 2012.

‘Life is But a Dream’: Beyonce’s world, seen through a mish-mash

Life Is but a Dream,” Beyonce Knowles’s HBO documentary about herself, is billed as a revealing look inside the superstar’s world circa 2011-12, as she shifts business gears, reinjects her music with an updated R&B feel and, as you surely know, gives birth to a daughter. The project is mostly just a fleeting glimpse, which is ultimately a disappointment, given the world’s desperate and ongoing interest in all things Beyonce.

Early in the film, Beyonce relays that special feeling of celebrity futility when it comes to guarding her private life. Like the ultra-famous who came before her, she wishes there were not a market for the news and photographs of things she’d rather not share.

But I don’t know how anyone could make sense of “Life Is but a Dream” without having followed Beyonce’s ­every move and every high note as reported by the multimedia infotainment sphere. You must come to this program knowing the basic trajectory of her career thus far; you must already know that she relieved her father of his managerial duties; you must know she has a husband who, it seems, is also a famous performer. You must know all about the envelope-pushing album we see her recording in the studio. It would help greatly if you could discern the importance of a tirelessly rehearsed awards-show performance (that, if you’re a fan, you will have already seen when it aired) and be able to tell how it is different from all the Beyonce performances that came before it.

Beyonce is a talker, but she’s not much of an explainer; she never tells us where we’re going or who people are, or what everyone is doing at a particular moment. She never even tells us the name of her baby, when, near the end of the film, she lets the camera linger briefly as she cuddles and nuzzles it.

“Life Is but a Dream” has no through-line, no linear narrative. It’s more like a hallucinatory advertisement for success, and to her credit Beyonce put the word “dream” in the title. The theme is celebrity ennui alternating with spiritual and emotional fulfillment. Which isn’t much of a theme. The film obeys the only structure available to anyone who has plenty of footage, but no story — collage.

Thus, home videos from the 1990s of her Houston girlhood are swirled into the singer’s endless, present-day trips through back hallways, into and out of elevators, then into tinted-window SUVs, then aboard helicopters and private jets that deliver her to yet another series of hallways and rehearsal spaces and dressing rooms, all of this leading to her most comfortable space, which is the high-wattage concert stage.

We are given the impression that many of Beyonce’s best and most honest conversations happen with her computer, where she keeps a video journal of her emotions. “I want to be able to sing about how much I hate myself if that’s how I feel,” she tells her laptop in a moment of artistic declaration. “I’m feeling very empty because of my relationship with my dad,” she says, in another whisper. “I feel like my soul has been tarnished.” About managing her career on her own, she says: “I don’t care if I don’t sell one record. [This decision] is bigger than my career.”

I don’t believe that for a second, but this brand of confessional plays strong and sounds assertive, and that’s something Beyonce sells by the truckload.

The other thing she sells — her sensational stage performances — is vividly captured throughout “Life Is but a Dream,” which is filled with hot concert footage. I would have liked to learn more about the special screen effects that her technicians designed for her live act (which were put to stunning use at her recent Super Bowl halftime show), but this is a movie that doesn’t tell you much of anything you’d really want to know.

Stock market: Is the little guy right this time?

Four years after the Great Crash, small investors are suddenly buying stocks again. Is that reason to cheer, or worry?

Mom-and-pop investors spent nearly all of the past four years pulling money out of U.S. stock mutual funds and buying bonds. During the first week in January, they started buying stocks again, according to figures from the Investment Company Institute.

It’s as if Congress, by avoiding the fiscal cliff, sent a “buy” signal across the land.

In some ways, it’s about time. The market has doubled since early 2009, and the little guy missed most of that. But small investors are notorious for rushing in at the wrong moment.

Could they be making that mistake again? Probably not. Or at least not yet.

Stocks were up 5.2 percent, dividends included, in January on top of a 15.9 percent return last year. “We continue to see persistent signs that the S&P 500 has further to climb this year,” write Stuart Freeman and Scott Wren, equity strategists at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

They think the S&P 500 will finish the year at between 1,525 and 1,575. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is forecasting 1,600. The big-stock index closed Friday at 1,513.

Earnings are growing, and stocks still look a little cheap. The broad market is trading at 13.7 times this year’s expected earnings. The historical average is 15, notes Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in Des Peres. “Valuation is only half the story,” she notes. “We will continue to see earnings growth.”

