Presidential Life Corporation and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company Complete Merger

Presidential Life Corporation (“Presidential Life”) (PLFE), a Delaware corporation headquartered in Nyack, NY, which markets and sells a variety of fixed annuity, life insurance and accident and health insurance products through its wholly owned subsidiary, Presidential Life Insurance Company, a New York-domiciled life insurance company that has approximately $3.5 billion of admitted assets as of September 30, 2012, and Athene Holding Ltd. (“Athene Holding,” and together with its subsidiaries, “Athene”), a Bermuda-based holding company, today announced the completion of the acquisition of Presidential Life by Athene Holding’s wholly owned subsidiary, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company (“Athene Annuity”), a Delaware-domiciled insurer focused on retail fixed and index annuity sales and reinsurance. The transaction is valued at approximately $414 million.

“The acquisition of Presidential Life gives Athene a presence in all 50 states and creates significant opportunities for growth in our retail sales and reinsurance operations,” said James R. Belardi, CEO of Athene Holding and Athene Annuity. “We continue to build a market-leading retirement savings company through a combination of organic growth, reinsurance and strategic acquisitions.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Presidential Life stockholders will receive $14 in cash for each share of Presidential Life common stock held. Letters of transmittal allowing Presidential Life stockholders of record to deliver their shares to the paying agent in exchange for payment of the merger consideration will be distributed promptly. Stockholders who hold shares through a bank or broker should contact their bank or broker to determine what, if any, steps they need to take in order to receive the cash merger consideration for the shares they beneficially own.

With the closing of the transaction, Presidential Life’s common shares will cease to trade on NASDAQ and will be delisted.

Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. acted as the financial advisor to Presidential Life and provided a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Presidential Life in connection with the transaction. Proskauer Rose LLP acted as counsel to Presidential Life. Sidley Austin LLP acted as counsel to Athene.

Five Keys to Choosing Permanent Life Insurance

Purchasing life insurance requires a three-step process. First, establish your goals for the insurance. Are you trying to replace your income for your dependents for a limited time or do you want to establish lifelong protection? Second, estimate how much insurance you need and how much you can afford to pay for it. Third, compare term life insurance and permanent life insurance products.

To help you figure out the best option for your particular situation, we outline five key factors to consider when assessing permanent life insurance.

1. There are different types of permanent life insurance.

"Broadly speaking, there are three types of permanent life insurance, although there are some variations within each type," says Kevin Finneran, vice president for Life Product Management for MetLife in Bloomfield, Conn. "There are levels of risk and reward with all three types. Whole life insurance offers a fixed premium and both guaranteed cash benefit and a guaranteed death benefit, says Finneran.

"You'll have different payment options so you can stretch out your payments until you're 100, pay over 10 or 20 years or make one big payment," he says. "The shorter the pay period, the higher your premium will be."

The two other main types of permanent life insurance are universal life insurance and variable universal life insurance. "(See: "Three types of whole life insurance.")

"Universal life insurance offers a flexible premium plan that works in a way akin to a combined term life insurance plan and a bank account," says Finneran. "You pay as much money into it as you want and the leftover funds after your premium is paid will earn a variable interest rate, subject to a guaranteed minimum interest rate."

Finneran says variable universal life insurance works in a similar fashion except that you can choose between mutual fund-type options in which to invest your cash value. Your returns are tied to how well your investments perform.

2. You will be required to take a medical exam.
"A medical exam is required more often with permanent life insurance policies because of the longer term of your policy," says Finneran. "Even if you have had an illness or have a medical condition, permanent life insurance is an option. There are different risk classes and your premiums are likely to be higher if you have a medical problem, but you won't necessarily be turned down. (See: "How to ace your life insurance medical exam.")

3. Permanent life insurance is an investment vehicle.
Most people purchase life insurance primarily for income replacement in the event of their death, but permanent life insurance also functions as part of an investment strategy.

"Permanent life insurance has the added advantage of tax-favored cash growth," says Finneran.
You won't pay state or federal taxes on your cash value until you make a withdrawal.

The "forced savings" of paying into a permanent insurance policy can help you build a financial safety net. You can withdraw the cash to pay for tuition, medical expenses or anything else. (See: "Pros and cons of using life insurance for financial help.")

"Some whole life insurance policies pay dividends that can increase your cash value and death benefit above the guaranteed minimum interest rate," says Finneran.ability.

While you should always make sure you are buying life insurance from a reliable provider, doing your due diligence becomes even more important when you choose a permanent life insurance company.

First, you are depending on the life insurance company to be in business when you pass away so your death benefits will be available to your heirs.

"If you choose a whole life insurance policy you need to check out your insurance company's credit rating to make sure you're taking out a policy with a reputable company," says Finneran. "If you choose universal life insurance or variable universal life, you should also check out the underlying performance of the investments available from the company."

5. You will pay extra fees for permanent life insurance.
The main reason people choose term life insurance over permanent life insurance is because term life insurance is less expensive. Permanent life insurance premiums, like term life insurance premiums, are based on the health, age and sex of the insured person as well as the amount of insurance purchased, says Finneran. (See: "Converting term life insurance to whole life insurance.")

Permanent life insurance also requires sales charges that are deducted from your premium, administrative fees, a mortality risk charge and fund management fees. You may be charged a surrender fee if you cash in your policy during a certain initial period of time, such as 10 or 20 years.

Before you choose a permanent life insurance policy, be sure you carefully compare all your options in the context of your financial plan.

Life in Action: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas

If you’re looking to kick off the new year with a tradition of giving back, Big Brothers Big Sisters could be for you.

The organization gives volunteers a chance to meet and mentor kids who could use a good friend role model in their lives.

Alida Tallman with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas said about 1,500 volunteers each year spend a few days a month hanging out with kids signed up for the program. They do anything from going to the lake, a baseball game to baking cookies.

A commitment of about one year is asked of the Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers.

Sop for Reliance Life agents

Anil Ambani's Reliance Life Insurance Company has introduced a new agency format under which agents will be paid a stipend during training against the current practice of earning commission from the very beginning, a move that is expected to lessen the pressure to perform of the trainees and help them to learn better.
Called the career agency distribution format, this model is followed by Reliance Life's Japanese joint venture partner Nippon Life Insurance. Reliance Life said this format was the first of its kind in India.

Under the distribution model, sales trainees will receive a fixed stipend during their six-months training period. On the completion of training, the career agent will receive a licence and move to the variable commission-based payout structure.

Reliance Life plans to hire 5,500 career agents across 220 branches by this fiscal. The Anil Ambani-led insurance entity has already recruited around 2,500 agents in over 150 branches across the country. It will hire about 3,000 agents in the next three months.

The company had a distribution network of 1,230 offices and over 1,50,000 advisers as on March 31, 2012.

"The main aim of the career agency distribution format is to support new recruits during the learning phase so that they can concentrate on training and learning the ropes rather than being under the pressure of generating business to earn commission from the very first instance," Malay Ghosh, president and executive director, Reliance Life Insurance, said here today.

Reliance Life plans to focus on smaller cities to recruit the prospective agents.

"The basic objective of this distribution model is to increase the number of the sales people in the field working for the company full time," Ghosh said.

This is the third distribution model introduced by Reliance Life this year. Earlier, the company launched the Life Plaza and Face-to-Face models.

The career agency distribution format is a highly successful sales adviser model of Reliance strategic partner Nippon Life. The company has also incorporated some of Nippon's other practices such as meeting of company representatives and policyholders at least once a year to maintain a long-term relationship.

A sports and fashion kind of guy

Jose, 15, is passionate about sports and fashion and hopes to combine them in a career when he grows up. Eager to be successful, he envisions designing his own line of sneakers. He doesn't have a name yet for his line, but he does plan to use his favorite colors, blue and green.

Jose keeps busy with a variety of activities. He loves playing the guitar and watching and participating in sports. Polite and well-mannered, he has many friends and enjoys spending time with them. A ninth grader, Jose is a good student, and especially enjoys math and gym.

Jose wants very much to be adopted. As with his potential career, he has definite ideas about his ideal "forever" family. It would be a loving, active, traditional family with a mom and a dad. "They will be there for me and take care of me," he says. "They will do the right things so I can be what I want to be when I grow up."

Jose is close to his siblings and it is important that they remain in contact. He is eligible for financial subsidy.

Great-West Life close to buying state-rescued insurer Irish Life: source

Canada Life, a unit of Canadian life insurer Great-West Lifeco , is close to a deal for state-rescued insurer Irish Life, a source familiar with the negotiations said on Sunday.

"It's at an advanced stage," the source said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the talks.

A spokesman for Irish Life declined to comment.

Irish Life, formerly the life insurance arm of bailed out Irish Life & Permanent, was taken over by the state after a planned sale of the unit was suspended last year. A source at that time told Reuters that Canada Life was the lead candidate to buy the group.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that a deal would be agreed in the first quarter of next year.

Executives at Irish Life said in September that the company would need a period of sustained calm in the euro zone before the sale process would resume.

Ireland's government, which had already poured 2.7 billion euros ($3.6 billion) into IL&P to recapitalize its banking division, forked out 1.3 billion euros for Irish Life after a real estate and credit bubble burst, undermining the country's banking system and eventually forcing the government to seek a bailout.

New York Life Employees and Agents Raise $5 Million in Eight Weeks for Deserving Nonprofits, with Support from the Company

New York Life announced today that employees and agents joined the company to raise more than $5 million for those in need over a period of about eight weeks, from October 15 to December 15 of this year.
New York Life’s Chairman and CEO Ted Mathas said, “The New York Life family came together through the company’s ‘Give for Good’ giving campaign and disaster relief effort to give more than $5 million over the last eight weeks alone, reinforcing the fact that our core value of humanity is more than just a word written on paper.”

