Fitch Rates Manufacturers Life Insurance Subordinated Debt 'A-'

Fitch Ratings assigns an 'A-' rating to Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's (MLI) recently issued debentures:

The debentures are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on a subordinated basis by parent, Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC). Fitch anticipates that the net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including refinance debt. These subordinated debentures receive no equity credit in Fitch's financial leverage ratio.

At Dec. 31, 2012, MFC's financial leverage was 25%. Pro forma financial leverage, including the CAD200 million subordinated debentures increases incrementally but is expected to decline modestly in the intermediate term driven by improved organic capital generation and maturity of debt.

Fitch considers MFC's debt service capacity as below average for the rating as fixed-charge coverage on reported earnings was 3.5x and on a core earnings basis 5.6x in 2012. Fitch expects core earnings-based, fixed-charge coverage to exceed 5.5x in 2013.

On Feb. 11, 2013, Fitch affirmed MFC's and its primary insurance related operating subsidiaries' ratings, including The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company (MLI) and John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) (JHUSA). The Outlook is Negative for all ratings.

How to Develop Effective End-of-Life Plans

Retaining control over life decisions and maintaining dignity as the end of life approaches are top priorities for nearly everyone. These objectives can be achieved by good planning and the preparation of the proper directives under your state's laws. These safeguards have been greatly improved in many states in recent years. Still, experts say, few seniors have the right tools to make sure their end-of-life wishes are followed by family members and caregivers.

People often think of such matters only when they or a family member are seriously ill. But if a stroke, dementia, or another incapacitating event occurs, it may be too late. If people cannot make decisions for themselves and do not have directives or a power of attorney in place, decisions may be made for them that they would never have agreed with if they had been able to decide.

Michael A. Kirtland, an elder care attorney in Colorado Springs, Colo., says there are two ways to make sure your final wishes are followed: one is through legal documents, and the second is by communicating your wishes to anyone who might be involved in carrying out those wishes should you become incapacitated.

"Everybody ought to have either a will or revocable living trust," he says, with the preferred document depending largely on applicable state law. "Everybody ought to have a medical power of attorney ... and everybody should have a living will." Elder care lawyers in other states interviewed by U.S. News were not always in favor of living wills. But they all advocated a power of attorney for healthcare reasons, also called a healthcare proxy in some states. And some attorneys said they also recommended a separate power of attorney for property matters in addition to a healthcare proxy.

"A lot of these documents have different names in different states," says Wendy Sheinberg, who practices on Long Island. In New York, the power of attorney cannot be used to make medical choices, she says, so a healthcare proxy is needed. "The healthcare proxy becomes effective at the time when you are unable to make medical decisions for yourself." However, the proxy is not limited to end-of-life situations. A living will, by contrast, does speak to end-of-life decisions, she explains. As such, it may include very specific wishes in the event a patient's condition is terminal and they are unable to speak for themselves.

The healthcare proxy, or power of attorney, leaves more specific decisions in the hands of the healthcare agent or advocate who you designate as your proxy. For this reason, attorneys say, you should find someone (usually a family member) you trust who either agrees with your wishes, or at least promises to carry them out. Often, the agent is required to sign the healthcare proxy as well, to acknowledge an understanding and acceptance of his or her role.

The first, and often hardest, step toward creating final directives, experts agree, is having an extended conversation about how you want to be treated at the end of your life. Elder law attorneys say they may devote many hours to helping people not only select the right healthcare advocate, but open up and seriously think about how they want to end their life. The discussion usually begins between spouses and spreads to other family members. But in the case of an older parent whose spouse has died, an adult child often triggers the discussion.

"They are very hard conversations to have, and they are important to have," Sheinberg says. "This can't be over the phone. You have to sit down with these people and say, 'I trust you, I love you, and I'd like you to be the person to make medical choices for me.' You have to really sit there and have that conversation." Family dynamics often make choosing the best advocate difficult, and a spouse or child simply may not agree with a person's final wishes or be able to carry them out when the time comes.

"In discussing your desired medical choices with the person who you ultimately name as agent, it is important not just to tell them what choice you would like made, but to also explain your decision-making process and what values you consider important in formulation that decision," she adds. "Understanding a principal's decision making process can be helpful if the agent later confronts a situation that they did not specifically explore ... The goal of these documents is to empower someone else to make the decisions you would make for yourself but for the incapacity, having a deep and heartfelt conversation about these things goes a long way toward meeting that goal."
"Clients have weird thought processes that lead them to choose particular healthcare agents," says Will Lucius, an elder law attorney who works at Paul A. Sturgul Law Offices in Hurley, Wisc. "Rather than selecting an agent that can make can and will actually follow the person's wishes, clients often choose their agents in order of priority by age or who is in close proximity. These choices, while convenient, can often lead to individuals being selected as an agent who are simply not the most appropriate person."

Gregory S. French, an elder law attorney in Cincinnati and president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, says he favors separate powers of attorney documents for healthcare and property because they require different attributes in an effective agent. "I often find the best advocate for care and well-being may not be the best person to manage finances, and vice versa," he says.

"The sad cases I see are people with debilitating conditions, and they wait and wait and wait," says Kirtland. "If people would come to me as their health issues are first discovered by their physicians ... then I can provide some help." If they wait until their decision-making abilities are compromised, however, they may not even be able to execute advance directives, and key decisions will be taken out of their hands.