Despite a stall in the fourth quarter, Warne and most economists see the economy growing about 2 percent this year. That should be enough raise earnings by a “mid-single digit” percentage, Warne says.

Reasonable values and growing earnings bode well for stocks, but there are bumps ahead. This month’s 2 percent increase in the payroll tax is taking a toll on consumer confidence, and Congress may whack government spending in March, which could knock defense stocks for a loop.

After a big rally, a short-term retreat wouldn’t be unusual. Still, trading volumes haven’t been huge, and there’s no sign of the stock-buying mania that can portend a real crash. Though small investors are buying again, they’re not stampeding. In the first three weeks of January, they added $16 billion to American stock mutual funds. In December, they pulled out $26 billion.

The little guys also enjoyed short periods of optimism in early 2011 and 2009, only to sink back into an anti-stock funk.

It could be different this time.

Analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch think we’re seeing a “great rotation” of investors out of bonds and into stocks. Small investors spent the past four years piling into bonds, and they enjoyed nice profits as interest rates sank. Now, analysts warn that the bond gravy train may be headed for derailment.

The Federal Reserve has the bond market on life support, pumping $85 billion a month into mortgage and Treasury bonds to hold rates down. Dread the day when Chairman Ben Bernanke pulls the plug.

The Fed says it will keep the patient breathing until the unemployment rate approaches 6.5 percent. That’s probably at least a year away, although some Fed officials have suggested easing up on the bond buying later this year. The bottom line: Bond investors may be safe for several more months, but those who hang on too long risk unpleasantness. A 10-year bond would lose about 7.4 percent of its value if interest rates rose by 1 percentage point. A five-year bond would lose 4.3 percent.

Meanwhile, there’s less fear in the stock market. The fiscal cliff is behind us. There’s less worry about a financial meltdown in Europe, although the continent is still in recession. Merrill Lynch sees stocks worldwide returning about 10 percent this year, while investment-grade bonds return a mere 1.6 percent.

Some small investors have their own market gauges. Joe Jennings of Dardenne Prairie talks to many senior business executives in his job with a litigation support company. “How’s business?” he’ll ask them.

“I’m not hiring,” they’ll often say. “I can’t raise prices and I can’t pass on my costs.”

Jennings believes in the stock market. He bought heavily after the 2008 crash. But with stocks once again near their all-time highs, the pessimism he hears in his clients makes him wary. He doesn’t like the news that small investors are buying stocks again.

Dallas art teacher moonlights making bath bombs, sees explosion in demand

Alexis Clare spends half her day in a room full of 5-year-olds who wield paintbrushes and talk about everything on their young minds while they make art. Clare, 28, teaches art at J’s Art Studio in Dallas.
The other half of her day is spent making bombs.

Simmer down. The bombs that Clare makes are designed for a benign bathtub drop. She makes luxurious bath bombs under the label Whipped Up Wonderful.

Some tub lovers know exactly what I’m talking about, but for those who have never bombed their bath, Clare explains:

“It’s a mixture of bath salts and fragrances with a little bit of coloring. It’s going to fizz and release the fragrances into the air. And they are also infused with moisturizing oils that make your skin feel wonderful.”

The bathroom can carry that fragrance for hours, I might add.

Clare’s bombs come in fabulous fragrances like brown sugar and fig and a scent she named Mystical.
“It’s a juicy fragrance with so many fun notes,” she says.

She also makes Hot Pink Pomegranate, Neroli Chamomile and one called Perfect Paradise — “a coconut scent, with vanilla ice cream and warm, buttery tones.”

That one sounds like pie in the tub, but I’ll take it.

To imagine Clare at work, picture that scene of Lucille Ball working in the chocolate factory. Now imagine Clare, who also has a very retro 1950s style, processing an assembly line of bath bombs. Only Clare executes her line’s assembly with absolute perfection.

Clare, a fan of ’50s and ’60s beach movies, embraces “the whole vintage style, you know, with the red lipstick, the fabulous apron and pearl necklace — while still being a good businesswoman with a modern and progressive twist.”