Annual Giving Campaign
More than 4,000 employees and agents raised $3.3 million through the company’s “Give for Good” giving campaign, which took place from October 15 through November 21. The annual campaign afforded employees and agents across the country the opportunity to donate to charities of their choice and raise funds through an online auction and various activities, including bake sales, basketball tournaments and trivia contests. The total amount raised exceeded what was raised in the 2011 campaign by 22 percent.

Hurricane Sandy Relief
In addition, employees, agents and retirees contributed almost a quarter of a million dollars for disaster relief to Hurricane Sandy victims to the American Red Cross, Feeding America (a network of food pantry organizations), and other nonprofit agencies focused on recovery efforts in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The company committed $1 million to these nonprofits and matched the approximately $250,000 raised by employees, bringing the Hurricane Sandy relief total to $1.5 million.

NYLIC Family Assistance Fund
In light of the fact that the storm had significant impact on more than 100 of New York Life’s own employees, the company established the NYLIC Family Disaster Assistance Fund with a donation of $200,000. This was supplemented by donations from employees and agents and a contribution of $12,000 from the employees of Seguros Monterrey, New York Life’s affiliate in Mexico. In total, nearly $280,000 has been collected to date. Also, employees and agents volunteered through the company and on their own to help people recovering from Hurricane Sandy by donating supplies, clothing and participating in blood drives.
These efforts continue through the holiday season. During New York Life’s annual “Season of Giving” campaign, teams of employees from across the country help needy families by running coat, toy and gift card drives. In the tri-state area, New York Life’s adopt-a-family program is assisting 16 families from Staten Island and the Rockaways, many of which lost their homes during Hurricane Sandy.

New York Life Insurance Company, a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largest mutual life insurance company in the United States* and one of the largest life insurers in the world. New York Life has the highest possible financial strength ratings currently awarded to any life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aaa), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).** Headquartered in New York City, New York Life's family of companies offers life insurance, retirement income, investments and long-term care insurance. New York Life Investments*** provides institutional asset management and retirement plan services. Other New York Life affiliates provide an array of securities products and services, as well as retail mutual funds. Please visit New York Life’s Web site at www.newyorklife.com for more information.

HSBC Sells Bao Viet Stake in Vietnam to Sumitomo Life

Sumitomo Life Insurance will buy HSBC Holdings Plc’s (HSBA) 18 percent stake in Vietnam’s biggest insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) for 7.1 trillion dong ($340 million) in cash.

The sale is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2013, according to an e-mailed press release from HSBC today, ending the pair’s five-year partnership.

Sumitomo Life’s acquisition comes amid mounting interest from Japanese firms in Vietnam’s financial sector, as economic contraction and deflation limits earnings growth at home. A stake in Bao Viet, the country’s seventh-largest listed company by market capitalization, may provide long-term growth potential from a nascent insurance market and a widening middle-class.

“They are the leader in the insurance business and that’s a fast growing industry in Vietnam,” said Vu Thanh Tu, research manager at Viet Capital Securities Co. “A lot of people still don’t have life insurance and it’s a huge market.”

Bao Viet shares closed about 5 percent higher at 33,900 dong ahead of the announcement. The stock has fallen 17 percent this year, lagging a 14 percent advance in the country’s benchmark VN Index. HSBC shares fell 0.1 percent to 652.20 pence as of 6:01 pm in Hanoi.

“Life insurance in Japan has reached saturation point, while Vietnam, with its large population and high ratio of young population, has a lot of potential to develop in the future,” Sumitomo Life’s President Yoshio Sato said at a press conference in Hanoi today. The company will enter discussions with Bao Viet to develop insurance products in Vietnam, he said.

HSBC acquired a 10 percent stake in Bao Viet in 2007 for 4.12 trillion dong, becoming the insurer’s sole foreign strategic partner. It bought a further 8 percent in a 1.88 trillion dong deal completed in January 2010. The London-based bank said Aug. 9 that it was reviewing options for its stake in Bao Viet.

“This transaction represents further progress in the execution of the Group’s strategy, allowing us to focus our capital and resources on the growth of our core businesses,” HSBC’s Asia Pacific Chief Executive Officer Peter Wong said in today’s press release.

HSBC’s Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver is seeking to cut costs by as much as $3.5 billion by the end of 2013 and boost returns by selling assets to focus on growing economies in which the bank has the greatest market share. The lender is cutting 30,000 jobs and agreed in March to sell some of its general insurance units in Asia and Latin America for about $914 million. The bank Dec. 5 agreed to sell its stake in China’s Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. to Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont for $9.4 billion, the 37th divestment under Gulliver.

HSBC’s Bao Viet exit contrasts with a rising Japanese presence in Vietnam’s financial sector. Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411) spent $560 million this year acquiring a 15 percent stake in Joint-Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, or Vietcombank. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306), Japan’s biggest lender, is seeking to buy a 20 percent stake in Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry and Trade, or VietinBank, from the Vietnamese government, two officials from the Tokyo-based bank said Dec. 13.

“The Japanese are long term players and this makes sense from a long term point of view,” Fiachra MacCana, managing director of Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corp., said of the Sumitomo Life deal. “There’s no growth in Japan - every Japanese corporation sees its survival in expanding overseas and buying assets overseas.”

Bao Viet’s nine-month pretax profit rose 28 percent to 1.31 trillion dong, the company said in a Nov. 15 e-mailed statement. Full-year pretax profit may increase 13 percent to 1.72 trillion dong, online newspaper TTVN reported Nov. 26 citing Hoang Viet Ha, the insurer’s operations director.

'The Purpose Driven Life' 10th Anniversary App Available in Time for Christmas

A new iOS app providing a portable and interactive user experience for the 10th Anniversary expanded version of Rick Warren's bestselling "The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?" is now available from Zondervan at http://zndr.vn/UBL4E5.

The "Purpose Driven Life" app includes the entire content of the book and 42 built-in videos of Warren further sharing insights into each chapter. The app also allows individuals to create notes to use in small group settings or for personal study.

"The 'Purpose Driven Life' app allows for simple and efficient portability perfect for on-the-go reading," said Tracy Danz, Vice President and Publisher, Zondervan Trade Books. "What better gift to give this Christmas than one that will help an individual start a journey of discovering the answer to life's most important question: What on earth am I here for?"

A universal app, "Purpose Driven Life" gives readers the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad versions for a single purchase in the iTunes App Store for $9.99. iCloud keeps all devices in sync, including bookmarks and notes.

"The Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For?" 10th anniversary edition, re-tooled for a new generation, released in November. It includes two additional chapters addressing the issues of "The Envy Trap" and "The People-Pleaser Trap," taking the book from a 40-day to a six-week individual or small group study.

Over the last 10 years, "The Purpose Driven Life" has transformed countless lives, selling more than 32 million copies worldwide in 50 languages.

"There is an entire generation who was too young to read 'The Purpose Driven Life' 10 years ago but are now asking the critical question, 'What on earth am I here for?'" said Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. "This anniversary edition represents a new approach for a new generation incorporating a new understanding of barriers that keep people from finding their purpose, based on thousands of readers' letters I have received."

Life Technologies to Present at JP Morgan 2013 Healthcare Conference

Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) today announced it will present at JP Morgan 2013 Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 1:30 p.m. PT. Gregory T. Lucier, Life Technologies' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, will present on behalf of the company. The company will webcast the presentation, which will be available for three weeks following the conference, on the Life Technologies' investor relations website at ir.lifetechnologies.com/events.cfm.

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum, with more than 50,000 products for agricultural biotechnology, translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®, Invitrogen™, Gibco®, Ambion®, Molecular Probes®, Novex®, and TaqMan®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011.

Sun Life sells U.S. annuity business, shares drop

Sun Life Financial Inc will sell its U.S. annuity business for $1.35 billion to a firm connected to Guggenheim Partners in a deal that should reduce the exposure of the insurer's earnings to market swings and boost its cash levels.

While the deal could bring long-term benefits to Sun Life, whose earnings have been derailed by wild market swings during recent years, investors pulled the company's shares down by nearly 4 percent as the financial terms fell short of initial expectations.

"The stock's sort of correcting back because the deal isn't quite as big a windfall as I think the market was anticipating," said National Bank financial analyst Peter Routledge.

Delaware Life Holdings, owned by certain Guggenheim clients and shareholders, will rename itself Delaware Life Insurance Co following the cash purchase. Guggenheim will provide investment management services to the new company.

Sun Life, Canada's No. 3 insurer, said last year it would stop selling variable annuities and individual life products in the United States to focus more on group insurance and voluntary benefits.

Variable annuities - retirement products that guarantee the investor a minimum monthly payment - became a source of earnings volatility for Sun Life in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. That is because low interest rates and Canadian accounting rules force insurers to take upfront losses on products that will not come due for years.

"The business makes money, but not enough," said Routledge.
Weak equity markets and low bond yields sent Sun Life's profit down 87.5 percent during the second quarter of 2012 and caused losses during the third and fourth quarters of 2011.

EARNINGS HIT
The deal will cut Sun Life's profit by 22 Canadian cents a share annually and reduce book value by C$950 million ($965 million), the company said in a statement. According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, Sun Life was expected to earn C$2.53 a share on a net basis in 2013.

The deal has also prompted Sun Life to take a second look at its 2015 financial targets, which include a goal of C$2 billion in operating profit.

In an interview, Sun Life Chief Executive Dean Connor said he would update the market on the targets after the deal closes, which is expected during the second quarter next year.

