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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nokia Life Services to Expand to Kenya

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

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

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

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

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

Standard Life Investments becomes first Worldwide Partner in Ryder Cup history

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Life of Pi Wins Best Visual Effects Oscar

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

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

See the full list of 2013 Oscar winners here

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

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

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

Allianz Life Reports Financial Results for 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exclusive: Life Technologies sale process cools - sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exclusive: Life Technologies sale process cools - sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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