While working toward a fine arts degree at the University of North Texas, Clare applied for a job at J’s.
“I got my portfolio together and met with the owners at J’s. The energy went really well. Sometimes you just walk into a place and you feel a good energy,” she says.

She teaches all ages, but her strength is in working with “the little kids.”
When she was growing up in Farmers Branch, her parents encouraged her love of art.

“When we were little, from the time my brother and I could walk, my parents were taking us to the museums,” she says.

Her mother was a waitress and her father worked for Southwestern Bell (later AT&T). Clare remembers her family going through hard economic times.

“My brother and I were definitely latchkey kids, but our parents put us through school working all of those crazy hours,” she says.

“My parents always did a good job in telling us if we worried about anything, ‘That’s not a kid problem,’” she says.

They let the kids paint a certain wall in the house however they wanted. It was an ever-changing mural.
Clare remembers diving into art as far back as eighth grade. “I fell into watercolor, and I just love it,” she says, “I also knew that I wanted to teach in some capacity.”

After college, she became aware of the unnecessary ingredients in many cosmetics, shampoos and soaps these days. She started reading up on how to make her own products using “really pure and simple ingredients.”
She found that she loved making the bath bombs and could really express her creativity in a specialty line.
“I like making them look beautiful. I like adding sprinkles and powders, cosmetic glitter,” she says.
She started selling her goods online and quickly began shipping all over the country.

She keeps small quantities of ingredients on hand so that all of her products are fresh, and she caters to customers with skin allergies. She makes a special bomb for her boss at J’s, who is allergic to certain ingredients.

This past week, she made about 400 bath bombs for a wholesale order that will ship to Maryland.
“It gets pretty crazy,” she says. “I’ve converted the dining nook into a work space. Whipped Up Wonderful has half of my apartment, and I live in the other half.”

People order the bombs to find a way to relax and also for wedding and party favors.
She also makes Tub Truffles, using fine-quality cocoa butter.

“Once it hits the water, it will break apart and melt the cocoa butter in the water,” she says. “There’s a fragrance and a little tint to the bath water. The Tub Truffles are perfect for a winter bath because they are so moisturizing.”

Clare gets a lot of rewards from teaching children about art. She also enjoys knowing that her bombs help others to chill out a little more often.

“To me, stress is the root of all of our illnesses, and so many people are working so hard. I just want people to remember: Hey, take it easy! You’re all there is. Take care of yourself. Take a bath, calm down and just forget about things for a while.”

Allianz Life Named a 2013 Top Workplace

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life) today announced that it has been named one of America’s Top Workplaces based on employee feedback about career development opportunities offered to Allianz Life employees by the company. Allianz Life was ranked #53 nationwide among 872 companies making it part of the inaugural “National Top 150” list. The list was organized by WorkplaceDynamics, an employee survey company, and compared companies’ survey results from companies with more than 1,000 employees that participated in regional top workplaces programs throughout the country.

“We are honored by this recognition and thank our employees for making Allianz Life one of the top places to work in not only the Twin Cities, but also the entire United States,” said Allianz Life President and CEO Walter White. “As we strive to help Americans achieve their financial and retirement goals, it’s gratifying to know that we’re also helping our employees fulfill their professional aspirations.”

The National Top Workplaces list recognizes the most progressive companies based on employee opinions about company leadership, communication, career opportunities, workplace environment, managerial skills, pay and benefits. The winning companies were determined solely by feedback gathered through a confidential employee survey. The survey was conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, the leading on-demand employee survey provider, in conjunction with 30 leading regional newspapers. Allianz Life participated in the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Top Workplaces 2012 program.

The survey uses a proprietary set of 22 questions to rank companies. The survey data showed that employees most want to work at companies with high levels of organizational health. Companies that set a clear direction for their future; execute well; and bring real meaning to work are the healthiest.

In addition to joining the WorkplaceDynamics “National Top 150” list, Allianz Life was recently named to FORTUNE Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the second straight year, making it the only Twin Cities-based company on the 2013 list. Details about the National Top Workplaces, a full list of the Top 150 companies, the survey methodology, and factors that drive organizational health are available at www.topworkplaces.com.