"I'm not saying we will necessarily reduce them. I'm not saying we will necessarily leave them as they are, because we don't know yet," he said.

The deal is also expected to reduce the company's earnings sensitivity to equity markets by 50 percent and its sensitivity to interest rates by 35 percent, compared with estimates on September 30.

It will raise Sun Life's cash position to C$1.9 billion.
"Over time, we'll redeploy that cash to fund growth," said Connor. He said the growth could include acquisitions on the "smaller end of the spectrum."

Sun Life, which also owns U.S. asset manager MFS Investment Management, is targeting growth in its Asian business.

SHARES DOWN
Sun Life shares, which have outperformed its rivals with a 47 percent year-to-date rise coming into Monday's session, ended down 3.9 percent at C$26.74 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Despite the strong rise this year, the stock still trades at less than half its all-time high set in 2007.

Robert Sedran, an analyst at CIBC World Markets, said in a research note that the earnings and book value reductions were worse than he had expected.

"Moreover, while the decline in the earnings sensitivity to market variables improves the risk-reward profile, we did not view those sensitivities as excessive to begin with," he said.

However, he said the deal will free up time and capital that would otherwise have been engaged in what is essentially a closed business, which is a positive.

Morgan Stanley & Co advised Sun Life on the transaction financials.
Law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP was legal adviser to Sun Life, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advised Guggenheim Partners.

All are invited to Bread of Life's X-Mas dinner

Bread of Life's annual Christmas Dinner will be held Tuesday, Dec. 25, from noon until 2 p.m. at St. Paul's Parish at 26 Washington St. in Malden.

 All are welcome to be our guests for a free roast beef dinner with all the fixings, dessert and coffee. No reservations are needed.

The dining hall will be wonderfully decorated with lights, garlands and a Christmas tree. Tables will be laden with breads, pies, cakes and fruits. Many volunteers will help serve roast beef, vegetables, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.

Each person attending the meal will also receive a small gift bag containing a warm clothing item. Bread of Life is seeking donations of new socks, gloves, hats and scarves for these gift bags. Please consider donating gift items at the Bread of Life office, 54 Eastern Ave. rear in Malden, by Dec. 21.

Bread of Life expects to serve about 250 people at the dinner, and volunteers will deliver an additional 300 meals to homebound senior citizens, and 200 meals to families who are homeless and sheltered in local motels.

Meal delivery is available Christmas Day to local senior citizens or disabled individuals who are housebound and unable to get out under normal circumstances. Meals will be delivered between 11:30am and 1:30pm.

If you would like to volunteer to deliver meals or to help package food and clean up, please call Bread of Life at 781-397-0404. Financial contributions toward this community meal are much appreciated. To make a donation, please send a check to Bread of Life, 54 Eastern Ave. rear, Malden, MA 02148.

Standard Life urges provincial finance ministers to move forward on Pooled Registered Pension Plans for Canadians

Standard Life has called on provincial and territorial finance ministers to support Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs) that will help Canadians save for a secure retirement.

In advance of the upcoming meeting of federal, provincial and territorial finance ministers in Ottawa on December 16 and 17, Standard Life has sent individual letters encouraging each finance minister to support the federal government's lead on PRPPs and adopt enabling legislation that will allow workers covered under provincial jurisdictions to participate in the program.

"The Government of Canada has done the right thing by adopting Bill C-25, the Pooled Registered Pension Plans Act," said Charles Guay , President and Chief Executive Officer. "Now that the federal legislation has passed, it is time for provinces to take leadership on this important initiative and adopt the PRPP framework that was agreed to in 2010."

Pooled Registered Pension Plans provide a workplace retirement plan for individuals who would not otherwise have one - including self-employed Canadians. By pooling their savings, employees are able to achieve cost savings similar to those available to large pension plans. Pooled Registered Pension Plans also help employees save through payroll deductions. Employers can choose to contribute to PRPPs on behalf of their workers, but there is no requirement to do so.

Pooled Registered Pension Plans have been identified by the federal government as one way to avoid a potential crisis among retirees in Canada . It is estimated that more than half of working Canadians today do not have a workplace retirement plan, and personal savings are at historic lows. The proposed PRPPs can help people save within the workplace and provide a reliable income stream in retirement.

"Using PRPPs to encourage savings by Canadians who don't currently have access to a pension plan just makes good sense," said Mr. Guay .

In order to ensure the plans will be as effective as possible and to maximize the greatest amount of participation by Canadians, Standard Life also recommended to ministers that legislation be designed to include such measures as mandatory sponsorship and automatic enrollment, and that it be harmonized among the provinces.

Incorporating these simple but effective measures will help Canadians save for a secure future and will allow PRPPs to achieve their objective to provide Canadians with a new accessible, simple and low-cost retirement option.

Standard Life plc is a leading long-term savings and investment company headquartered in Edinburgh , Scotland. Standard Life has around six million customers worldwide and operates in the United Kingdom , Europe , North America and Asia, and globally with Standard Life Investments Ltd.

In Canada , Standard Life has been doing business for almost 180 years. It operates under Standard Life Financial Inc., which wholly owns The Standard Life Assurance Company of Canada and Standard Life Mutual Funds Ltd. It is Standard Life plc's largest operation outside the UK with about 2,000 employees. It provides long-term savings, investment and insurance solutions to more than 1.4 million Canadians, including group retirement and insurance plan members.
As of September 30, 2012 , Standard Life plc had C$337 billion in assets under administration, including C$44 billion in Canada through Standard Life Financial.

Army sergeant sentenced to life in Colo. slaying

A weeping Army sergeant on Thursday apologized to the family of a female soldier he admitted killing, after a military panel convicted him of unpremeditated murder and sentenced him to life in prison.

Sgt. Vincinte Jackson said he doesn't know why he killed Spc. Brandy Fonteneaux, 28, of Houston. She was found dead Jan. 8 in her barracks room, stabbed 74 times. A military panel sentenced Jackson to life in prison with the possibility of parole, though prosecutors couldn't immediately say how many years he would serve before becoming eligible.

"I will be forever haunted by what happened," Jackson said. " ... It's only fair that I continue to have nightmares about what I've done."

His testimony came at the end of an emotional sentencing hearing that included statements from the families of Jackson and Fonteneaux.

The same panel of eight soldiers who convicted Jackson decided his sentence. The potential sentence for unpremeditated murder ranged from no punishment to life in prison without parole.

The panel — the equivalent of a jury in a civilian trial — convicted Jackson earlier Thursday after 2 1/2 hours of deliberations. It acquitted Jackson of premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors asked for life without parole, while Jackson's defense attorneys asked for 28 years.
Jackson's parents, seated in the gallery, linked arms as the sentence was read late Thursday. They then left without comment.

Fontenaux's mother, Verona Fonteneaux, and other members of her family said the sentence was fair.
"I think I can get my life back together," Verona Fonteneaux said. "I can tell my grandkids that they've put the bad man away."

At the end of the court-martial, Capt. Jeremy Horn, one of Jackson's defense lawyers, told the panel that a combination of heavy drinking and a prescription antidepressant left Jackson unable to control his own actions or form any kind of plan to commit murder.

There was some testimony that Jackson was an alcoholic. But Horn said Jackson was only an occasional drinker and that he downed three-quarters of a bottle of whiskey the night before Fonteneaux's death. He said Jackson was trying doors in a corridor and walked in Fonteneaux's barracks room because it was unlocked.

"Sgt. Jackson was on auto-pilot. ... He felt like he was watching himself," Horn said.
The prosecutor, Capt. Jason Quinn, scoffed at the defense's claim, saying Jackson made a conscious decision to leave his room and walk to Fonteneaux's, where he stood over her while she slept.
After stabbing and slashing Fonteneaux, "he decides to reach down and choke her until she is no longer in the misery that he put her in," Quinn said.

Quinn put a photo on courtroom TV screens that showed Fonteneaux after she was killed, sprawled on the floor of her room, partially unclothed with a tangled bedsheet covering part of her body.

"Sgt. Jackson wasn't negligent," Quinn said. "He intended to do what he did. He intended to kill Spc. Fonteneaux."

Jackson, an eight-year Army veteran from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., was with the 576th Engineer Company, 4th Engineer Battalion. Fonteneaux was a food operations specialist in the 4th Engineer Battalion.

Fonteneaux knew Jackson but they were not close, according to the aunt who raised her, Bevenly Thomas. Fonteneaux had told her family that Jackson confided in her about his crumbling marriage.

Thomas said she asked Fonteneaux if she and Jackson had a romantic relationship, and she replied, "No, Mom, he's married. He's too old."

Jackson's father, Willie Jackson, broke down as he told the panel he had never known his son to be violent. He said he's still in denial about what happened.

Fontenaux's mother told the panel that she still looks at pictures of her daughter and frequently visits her Facebook page. She said the family isn't decorating for Christmas this year.

"We're still getting together as a family, but there's going to be one that's missing," Verona Fonteneaux said.

Evidence of Early Life Draws Ire from Scientists

Life may have first emerged on land about 100 million years earlier previously thought, suggests a study that has scientists up in arms, many of whom are arguing that the research paper should never been published in the first place.

The study, published today (Dec. 12) in the journal Nature, suggests that ancient fossilized creatures found in Southern Australian sediments actually came from land, not from the ocean. If the findings are true, the fossils would have been lichenlike plants that first colonized land, not ocean-dwelling ancestors of jellyfish.

"We have big organisms living on land a lot further back than we thought before," said study author Gregory Retallack, a geologist and paleobotanist at the University of Oregon.

But the study has faced intense skepticism from several experts in the field — some of whom have questioned not only the study's scientific validity, but also its acceptance into a prestigious scientific journal.

"I find Retallack's observations dubious, and his arguments poor. That this was published by Nature is beyond my understanding," wrote Martin Brasier, a paleobiologist at the University of Oxford who was not involved in the study, in an email.

Primitive sea dwellers
Scientists first discovered the fossils in 1947 in the Ediacaran Hills of Southern Australia. The reddish rocks contained imprints from a strange, striated creature called Dickinsonia, as well as other primeval creatures that lived around 550 million years ago.

Until now, scientists had long believed the rocks were made up of ocean sediments and that Dickinsonia and other primeval creatures fossilized in the outcroppings were sea dwellers similar to jellyfish or sea pens that lived just before the Cambrian explosion began about 540 million years ago, when all the major animal groups suddenly appeared.

But when Retallack first saw the fossils, he wondered whether they were formed on land. In particular, the fossils had a reddish hue that comes from oxygen in the atmosphere reacting with iron to create rust — a process that doesn't happen under the sea, he said. He also noticed that nodules throughout the rock looked strikingly similar to the rootlike structures put out by primitive lichen or fungi found in other ancient soils.

To see if some of the Ediacaran fossils were land-dwellers, he tested the rock's composition and found it was characteristic of the very first stages of soil formation on land, in which nutrients such as potassium and magnesium are depleted. A similar process doesn't happen in the ocean, he said.

In the current paper, Retallack argues that the ancient fossils are actually a primitive precursor to lichen or fungi and that they helped colonize land, paving the way for the Cambrian explosion.

Even today, lichen are the pioneers that first take root on bare rock, creating the precursors of soil (other organisms can grow on lichens).

"One of the first things that happens when you have a piece of bare ground is some lichen come in and eventually some new stuff comes in like dandelions, and pretty soon you've got a tall Douglas fir forest," Retallack told LiveScience.

Scientists skeptical
But several scientists have called his claims into question and wonder why Nature published the piece.

The rocks may have turned their reddish hue much more recently, some 65 million years ago, when they somehow rose above the water; in that scenario, the sediments could have been underwater at the time Dickinsonia and other Ediacaran creatures lived, Shuhai Xiao, a paleontologist at Virginia Tech wrote in an accompanying article in Nature. In addition, the chemical composition of the rocks doesn't preclude the fossils originating in the ocean.

What's more, some of the fossils are oriented as if they were dragged by current or ocean waves, Xiao wrote. Finally, many of the species Retallack reclassifies as land-dwellers are found elsewhere in the world in rocks that are unambiguously formed from ocean sediments.

Retallack's ideas "would represent a fundamental change in our picture of evolution, but they will probably face continuing skepticism because the evidence is unconvincing," he wrote.

Fitch Affirms Protective Life Corporation; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Protective Life Corp.'s (PL) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BBB+' and senior debt ratings at 'BBB'. Fitch has also affirmed PL's trust preferred ratings at 'BB+' and primary life insurance subsidiaries' Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings at 'A'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. A full ratings list follows at the end of this release.

PL's ratings reflect the group's good operating performance, including strong investment results, solid debt service capability and sound risk-adjusted capitalization. The company's financial leverage ratio is in line with rating expectations, but overall leverage is high driven by reserve financing.

Fitch views PL's operating results as good and in line with expectations for the rating. Full-year 2012 results are expected to be relatively flat with the prior year, as favorable factors, including good mortality and improved equity market performance, are offset by the impact of ongoing low interest rates, including lower lapses and a slowdown in top line growth. PL is deemphasizing growth in variable annuities going forward, although it plans to grow life sales through institutional channels.

Fitch views PL's ability to service adjusted debt interest expense as solid based on GAAP earnings coverage in the 8x range. Cash interest coverage, which considers maximum statutory dividend capacity and committed cash at the holding company relative to adjusted interest expense, is also strong at about 6x.
PL estimates the NAIC risk-based capital ratio of Protective Life Insurance Company, the group's primary operating company, at 462% as of Sept. 30, 2012, compared with 433% at year-end 2011. It is expected to increase further for the full year 2012 reflecting a fourth quarter captive reinsurance reserve financing transaction. PL indicates that, following the transaction, all XXX and AXXX reserve financing needs are now funded to the peak. New business written in the second half of 2012 and 2013 is not expected to require reserve financing.

PL's financial leverage ratio (FLR) was 29% at the end of the third quarter compared to 28% at year-end 2011. New debt issued in 2012 was used to pay off existing debt, so the increase in the ratio was due mainly to the new DAC accounting rules, which resulted in a decrease in GAAP equity. The FLR is in line with rating expectations. Fitch notes, however, that the FLR excludes reserve funding arrangements, which are included in Fitch's total financings and commitments ratio (TFC). Fitch views PL's TFC as very high relative to peers at 1.8x as of Sept. 30, 2012. Fitch generally views PL's reserve financing activities as well managed.

Key concerns include macroeconomic headwinds from low interest rates and high financial market volatility. These conditions are expected to constrain PL's ability to improve earnings over the near term and could have a material negative effect on the company's earnings and capital in a severe, albeit unexpected, scenario.

The key rating triggers that could result in an upgrade include continued good GAAP operating profitability and earnings-based coverage of interest expense; financial leverage below 25%; TFC below 1.0x range.

The key rating triggers that could result in a downgrade include material declines in GAAP equity that would drive financial leverage above 30%) or statutory capital (that would drive reported RBC below 300%), a downturn or weak growth in earnings, or a material reinsurance loss. Ratings could also be pressured if interest coverage fell below 5x.

How Life Insurance Saved My Family

According to a nationwide study conducted by LearnVest and Guardian, although 57% of respondents own life insurance, only 28% feel extremely confident in their understanding of life insurance–and 66% don’t have a good understanding of how to collect a life insurance payout.

Today, LearnVest Assistant Editor Alden Wicker shares a very personal story from her childhood, which drove home to her just how important it is for parents to have life insurance. We are grateful that she has shared a story so close to her heart; in your comments, please be respectful.

December 1989. My father gathered up his things in his New Jersey office and headed to the door, eager to get home to celebrate the holidays with our family. A co-worker stopped him to chat. “Walter, what do you want for Christmas?”

“Nothing at all. I have everything I’ve ever wanted. I’ve got my three girls.” In other words, my mother, my 9-year-old sister and 3-year-old me.

Up in the Air

My father got his private pilot’s license in 1970 right after the army. “He absolutely adored flying,” my mom tells me. “He didn’t want to do anything else in his free time, besides hanging out with you guys.” He bought a small, used, two-engine Piper airplane in 1988 for commuting back and forth to his two offices in New Jersey and North Carolina. He was a careful pilot and took attentive–almost obsessive–care of his plane.

But just a few weeks before that Christmas, he had an annual inspection, and the mechanic said he was missing a small part for detecting fire in the engine, but he would probably be fine until that part arrived.

My dad climbed in, taxied out to the runway, pushed the throttle forward and lifted into the sky.

The Life We Had

Life was good for my family in 1989. My father was the well-paid president of a marketing company, and made extra income from his side consulting business. My mother stayed at home raising my sister and me. She hadn’t worked since 1980, when my sister was born.

RELATED: I Feel Guilty My Husband Makes More Money

Mom and Dad had just moved us to a tiny town in North Carolina to be closer to family. They bought some land, started building their dream home and convinced my grandparents to build a little home nearby. After looking at the dismal public schools, my parents enrolled my sister in private school and planned to do the same for me.

In short, they had a lot of financial obligations that depended on my father’s income. But they were solid financially, with an emergency fund of about two year’s take-home pay.

My mother set the budget, handled the mortgage paperwork on our new home and paid the bills. Around the time I was born, she took a look at my dad’s life insurance coverage through his job. Many basic policies from employers will pay only about $30,000–not enough to support a family our size for very long.

So she set about calculating how much we would need if something were to happen, taking into account things like our mortgage and living expenses. She took out an additional term life policy to cover him, and a whole life policy for herself that was also meant to finance my sister’s and my college educations. (Here’s the difference between term life and whole life policies.)

She didn’t know at the time, but it would turn out to be the smartest financial decision she would ever make.

Life Technologies Stays Neutral

We have reaffirmed our Neutral recommendation on Life Technologies (LIFE) with a target price of $52.00.

The company’s third quarter adjusted earnings of 92 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 89 cents but missed the year-ago quarter’s 94 cents. Revenues increased 1.4% at CER to $911 million, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $908 million.

We are encouraged by Life Technologies’ adoption of several initiatives to develop its diagnostics franchise. The company recently entered into a Master Development Agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) for companion diagnostic projects, to work together in oncology and other therapeutic areas. The collaboration with Bristol-Myers is in line with the company’s strategy to build partnerships with pharmaceutical majors for companion diagnostic development including participation in early-phase clinical trials.

We are also impressed with the company entering into a license and supply agreement with Singapore based VelaDx in October 2012. The latter will develop next generation sequencing-based, in vitro diagnostic tests that will run on Life Technologies’ Ion Personal Genome Machine platform. Further, we are optimistic about the company’s companion diagnostic partnership with GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) MAGE-A3 cancer immunotherapy. Life Technologies also strengthened its diagnostics franchise with three recent tuck-in acquisitions – Compendia Bioscience, Navigenics and Pinpoint Genomics.

Meanwhile, as a result of Life Technologies’ increasing focus on emerging markets, this region now accounts for approximately 10% of total sales. The company has been experiencing growth in its emerging markets as well as Asia-Pacific, where it is currently expanding its operations.