Exclusive: Thermo Fisher weighs Life Tech takeover-sources

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc is considering making an offer for Life Technologies Corp , the biomedical laboratory equipment maker that is exploring a potential sale, three people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Thermo Fisher, the world's largest maker of laboratory equipment and scientific instruments, is one of the parties that have held discussions with Life Technologies about a potential deal, said the sources, who asked to be anonymous because the talks are confidential.

Private equity firms KKR & Co LP , Blackstone Group LP , Bain Capital LLC and TPG Capital LP are also interested in buying Carlsbad, California-based Life Technologies, which has a $10.7 billion market capitalization, the sources said.

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher has a market value of around $25 billion.

Talks with the potential buyers are at an early stage and may not lead to a transaction, the sources said.
Thermo Fisher and Life Technologies officials declined to comment. Representatives of the private equity firms declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.

If completed, the purchase by Thermo Fisher of Life Technologies would mark its biggest acquisition since 2006, when the company was created through the $12.8 billion merger of Thermo Electron Corp with Fisher Scientific International Inc.

The U.S. government's efforts to curb spending to fix its budget deficit has resulted in a lull in government-sponsored medical research, hurting companies that make life-science tools. Thermo Fisher's response so far has been to expand in emerging markets such as China.

Life Technologies, which makes genetic testing equipment and products used in biotechnology development, said on January 18 that its board has hired Deutsche Bank Securities and Moelis & Company to assist in its "annual strategic review". Deutsche Bank and Moelis declined to comment.

Given the sheer size of a potential leveraged buyout, private equity bidders are expected to team up as the sale process advances, Reuters reported previously.

"Fitch thinks that there is a lack of an obvious business strategy behind a leveraged buyout transaction, such as cost cutting opportunities," analysts from the credit rating agency wrote in a note on Tuesday.
"An acquisition by a strategic interest could be more likely given opportunities for cost synergies, coupled with the attractive growth potential of the company's next-generation DNA sequencing assets," Fitch added.

Thermo Fisher serves more than 350,000 customers in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies.

Analysts have previously suggested that Thermo Fischer may have the financial firepower to buy Life Technologies, provided it sees the rationale for an acquisition of the entire company.

"We believe Thermo may be interested in the recurring revenue and synergy potential of the research consumables business (of Life Technologies) as well as solid growth of the applied sciences business," UBS analysts wrote in a note this week.

"(Thermo) management has historically not been interested in playing in the next-generation DNA sequencing market, making the ion torrent business less attractive," they added.

Life Time Introduces Three Unique All New Programs from Life Time Weight Loss

Ask any Life Time personal trainer or weight loss coach, and they’ll tell you that total health requires attention to activity and nutrition, never one or the other. Lasting health and fitness requires a holistic approach, and it can be hard to know where to start. That’s why Life Time – The Healthy Way of Life Company (NYSE:LTM) is introducing three all new programs from Life Time Weight Loss— utopaSM, palaraSM and signiaSM.

Understanding your metabolism is key to sustainable weight loss so each Life Time Weight Loss program begins with determining an individual’s unique metabolic profile, and tailoring each program for real, lasting weight loss. Participants will work with Life Time’s fitness and nutrition professionals to address habits, environment, diet and activity to provide all the tools needed to achieve total health. Life Time Weight Loss offers three programs to choose from to support differing fitness and nutrition levels and goals including:

utopa: utopa offers the ultimate one-on-one, personalized approach and is perfect for those who want the highest level of attention and accountability. The utopa program includes personal training and weight loss coaching sessions, a heart rate monitor and activity monitor, nutritional supplements, Longevity and Vitality lab testing and continued support throughout the program. Participants also have access to support groups for a social atmosphere when it’s needed.

palara: palara provides weight loss support in a group setting. Participants get face time with a fitness professional without private session rates through group training and nutrition classes. palara’s support groups and weigh-ins hold members accountable to personalized fitness and nutrition plans, and the program includes a heart rate monitor, unlimited phone access to a team of expert health advisors and continued support throughout the program through materials including Eat Well. Live Well, a Healthy Way of Life Nutrition Manual.

signia: For individuals who benefit most from a group approach, but also need flexibility and variety to design their own experience, signia offers world-class facilities, expert guidance and weekly support groups. The signia program includes an initial meeting with a weight loss coach to develop a personalized fitness and nutrition plan, weekly weigh-ins, and flexibility and variety in fitness options.