After recording a temporary slowdown in its Greater China business about a year ago, the company augmented its dealer model and supplemented it with its own sales force. These efforts have successfully restored operations in Greater China to normal levels with high-teens growth. During the reported quarter, Life Technologies completed the acquisition of Genewindows, a distributor covering the Invitrogen brand reagent portfolio in south and west China. Besides, Life Technologies expanded its footprint further with the completion of its facility in Beijing where it will manufacture advanced DNA testing solutions in a cost effective way.

Life Technologies’ Genetic Analysis segment sales received a strong boost from the Ion Torrent franchise. The company is satisfied with the progress Ion Torrent technologies has made so far and expects the growth momentum to continue. This growth has been supported further by the recent launch of Ion Proton system in September with the company continuing to take additional orders.

However, economic uncertainties which lowered discretionary spending and unfavorable currency were the major headwinds for Life Technologies during the reported quarter. The company tightened its 2012 earnings outlook and expects organic revenue growth at 2%.Our recommendation is backed by Zacks #2 Rank (Buy) in the short term.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. Announces a Change to its Board of Directors

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. (BNC.TO) (BNC.AX), a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that one of its Directors - Mr. Nick Photiades - is stepping down from the Board of Directors.

Mr. Photiades had been the Senior Director, Life Sciences, Venture Capital Division with the Business Development Bank of Canada until his retirement in 2008, after which he became a management and strategic planning consultant. He joined the Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. Board of Directors in September, 2009.
"The Board of Directors and management of the Company wish to recognize and thank Mr. Photiades for his three years of contribution to the Company," said Mr. James Rae , Board Chairman, Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. " Mr. Photiades has been a thoughtful and articulate Director, who provided expertise in audit, legal, financing, deal-making and strategic planning. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours."

It has been decided that the Director position vacated by Mr. Photiades will not be filled at this time.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc. is a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of proprietary and innovative products for human and animal health markets worldwide. The fully-integrated company employs more than 200 skilled personnel and has three operating divisions: Human Health, Animal Health, and Food Safety. The Company's primary goal is to develop and commercialize products that advance human or animal health and increase shareholder value.

Except for historical information, this news release may contain forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. These forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, which may cause, but are not limited to, changing market conditions, the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's ongoing quarterly and annual reporting.
SOURCE: Bioniche Life Sciences Inc.

Wisconsin Mother to Honor the Life of Her Daughter at Rose Bowl Parade

A Wisconsin mother will honor the life of her daughter and thousands of others who gave the gift of life through organ and tissue donation as one of 32 people riding a special float in the 2013 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

Sue Pasewald, mother of tissue donor Christina, will ride the Donate Life float in recognition of the thousands of individuals who donate tissue including bone, skin, heart valves, connective tissue, veins and pericardium each year. Sue’s trip to Pasadena is sponsored by RTI Donor Services, a founding sponsor of the float and one of more than 120 associations across the nation — including organ and tissue recovery organizations, industry partners, transplant centers and transplant recipient groups — supporting the float project. This is RTI’s tenth consecutive year supporting the program.

Sue and her husband Dave were blessed with five children – Ron, Julie, Amy, Christina and David. Their daughter Christina was born on March 25, 1984. According to Sue, Christina achieved so much in her short life, and she had a way about her that caused everyone who came into contact with her to love her. On July 2, 2007, Christina was tragically taken from Sue and Dave.

Sue and Dave will never forget the night Christina died. After receiving the phone call and racing to the hospital, they were immediately escorted to the trauma room. The Pasewald family remembers hearing the word “fatal.” After that, the family was faced with turning off life support and was asked about donation. Originally, Sue said, “No,” still in shock, but Dave told her that this was something Christina would want to do. The family went to be with Christina and told her they loved her and she was not alone. Sue remembers asking if Christina was gone and the nurse said, “Yes."

“We have begged God to please give our little girl back, but God has other plans for her,” Sue said.
The Pasewalds knew they had made the right decision. They learned that Christina would have wanted to donate by seeing the orange donation sticker on her driver’s license. Christina has been able to help many people through her gift of tissue donation.

Sue said the organization that handled Christina’s tissue donation, RTI Donor Services, has been a big help to her as she has grieved the loss of her daughter. “RTI Donor Services was wonderful and caring,” Sue said. “It has been over five years and we are still not forgotten by RTI. You don’t know how much this means to us and how much this helps us know that Christina has not been forgotten. It is so hard because most people have forgotten we lost our daughter and think we must be over it. To watch your child die is just unbearable – you don’t get over it. The compassion we have received from RTI has helped us go on.”

Dave and Sue have been happily married for many years and credit their love and faith with keeping them strong through this trying time. In addition to their five children, they have six grandchildren and another grandson on the way in 2013.

Sue works as a medical receptionist in a family medicine practice. The support of her co-workers and staying busy and focused on the patients’ needs have helped her keep going on after Christina’s death.
Sue is very passionate about organ and tissue donation and serves as a Donor Family Ambassador volunteer with RTI Donor Services. In addition to having a donation booth at her reception desk at work, she enjoys speaking about donation, sharing Christina’s story and providing donation information to others throughout her community.

Sue said: “I have become aware of how many people are waiting for organs and tissue. It makes me even more eager to spread the word of how just one person can help so many. Don't waste what could help someone else. Our beautiful daughter’s memory lives on forever.”

The Donate Life float, one of more than 120 parade floats and units in this year’s “Oh, the Places You'll Go!™,” themed parade, will present “Journeys of the Heart.” The float features a collection of joyful hearts representing the new life made possible by transplantation, grounded by a reverent dedication garden filled with roses bearing personal messages honoring those who make the gift of life possible. The 124th Rose Parade will take place at 8 a.m. PST on Monday, Jan. 1, 2013. For more information on the “Oh, the Places You'll Go!™,” float.

Today, more than 115,000 children and adults await life-saving organ transplants in the United States. Hundreds of thousands more are in need of a tissue transplant to save or greatly enhance the quality of their lives. Visit www.donatelife.net to find out how to designate your donation wishes in your state.

Thai Life Explores $500 Million Stake Sale Amid M&A Boom

Thai Life Insurance may sell a stake of at least 20 percent, sources familiar with the matter said, in a deal that could value the country's No. 2 life insurer at about $2.5 billion and mark the third auction in the domestic sector within a year amid a huge wave of Thai M&A.

Highlighting fast-growing interest in one of Asia's most underdeveloped insurance markets, the potential sale comes on the heels of Prudential $590 million acquisition of Thanachart Life Assurance in November and Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li's purchase of ING's Hong Kong and Thailand units for $2.1 billion in October.

Announced Thai M&A deals have soared to a record $18.7 billion so far this year on mostly outbound acquisitions, overtaking the total value of deals in 2010 and 2011 combined, according to Thomson Reuters data. In contrast, Asia-Pacific ex-Japan deals are down 12 percent from last year to $298 billion.

Most of the deals are driven by cashed-up companies eager to expand overseas and include an audacious $7.2 billion bid by Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi for the shares he does not own in Singaporean conglomerate Fraser and Neave. For the inbound offers, suitors see steady growth and rising demand for products such as consumer goods and financial services, not to mention valuations that are only getting richer.

The Thai Life stake sale is expected to draw interest from Japanese suitors and other financial institutions, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter and declined to be identified as the matter is not public. Like any auction, there is no guarantee the process will end in a sale.

The company, controlled by the Chaiyawan business family, is likely to issue new shares as part of the deal, while the founders are also expected to sell part of their stake, the sources said. A minority holding may be less attractive to some suitors, although Japanese insurers in the past have shown a willingness to buy non-controlling stakes.

Thai Life's Duangduen Kongkasawad, executive vice president for communications, told Reuters that the company has no plan to sell a stake to a strategic partner.

But the sources told Reuters that the company is expected to launch the sale in the first quarter of next year and is working with Barclays as an adviser.

A Hong Kong-based Barclays spokesman declined comment.

Thai Life had 15.3 percent of the country's life insurance market with annualized premium equivalent of 6.2 billion baht ($202 million) as of the end of the second quarter, according to Thai Life Assurance Association data.

It trails industry leader AIA Group Ltd which had 20.4 percent, while third-ranked Muang Thai Life Assurance Co Ltd is close behind with 15.1 percent.

'Life of Pi' shows bond, but tigers face threat

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's new epic "Life of Pi" showcases the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators are under increasing threat from humans.

Poaching remains a tremendous danger for the remaining feline population, with rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia, especially China where tiger bone is used in traditional medicines, experts say.

Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of decline in tiger numbers.

Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film to focus people's attention on the real-life plight of Bengal tigers.

"Life of Pi is a work of fiction, but in real life, there are threats to animals in their natural habitat that must be addressed," said Manilal Valliyate, director of veterinary affairs at PETA-India.

India is home to 1,706 tigers according to the latest census, almost half of the worldwide population. But that figure is a fraction of the 40,000 that roamed the country in 1947 at the time of the country's independence.

In one of numerous reported attacks on the endangered big cats, villagers near the Bangladesh-India border bludgeoned a tiger to death earlier this month after it strayed from the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.

Armed with sticks and boat oars, the angry crowd set upon the animal which was suspected to have attacked a local fisherman.

Despite tiger numbers still falling and campaigns in India and Bangladesh to protect the animal, conflicts with humans often prove fatal for one of nature's most fabled beasts.

"The first instinct when a tiger is spotted is to just kill it," laments Gurmeet Sapal, a wildlife filmmaker based in New Delhi.

"The feeling of fear and retribution is so strong that it shuts out any other emotion. What we don't realise is that the tiger never attacks humans until it is forced to," Sapal told AFP.