“Life Time has always provided the best programs, the best places and the best people to help our members achieve success in their fitness, nutrition and total health goals so it seems only natural that we would expand our program offerings to provide additional support specific to weight loss that can be tailored and unique to each individual,” says Tom Nikkola, Sr. Director of Nutrition and Weight Management at Life Time. “Our members tell us over and over again that they’ve tried everything to lose weight but nothing has worked. We understand their frustration. utopa, palara and signia will truly lend a helping hand to those struggling by focusing on support from the inside out, providing personalized plans and, most importantly, making weight loss fun.”

Life without parole: Right for some, wrong for others

It has been nearly two years since 24-year-old Jared Lee Loughner opened fire upon a crowded plaza in Tucson, killing six and wounding several others, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Yet, after all the legal maneuvering, Loughner received sentence that guarantees he will never again walk free.

Mass murderers like Loughner or Winchester's Thomas Mortimer deserve nothing less than life imprisonment given the enormity of their crimes. While absolutely fair and appropriate for such atrocities, there are many other offenders, particularly here in Massachusetts, who receive the very same fate but who arguably deserve something less extreme.

In Massachusetts all defendants convicted of first degree murder are sent away to prison for life without the possibility of parole, regardless of any mitigating circumstances surrounding the offense or the offender. By contrast, two dozen states having life without parole on the books include it among a group of alternative sentences depending on the circumstances of the offense and the offender.

As one of the states that prohibits parole for first degree murderers, Massachusetts ranks high on the list in terms of the percentage of its incarcerated population having no hope of ever walking free (except for the very remote possibility of executive clemency). As of 2008 (see table below), according to statistics compiled by the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C., 8.7% of the Massachusetts state prison population was under a life without parole sentence, a level that ranked third (behind Louisiana and Pennsylvania) and was four times the national average.

Of course, many states employ a more extreme sanction -- the death penalty -- among the possible sentences for first degree murder. Might the inordinately high proportion of whole-lifers in Massachusetts be a statistical artifact of our refusal to put these offenders to death?

Apparently, our extreme usage of life without parole cannot so easily be dismissed. Even when adding to the mix all those murderers given a death sentence (either executed or on death row), Massachusetts still stands at the high-end in sentencing murderers to die in prison either by natural causes or by action of the state executioner.

If the most severe punishment is to be reserved for the "worst of the worst," then life without parole makes sense for serial killers, mass murderers, certain repeat violent offenders, and those who rape or torture victims before murdering them. However, in Massachusetts life without parole eligibility is mandatory for cases of felony murder, even though homicide may not have been part of the plan. It is also mandatory for those convicted in joint ventures, even if they were not the one to pull the trigger or plunge the knife.

Many other states allow for parole eligibility as a sentencing option for murder, if the circumstances warrant it. Included among the states that allow penalty short of life without parole are Mississippi and Texas, but not Massachusetts.

So maybe it is time for Massachusetts to infuse some flexibility into sentences for first degree murder by permitting parole consideration after, say after 30 years, in those cases where mitigation outweighs aggravation. Such factors as being a first offender, suffering from psychological conditions that fall outside of the narrow definition of legal insanity, being the follower in a group-perpetrated homicide or voluntarily surrendering and confessing to the crime should matter.

Giving judges or juries options besides life without parole has several advantages, and not just for the offender. Parole eligibility would encourage participation in drug rehab and other treatment programs currently eschewed by those who have no prospect of ever walking free. Parole, as a strong incentive for pro-social behavior, helps to maintain institutional order. Also, why keep locked up large numbers of aging prisoners (with their expensive health needs) whose criminality is well in the past and thereby limiting available for younger, more active offenders? Prison space is an expensive commodity; we should utilize it more wisely and sparingly.

Importantly, whatever the justification for granting parole eligibility may be in a particular case, that is not the same as parole release. Parole is never a guarantee; inmates should be released only if they earn it.

Of course, as victim advocates say, there's no parole for those who were murdered. And some say that paroling murderers adds insult to injury. However, many other Western nations do not employ life without parole (or the death penalty). Apparently, many reasonable people do not believe that murderers must necessarily forfeit their life or their freedom.

Here in the U.S., we often dismiss long prison sentences as "mere slaps on the wrist" or "county club vacations" when neither characterization even comes close to the truth. Ask anyone who has spent decades deprived of their freedom.

So it is about time to reintroduce rationality into the sentencing process, even for murder. Not all murders are the same in severity, and not all murderers are the same in dangerousness. So while life without the possibility of parole is justifiable for some first-degree murderers, like Loughner, it is certainly not appropriate for all.

Pacific Life Foundation Grants $5.6 Million to U.S. Nonprofit Organizations

The Pacific Life Foundation announced today that it will provide $5.6 million in grants throughout 2013. Pacific Life has long recognized the importance of helping communities where its employees live and work, predominantly in the greater Orange County, California area and Omaha, Nebraska. Since 1984, the Foundation has provided thousands of grants to nonprofit agencies that focus on supporting the areas of arts and culture; civic, community, and environment; education; and health and human services.

The Pacific Life Foundation’s initial grants of 2013 were distributed during an early Thursday evening reception held at Pacific Life’s headquarters in Newport Beach, California. More than 150 nonprofit agencies serving Southern California gathered to receive over $1.5 million in grants.

A highlight of the evening was a special presentation of the Walter B. Gerken Community Service Award, along with a $25,000 grant to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. To date, $280,000 in Pacific Life Foundation funding has been given to support Second Harvest’s efforts to collect and distribute food to the hungry.

Life Time’s myHealthCheck Expands Comprehensive Wellness Programs to Five Twin Cities Businesses

The Healthy Way of Life Company (NYSE: LTM) today announced five new Twin Cities businesses who will take part in the myHealthCheck sm program, a program aimed to reduce health care costs for employees, employers and insurers. Leonard Street and Deinard, Millerbernd, Process Displays, Inc., City of St. Louis Park, and J&B Group have joined Allina Hospitals & Clinics to take part in myHealthCheck , which includes a comprehensive health assessment that identifies risk factors, promotes ongoing guidance with wellness coaches and a 12-month reassessment to measure progress against the plan.

“We are excited to launch these new partnerships and the myHealthCheck program in such a diverse group of industries,” says Holt Vaughn, Senior Director of the HealthCheck Division at Life Time. “Our goal is to help these companies and their employees realize measurable change and progress in creating a healthier, more productive workforce as opposed to relying on employee participation as the sole measure of success.”
myHealthCheck empowers employees to take personal responsibility for their health and empowers employers to author a results-based health benefits strategy that encourages personal responsibility and rewards employees for positive change. Coupled with Life Time’s more than 2,600 fitness professionals, more than 60 registered dietitians, online fitness and cooking videos, myPlan™ workout and nutrition trackers myHealthCheck makes it easy.

Unlike traditional self-reported risk assessments, myHealthCheck assesses employees’ health and wellness, fitness level and lifestyle, through blood work, metabolic testing and wellness coaching, while providing each individual with a personalized health profile to set personalized goals and measure progress. Users can track their exercise, nutrition, weight loss and more through their personal myHealthCheck online dashboard. Additionally, each myHealthCheck participant can participate in wellness coaching sessions and receives ongoing guidance from Life Time health and nutrition professionals. At 12 months, a new wellness assessment is completed to gauge the employee’s progress.

“Millerbernd Systems elected to join the myHealthCheck program in an effort to create a healthy environment for our employees and to encourage them to pay attention to nutrition and exercise,” says Farid Currimbhoy, senior vice president, Millerbernd Systems. “We are anxious to help improve our employee’s wellbeing in the years to come through the various programs within this Life Time plan.”

In 2011, Life Time introduced myHealthCheck at Allina Hospitals & Clinics, a not-for-profit family of hospitals, clinics and other care services throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. myHealthCheck is optional for Allina’s 12,000 employees but between 70 and 75 percent of those eligible, including their spouses, participated in the program and a majority received full credit toward their health care premiums.
Life Time’s myHealthCheck program is led by trained technicians and wellness coach professionals who assist each employee with their wellness profile in a mobile LifeLab at their corporate work place or at Life Time centers. Employees are provided with an online dashboard to track their nutrition and exercise. The myHealthCheck team remains available to each employee to provide ongoing support by answering questions and providing online coaching.