In Lee's movie, the protagonist Pi is forced to share a lifeboat with the tiger after a shipwreck kills his family after they set out for Canada from India, accompanied by animals from the zoo they ran.

Pi is initially nervous, but tries to train the cat in the hope it will not kill him as long as he keeps its hunger at bay.

The relationship that gradually develops between them over the 227 days they spend together on the lifeboat endears both the characters to the audience.

India has been struggling to halt the tiger's decline in the face of poachers, international smuggling networks and the loss of habitat which encourages the animals to leave the forest in search of food.

So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country, according to Tigernet, the official database of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

"The tiger's prey base has been rapidly depleting because we have been eyeing his resources. The predator has to make a lot of effort to get its food," said Mayukh Chatterjee, a conservationist with Wildlife Trust of India.

"In such a scenario, livestock and human beings become easy prey for the tiger and lead inevitably to conflict," he told AFP.

Filmmaker Sapal says it is only normal for people to think of the tiger as a dangerous animal, but its image as a voracious killer is misplaced.

"Tigers never kill for sport. They don't store meat in the deep-fridge. They kill their prey only when they are hungry," he said.

"If we can make people understand the importance of the tiger in our food chain and ecosystem, we would have won half the battle."

The other half -- against poachers greedy for tiger parts -- can only be won with constant monitoring and patrolling, says Belinda Wright, director of the non-profit Wildlife Protection Society of India.

"The tragedy is tigers are more valued dead than alive by wildlife criminals," Wright told AFP.

"There no longer should be any compromise on our conservation efforts if we want these magnificent creatures to survive."

File picture. A Bengal tiger is hosed by a spray of water from a zookeeper on a hot summer day at the Birsa Munda Zoological Park in Ranchi, India, on May 30, 2012. Poaching remains a tremendous danger for the remaining feline population.

Oscar-winning director Ang Lee poses during a promotional event for the film ?Life of Pi?, in Mumbai on October 29, 2012. Lee's new epic "Life of Pi" showcases the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators are under increasing threat from humans.

File picture. Indian customs officials display a seized Bengal tiger skin in Siliguri on January 19, 2012. The skin was seized by a team of customs officials from the India-Nepal border, some 40 kms from Siliguri, while one person was arrested. The Bengal tiger has been classified an endangered species and is the national animal of India.

Allianz Life Promotes Dwan Norwood to Director in IT

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life®) promoted Dwan Norwood to director of Midrange Operations within the Information Technology group. He will be responsible for IT infrastructure service delivery functions along with technology solutions to support business plans for the company. He will drive projects, solutions, and technology portfolios to ensure stability of IT systems while managing vendor relationships. Norwood reports to the Vice President of IT Infrastructure, Tom Mundt.

“Dwan consistently delivers high quality results and has established himself as a trusted leader within our organization,” states Mundt. “During his time with Allianz Life, he has made significant contributions to ensure more effective operations and strategic planning. I am confident that Dwan will have continued success in his new role.”

Norwood has more than 15 years of experience in Information Technology. He originally joined Allianz Life in 2010 as a senior manager in Midrange Infrastructure where he was responsible for implementation and operations of Midrange Infrastructure including servers and network storage. Prior to that, Norwood was a senior manager of Information Protection with Target Corporation in Minneapolis where he led the Incident Management and Investigations team responsible for information security incident response and network investigations. Norwood also held roles as a senior manager for Boston Scientific in Arden Hills, Minn. for five years. Prior to that, he also worked for multiple organizations holding various technical and engineering roles.

Norwood holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration/information systems from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colo. He also earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

AIDS drug roll-out boosts South African life expectancy

South Africa has achieved a "stunning" increase in life expectancy in the last three years due to a government push to roll out antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to people with HIV/AIDS, researchers said on Thursday.

The average South African is now likely to live to the age of 60, a study in the Lancet medical journal said, compared with just 56.5 in 2009 when President Jacob Zuma came to power with promises of a new approach to the country's HIV/AIDS burden.

Africa's biggest economy is home to 6 million HIV/AIDS sufferers but under Zuma's predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, the government was reluctant to provide the life-prolonging drugs, the study said.

Nearly 2 million people are now taking ARVs daily in what is the world's largest ARV programme. That total compares with 912,000 in 2009 and just 235,000 three years before that.

Although overall infection rates have stayed constant at around 10 percent since 2006, the study's authors said such a dramatic increase in life expectancy was unheard-of.

"There are many factors that contribute to life expectancy but the single most important one was the expansion of the ARV treatment programme," said Professor Salim Abdool Karim, director of the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa and a member of the Lancet South Africa team.
"That increase in life expectancy is nothing short of stunning. You don't see those kinds of increases in the real world."

Lead researcher Bongani Mayosi from the University of Cape Town singled out Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi for praise in reversing the policies of Mbeki, whose health minister outraged activists by questioning the effectiveness of ARVs and championing the benefits of garlic and beetroot instead.
"We have no doubt that the new administration that came in 2009 was eager to make an improvement on the disastrous record of the first 15 years of the ANC government," Mayosi said.

South Africa still faced formidable challenges however, particularly in reducing huge racial disparities in housing, employment and access to health services, Mayosi said.

Just 10.3 percent of black South Africans, who make up 80 percent of the population, have medical insurance, compared with 70.9 percent for whites, who make up just 10 percent of the overall 52 million population, the study showed.

Guardian Life Brings Together Top Female Performers to Enhance Recruitment Efforts

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) today announced the successful conclusion of its annual Women Producers’ Summit in New York City, held last month. The conference brought together Guardian’s female Financial Representatives to celebrate the outstanding service they have given clients over the past year, and to discuss ways to recruit more women Financial Representatives in 2013 and beyond.

“The role of a Financial Representative is a tremendous career opportunity for women,” said Emily Viner, Vice President, Agency Management and Leadership Development for Guardian Life. “This year’s conference gave us the opportunity to learn from our most successful women Financial Representatives, what the profession means to them and why they would recommend becoming a Financial Representative to other women looking to start or switch careers.”

Conference attendees noted that the best part about being a Financial Representative is the ability to structure one’s own practice. The flexible schedule and unlimited, results-based pay scale often provide the work-life balance many women strive to achieve throughout their careers.

Other Financial Representatives added that, as natural caretakers, women find the career fulfilling, because they have a direct impact on clients’ lives by helping build a financial future that fits each of their specific needs.

“Our profession is centered around the ability to develop and maintain significant and close relationships with our clients, which is a skill that comes naturally to most women,” said Karen Jessey, Financial Representative, Wealth Strategies Group. “It takes a lot of hard work, and isn’t for everyone; but this is a rewarding profession that many women have developed into a very lucrative career.”

“It is a demanding career and one that requires a great deal of discipline, but being a Financial Representative has given me the ability to build my own business with a work schedule that best fits with my life,” said Marguerite Rangel, Financial Representative, Pacific Advisors. “Over the years, I’ve figured out how to get the best of both worlds - I can have a challenging and rewarding career where I can give each of my clients the individual attention they need, and can still make sure that my family time is a priority – all thanks to my decision to change careers and become a Financial Representative.”

In conjunction with this year’s annual conference, Guardian announced its goal to have women make up at least 28% of the Financial Representatives recruited in 2013. Guardian Life is on pace to hiring more than 840 Financial Representatives across the country, which would be the most in any single-year period in the company’s 152 year history. Since 2009, the number of female Financial Representatives at Guardian has grown to more than 630, and the company has hired more than 150 in 2012 alone.

“We have been increasing recruitment efforts over the last few years to provide Americans with access to quality financial planning strategies, which is essential in today’s unstable economy,” continued Viner. “Our Financial Representatives, new and old, have come from very different previous careers and backgrounds. Through our training services and with the right attitude and personality, anyone can succeed. As we’ve seen from this year’s conference, being a Financial Representative not only comes with financial benefits, but also a better quality of life.”

With the success of this year’s conference, Guardian Life plans to grow this annual meeting so more women have the opportunity to meet with their peers and learn from each other’s experiences to grow their practices.

VG Life Sciences Issues Fall 2012 Shareholder Update

Driven by the broadening scope of our efforts we have changed our name to VG Life Sciences Inc. Our Board of Directors and I believe this better captures our reach into not only pharmaceutical development but bio-fuels, agricultural applications and the other high growth target markets we are now focused on.
We have also announced several major changes to our capital structure including a reverse stock split and the restructuring of elements of our debt obligations. We believe this results in a capital structure that enhances our credibility and better positions us with potential strategic partners, institutional funding sources and the new executive management talent that we are seeking to hire as we now go forward on this stronger foundation.

Operationally, we just reached an important milestone in our Phase 1 physician-initiated clinical trial for ovarian cancer, and we have also introduced yet another drug candidate (Lyme) to the FDA in a pre-IND submission, while our VG Energy subsidiary launched a research-grade version of its first product, LipidMax™.

San Marino, California-based VG Life Sciences, Inc. discovers and develops drug therapies from two exclusively-licensed platform technologies based on over 60 patents: Metabolic Disruption (MDT) and Targeted Peptides (TPT). A physician-initiated Phase I clinical trial of an MDT compound in combination with Nexavar™ on Stage III and IV ovarian cancer patients is ongoing at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. A majority-owned subsidiary, VG Energy (www.vgenergy.net) is dedicated to exploring biofuel and agricultural applications for the MDT platform. Founded in 1994, the biotech company is researching treatments for drug resistant cancer, Lyme disease, Strep, Staph and Sepsis, and HIV/AIDS.

VG Energy Inc. is an alternative energy and agricultural biotech company that is a majority-owned subsidiary of VG Life Sciences, Inc. VG Energy holds the exclusive worldwide license to the Metabolic Disruption Technology (MDT) patent rights for use in the increase of production of various oils from algae, plants and seeds. VG Energy’s pivotal discoveries could allow the biofuel industry to overcome its major obstacle in the area of production efficiency: namely, an increase in production yields leading to feasible economic returns on investment, allowing renewable biodiesel to be competitive with fossil fuels.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties associated with financial projections, budgets, milestone timelines, clinical development, regulatory approvals, and other risks described by VG Life Sciences Inc. from time to time in its periodic reports, including statements about its VG Energy, Inc. subsidiary. None of VG Life Sciences’ drug compounds are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration or by any comparable regulatory agencies elsewhere in the world, nor are any non-pharmaceutical products of VG Energy, Inc. commercialized. While VG Life Sciences believes that the forward-looking statements and underlying assumptions are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, including, but not limited to, the ability of VG Life Sciences to establish the efficacy of any of its drug therapies in the treatment of any disease or health condition, the development of studies and strategies leading to commercialization of those drug compounds in the United States, the obtaining of funding required to carry out the development plan, the completion of studies and tests on time or at all, the successful outcome of such studies or tests, or the successful commercialization of VG Energy, Inc.’s non-pharmaceutical products.

Therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included herein, the forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by VG Life Sciences or any other person that the objectives and plans of VG Life Sciences will be achieved. VG Life Sciences Inc. disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

LIFE Beefs Up Diagnostic Portfolio

Recently, Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE) announced the launch of its Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Dx Real-Time PCR Instrument. The QuantStudio Dx is an in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical device which has the European CE Mark Approval. The company plans to submit the QuantStudio Dx to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (:FDA) for 510(k) clearance in December 2012.

The QuantStudio Dx is being marketed with the CE marked Quidel Molecular Assay for C. difficile, used for the detection of hospital-acquired infections. Life Technologies currently distributes the Quidel Molecular Assay.

The unique features of the QuantStudio Dx will improve the standard of care by increasing the accuracy of various diagnostic functions such as pathogen detection, gene expression analysis, SNP genotyping, copy number analysis, mutation detection, micro-RNA and other non-coding RNA analysis, and high-resolution melt analysis.

According to DeciBio, the market size for IVD in Europe is currently $14 billion and $52 billion globally. By 2015, it is projected to increase to $17 billion in Europe and $70 billion worldwide. Also worth mentioning in this context is that the European market contributes 30% to company-wide revenues. Thus, the launch of QuantStudio Dx presents a significant opportunity for Life Technologies to garner incremental revenues in the European market.

Moreover, the market for molecular tests is the fastest growing segment of the diagnostic market. As a result, the launch will enable the company to expand its foothold in the high-growth avenue. Life Technologies already markets the CE-IVD marked Applied Biosystems 3500 Dx Genetic Analyzer as well as the AcroMetrix line of quality controls for molecular diagnostic assays.

Our Take

Life Technologies enjoys a strong position in the life sciences market. We are optimistic about the company’s focus on its diagnostics franchise, which holds potential. We also note Life Technologies’ efforts to expand its footprint in high-growth markets through partnerships, acquisitions and product innovation.

Life Technologies has been working on enhancing its diagnostic franchise over the recent past, both organically and inorganically. The company expects compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% for its molecular diagnostic franchise through 2016.

However, the competitive landscape is tough with the presence of players such as Illumina (ILMN), and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) among others. Economic uncertainties lowering discretionary spending and currency are the major headwinds for Life Technologies, as reflected in the company’s third quarter 2012 results.

Press Box: Camacho taken off life support, dies

Former Boxing great Hector Camacho was taken off life support Saturday morning and died a few minutes later, according to the New York Times. He was 50.
Camacho, who was shot in the face on Tuesday night, had been on life support at Centro Medico trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He had a heart attack and died shortly after being taken off life support.

Dr. Ernesto Torres, the director of the trauma center, reported the death.

Camacho, known for his quickness and flamboyance, was a world champion in three different weight classes.
Maria Matias, Camacho's mother, told reporters Friday that she planned to remove her son from life support. She wanted to wait until Saturday so his three sons could say goodbye to him.

Doctors said Camacho was clinically brain dead from the shooting in his hometown of Bayamon.
Camacho won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s. He had a career record of 79-6-3.

NBA
--Los Angeles Lakers point guard Steve Nash said Friday that he doubts he will be ready to play by Tuesday, according to ESPN Los Angeles.
Nash still cannot jog or participate in any on-court drills without pain. The veteran fractured his left leg in the Lakers' season-opener on Oct. 31. He sustained the injury when he bumped knees with Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard.
Nash has already been ruled out of Saturday's game at the Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers return home Tuesday to play the Indiana Pacers.

NHL
--Chicago Blackhawks center Dave Bolland admitted that he used bad judgment when he retweeted a post Friday from a fan who called for commissioner Gary Bettman's death.
The retweet was later deleted. It read: "can I get a RT for wanting Bettman dead?"
"It was a mistake, I never meant to retweet that out," Bolland told ESPN.com Saturday. "I like to retweet for a lot of my fans, and I just retweeted the wrong thing. I feel bad about it."

--Arkansas coach John L. Smith will no longer lead the team, the school announced in a statement Saturday.
Athletic director Jeff Long told Smith he would not be brought back to lead the Razorbacks next season and that the school plans to name a new coach within 10 days.
Arkansas finished the season 4-8 after losing to LSU 20-13 on Friday.
Smith was hired on a 10-month contract in April after the firing of
Bobby Petrino.

-- DeMarlo Hale, who was Baltimore's third-base coach this past season, has been hired to be the Toronto Blue Jays bench coach, MLB.com reported.
-- Free-agent catcher Mike Napoli is scheduled to meet with the Red Sox in Boston this weekend, CBSSports.com reported.
The Mariners and his 2012 team, the Texas Rangers, are the other teams believed to be interested in Napoli.

MEN v FASHION: Comedian Jon Richardson on the season's trends

Stand up comedian Jon Richardson has kindly let us pick his brain about the latest celebrity style crazes, and of course, Fashion Week catwalk looks.

Though we were supposed to be talking all aout his new DVD (Funny Magnet, see below) and tour - which are both very awesome - we couldn't resist getting a man's view on everything from Kim Kardashian's teeny tiny crop tops, to Kristen Stewart's androgyny and Anne Hathaway's bohemian glamour.

So here it is, Jon's thoughts on all things fashion from sheer skirts to monochrome prints, via florals, bondage, fuchsia pink and Cheryl Cole...

Jon's debut DVD Funny Magnet - hilarious! - has just hit the shelves seeing him discuss, in his own loveably grumpy way, the everyday occurrences which have a profound effect on his misanthropic outlook on life.

Expect to laugh and snort your way through it, before hitting JonRichardsonComedy.com to check for tickets to watch him live. Be quick!

What do you make of that? Will you be taking Jon's style advice?

Exhibit peeks inside fashion icon Kahlo's wardrobe

Frida Kahlo proudly wore long skirts embroidered with colorful flowers, showing off her Mexican indigenous heritage but also hiding a body contorted by childhood polio and a horrific bus crash.

The late surrealist painter with the uni-brow, known for her haunting self-portraits, has long since become a fashion icon, inspiring top designers such as France's Jean Paul Gaultier.

Now, in memory of that, 300 items -- from skirts to shoes, jewelry and perfumes -- have been taken out of her wardrobes, trunks and bathroom closets and put on display in Casa Azul, her home-turned-museum in Mexico City.

The exhibit, entitled "Appearances Can Be Deceiving," was launched on Wednesday in the blue house that Kahlo shared with her husband, the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, in the capital's colonial Coyoacan district.

One room displays nine tehuana outfits that are typical from Tehuantepec, a southern city where Kahlo's mother was from. Kahlo often painted herself wearing the long skirts and short-sleeve blouses with bright patterns.

With the traditional skirts and her hair braided with flamboyant flower headbands, Kahlo brought attention to her facial features and her slim waist, distracting people from her legs, said exhibit curator Circe Henestrosa.

"Her way of dressing was the result of her strong sense of identity, an identity built from physical pain," she said.

A red boot with the prosthetic leg Kahlo had to wear after her limb was amputated showed that she kept a sense of style despite the unbearable pain she suffered.

Kahlo contracted polio when she was a young child, a disease that stunted the growth of her right leg. When she was 18, a metal tube pierced through her abdomen during a bus crash, subjecting her to painful operations and long periods of bed rest throughout her life.

In one drawing, Kahlo depicts herself naked under a see-through dress, wearing a corset with butterflies on one leg. She wrote on the piece: "Appearances Can Be Deceiving."

The exhibit includes three artistic corsets, one made of leather and designed by Gaultier for Comme des Garcons in memory of the painter, who died in 1954 at the age of 47. She wore corsets because of severe back pain.

Three flowery outfits made of lace and cotton by Italian designer Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy are also displayed, inspired by the artist's life and image.

It took Casa Azul eight years to restore Kahlo's clothes to be suitable for public view in an initiative that the fashion magazine Vogue participated.

"Frida had an eclectic style. She liked to combine colors, textures and the origin of garments according to her mood," said museum director Hilda Trujillo.

Some experts say that Kahlo wore tehuana outfits to please Rivera, but Henestrosa said a photo found in Casa Azul showed all the women in the Kahlo family wearing the traditional dresses.

The lavish skirts from Tehuantepec "symbolize a strong woman," Henestrosa said, adding that Kahlo decided to wear these clothes because it allowed her to project the communist artist's political beliefs and her Mexican identity.

Regional Tehuana dresses, including a blouse called huipil and a skirt, used by Mexican painter Frida Khalo. Kahlo's unique style has long-inspired designers, now 300 items from her wardrobe will make up a new exhibition in Mexico City.

A visitor looks at a painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo titled "Self-Portrait with monkeys" during the opening of a show of her works in Vienna. Kahlo's unique style has long-inspired designers, now 300 items from her wardrobe will make up a new exhibition in Mexico City.

An artificial limb with a boot used by Mexican painter Frida Khalo. Kahlo's unique style has long-inspired designers, now 300 items from her wardrobe will make up a new exhibition in Mexico City.

Regional Tehuana dresses used by Mexican painter Frida Khalo are exhibited at her museum in Mexico City. Kahlo's unique style has long-inspired designers, now 300 items from her wardrobe will make up a new exhibition.

Alien Life Unlikely Around Dying Stars

Life is unlikely to survive on exoplanets that orbit cooling stars such as white dwarfs, a new study suggests.

These stars' shifting habitable zones — the range of distances where liquid water, and perhaps life as we know it, could exist — would make it difficult for any life-forms to stick around for the long haul, researchers said.

"These planets, if we find them today in a current habitable zone, previously had to have gone through a phase which sterilized them forever," study lead author Rory Barnes, of the University of Washington, said in a statement.

"So, even if they are located in the habitable zone today, they are dead," added co-author René Heller, of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam in Germany.

The study's findings apply principally to planets circling two types of celestial bodies — white dwarfs and brown dwarfs. White dwarfs are the tiny, super-dense cores of stars that have ceased undergoing nuclear fusion reactions. Brown dwarfs are "failed stars," objects bigger than planets but not massive enough to initiate stellar fusion reactions in the first place.

In theory, both white and brown dwarfs can emit enough radiation to create habitable zones around themselves. But both types of objects are cooling down, meaning their habitable zones move closer and closer in over time.

As a result, a planet that sits in a white dwarf's habitable zone today was likely within its inner edge previously. Any water the world may have possessed would probably thus have boiled off into space long ago, researchers said.

This is not to say that a star has to be sunlike to potentially host life. Astronomers have already discovered several planets in the habitable zones of red dwarfs, stars that are smaller and dimmer than the sun.

Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the Milky Way, making up perhaps 80 percent of the galaxy's stellar population. A recent study estimated that about 40 percent of red dwarfs host habitable-zone planets, suggesting that tens of billions of worlds in the Milky Way may be capable of harboring liquid water.

Life Of Pi -- MovieMantz Review

For a filmmaker whose name isn't exactly synonymous with the words "groundbreaking visual effects," Ang Lee might seem like a rather unlikely choice to direct "Life of Pi," the $120 million adaptation of Yann Martel's best-selling novel of the same name. And the fact that "Pi" also represents Lee's first foray into the tricky world of 3D turns the film into something of a risk for its distributor 20th Century Fox.

But given the amazing results of some of Lee's other odd fits - specifically, his martial arts masterpiece "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and the phenomenal cowboy love story "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), the latter of which earned him an Oscar for Best Director - it may very well be that Lee is at the top of his game when he's working outside of his comfort zone (whatever that is, which is why he gets a free pass for his ambitious and under-appreciated take on 2003's "Hulk").

Perhaps motivated by the desire to prove himself after his last movie - the lightweight "Taking Woodstock" (2009) - turned out to be such a bummer, Lee scales new heights with "Life of Pi," a profound, awe-inspiring and spellbinding coming-of-age adventure that will leave you breathless.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Holiday Movie Preview 2012

But Lee is first and foremost a storyteller, which is why his intimate character-driven dramas like "The Ice Storm" and the aforementioned "Brokeback Mountain" are seen as classics of modern cinema. "Life of Pi" instantly joins that fold, thanks not only to Lee's seamless ability to deftly balance moments of poignancy, danger and sheer beauty, but also to the spiritual screenplay written by David Magee ("Neverland") and the fantastic performances of Irrfan Khan ("The Namesake") and newcomer Suraj Sharma.

Khan plays the older version of Piscine Militor Patel - otherwise known as Pi - who tells his incredible story of survival to a writer looking for inspiration. When he was 17-years-old, his family decided to sell their zoo and relocate from India to Canada. But during their journey, their ship sinks during a massive storm, killing everyone aboard - that is, all except Pi and a fearsome Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. As if being cast away at sea for 227 days wasn't bad enough, Pi must also fend for himself against his hungry lifeboat passenger - and that boat is getting smaller by the moment.

In addition to 2009's "Avatar" and last year's "Hugo," "Life of Pi" features incredible 3D effects that sustain their effectiveness throughout the duration of its 2 hour and 5 minute running time. Even jaded moviegoers weaned on big budget spectacles will be blown away by the powerful impact of the technology on display here, especially when it comes to the impression made by a computer-generated tiger that looks all-too-real.

But Pi's adventure would not be worth taking without the fully-committed performance of Suraj Sharma. Talk about an impressive acting debut, Sharma spends most of his time performing alongside a character that wasn't even present during principal photography, and he pulls it off like a pro with decades of experience. As a result, his soulful turn fully enlivens the resulting impact of Richard Parker in much the same way Mark Hamill gave "life" to a puppet named Yoda in "The Empire Strikes Back."

In an era where people are spending more time watching movies on DVD, on Demand, on their tablets or even (shudder!) on their iPhones, "Life of Pi" is a perfect example of a film that absolutely has to be seen on the big screen. And that it should come not from the innovating likes of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas or James Cameron, but from Ang Lee? Well, here's hoping that he keeps making movies that are outside of his comfort zone (again, whatever that is).

Review: Lee's 'Life of Pi' is inspiring 3-D art

Review: Lee's 'Life of Pi' is inspiring 3-D art

"Life of Pi" is one of those lyrical, internalized novels that should have no business working on the screen. Quite possibly, it wouldn't have worked if anyone but Ang Lee had adapted it.

The filmmaker who turned martial arts into a poetic blockbuster for Western audiences with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and made gay cowboys mainstream fare with "Brokeback Mountain" has crafted one of the finest entries in his eclectic resume in "Life of Pi," a gorgeous, ruminative film that is soulfully, provocatively entertaining.

Lee combines a lifetime of storytelling finesse with arguably the most artful use of digital 3-D technology yet seen to bring to life Yann Martel's saga of an Indian youth lost at sea with a ravenous Bengal tiger aboard his small lifeboat. It's a delicate narrative with visceral impact, told with an innovative style that's beguiling to watch and a philosophical voice that compassionately explores how and why we tell stories.

Our playful, not-always-reliable narrator here is Pi Patel, played by newcomer Suraj Sharma as a teen and as a grown man reflecting back on his adventure by Irrfan Khan. As a youth, Pi, his parents and brother set out from India, where the family runs a zoo in a botanical garden, to Canada. Pi's father brings along some of his menagerie on their voyage, including a tiger named Richard Parker with which Pi had a terrifying encounter as a boy.

Their ship sinks in a storm, with Pi the only human survivor aboard a lifeboat with an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg and Richard Parker. Survival of the fittest thins their numbers into a life-and-death duel, and eventually an uneasy truce of companionship, between Richard Parker and Pi.

This could be a one-note story — please Mister Tiger, don't eat me. Yet Lee and screenwriter David Magee find rich and clever ways to translate even Pi's stillest moments, the film unfolding through intricate flashbacks, whimsical voice-overs, harrowing sea hazards and exquisite flashes of fantasy and hallucination.

Lee used real tigers for a handful of scenes, but Richard Parker mostly is a digital creation, a remarkably realistic piece of computer animation seamlessly blended into the live action. The digital detail may be responsible for most of Richard Parker's fearful presence, though no small part of the tiger's impact is due to the nimble engagement of Sharma with a predator that wasn't actually there during production, a task hard enough for experienced performers, let alone a youth with no acting experience.
Digital 3-D usually is an unnecessary distraction not worth the extra admission price. In "Life of Pi," like Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," the 3-D images are tantalizing and immersive, pulling viewers deeper into Pi's world so that the illusion of depth becomes essential to the story.

Not all of the images live up to Lee's digital tiger or 3-D wizardry. Water is notoriously hard to simulate through computer animation, and the waves crashing down around the sinking ship or tossing Pi's lifeboat about have an unfinished, cartoony look. Still, Lee more than compensates with a world of visual wonders, from the simple image of a swimmer framed from below as though he's stroking his way across the sky to a mysterious island populated by a seemingly infinite number of meerkats.

The rest of the cast is mostly inconsequential, including Gerard Depardieu in a fleeting role as a cruel ship's cook. The other people in Pi's life are filtered through this unusual youth's eyes, each of them catalysts in the development of his deep spirituality, which blends Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and other contradictory influences into a weirdly cohesive form of humanism.

Like Martel's novel, the film disdains our inclination to anthropomorphize wild animals by ascribing human traits to them, and then turns around and subtly does just that. Friendship cannot possibly exist between a hungry tiger and a scrawny kid alone on the open water, yet for that boy, if not the cat, the need for togetherness, some commune of spirits, is almost as strong as the need for food and water. The ways in which Lee examines the strange bond between Pi and Richard Parker are wondrous, hilarious, unnerving, sometimes joyous, often melancholy.

Pi's story may not, as one character states, make you believe in God. But you may leave the theater more open to the possibilities of higher things in the life of Pi, and in your own.

"Life of Pi," a 20th Century Fox release, is rated PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril. Running time: 126 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.