"When their spouse is suffering from advanced dementia and they're looking at the door of a nursing home," Lucius notes, "they're not terribly interested in having a will or doing estate planning. They're trying to figure out how to come up with $7,000 a month to afford the nursing home."

"I don't think you can ironclad final-care wishes," sums up Howard Krooks, who practices elder law in Boca Raton, Fla. "I think you can state what you want but then [you have to] cross your fingers. It's a question of whether the healthcare providers are on board with what you say you want done." The medical profession's goal to preserve and extend life may still be in conflict with end-of-life wishes.

"I think that that is starting to get stripped away, and the concept of dying with dignity is starting to take hold," Krooks says. "But it's going to take some time."

Life Technologies Stays at Neutral

We recently reiterated our Neutral recommendation on Life Technologies Corporation (LIFE), a global biotechnology tools company. While we hold a favorable view regarding Life Technologies’ Genetic Analysis sales that received a strong boost from the Ion Torrent franchise; economic uncertainties lowering discretionary spending, NIH funding cut and unfavorable currency were the major headwinds for the company during the reported quarter. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Why at Neutral?
Life Technology’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.11 remained in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but were down 5.7% year over year. Adjusted revenues increased 4.5% at CER to $999 million, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $990 million.
Life Technologies enjoys a strong position in the life sciences market and we are impressed with the strong momentum of its Ion Torrent franchise. Moreover, the company is working on expanding its portfolio with several product launches.

In Feb 2013, a dozen new products for the Ion Torrent platform were launched, aimed at expanding clinical research across the globe.These new products enabled the Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing technology to expand 1,000-fold in just 2 years and gain a 60% market share of benchtop sequencers.
Also, the recent acquisitions of BAC BV, Navigenics, Pinpoint Genomics and Compendia along with new distribution agreements in China and Chile would enable the company strengthen its diagnostics franchise and extend its footprint in emerging markets.

However, Life Technology’s exposure to the U.S. government funding is somewhere between 10% and 15%, depending on the level of funding. The recent sequestration cuts (implemented with effect from Jan 2, 2013) that curbed the NIH (National Institutes of Health) budget by 8% are expected to restrict the company from opting for medical innovations. Based on the NIH budget cut, the company provided a conservative 2013 outlook.

President's personal life hits French stage

A vow to keep his private life out of the public eye helped sweep Francois Hollande to power last year as France's president, attracting voters tired of his flashy predecessor's amorous exploits. Now, the words of the one-time dull Socialist are back to bite him in a new play.

"Mr. Normal, His Women and Me," a comedy of errors set in the presidential Elysee Palace, is inspired by a real-life Twitter scandal involving his glamorous live-in girlfriend, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, and the elegant and influential mother of Hollande's four children, politician Segolene Royal.
The affair last year shook up Hollande's carefully cultivated dull image and hurt his popularity. And it immediately caught the attention of director and writer Bernard Uzan.

"When I first saw the tweet... it was a vaudeville before my eyes," said Uzan, referring to a message sent by Trierweiler during last June's legislative elections expressing support for Royal's political opponent.

Days later, Royal lost her bid for a parliamentary seat. Widely criticized as a vindictive move, the tweet went viral and dominated French media for days.
When writing the play, Uzan says he interviewed real politicians and used genuine quotes and anecdotes.

Indeed, the characters are very thinly disguised. The play features a portly, bespectacled protagonist called Francois Gouda — named after a Dutch cheese — who's chased around the Elysee by an obsessive ex-partner, Marjolaine Loyal, and bossy First Lady Nathalie Valtriere, who likes designer dresses.
Though it is fictional, the play — which opened on Jan. 24 — points out some uncomfortable truths about the last nine months, which have seen Hollande's popularity plunge at the same speed as the country's economic fortunes.
"I, as president, won't expose my private life to the eyes of the French," says Gouda, evoking Hollande's pledge a month before his election victory in May to not mix up his public and private lives.

Hollande's words were calculated to distance himself from his conservative predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy. He was criticized for letting his private life get too public during his presidency, divorcing his second wife Cecilia and marrying his third, former supermodel and singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy while in office.

Two months after winning the election, it was Hollande in the hot seat, answering an uncomfortable question on Bastille Day about his own love triangle. His 27-year-old son, Thomas, was dragged into to the affair, dubbed "tweetgate," to defend his mother, Royal.

Mirroring the image political satirists paint of Hollande, the play shows the presidential character as incapable of controlling the two warring women who throw insults at each other.

To chuckles, an exasperated Gouda says, "I never asked to be here ... Why can't I just resign, like the pope?"

Actor Daniel Jean Colloredo plays the president as a weak, ridiculous leader — steered by the characters around him, including his aide who tries to teach him the confidence to say "I am a winner" to a mirror. He eventually manages with a weak "we-we-winner."

"He really doesn't have the strength of character to choose either woman," said Colleredo.

Hollande's ex-partner Royal was back in the news this week causing controversy, with an announcement of her appointment as vice president of the new government-funded Public Investment Bank.

Top business leader Laurence Parisot questioned Royal's experience for the job, while journalists have called it a political appointment from the Elysee to keep Royal happy — a charge she vehemently denies.

The play also tries to address the key question on everyone's lips: What is the irresistible appeal of Hollande, who has been nicknamed "flanby" after a bland custard dessert?

"We asked ourselves this, too. How can this (love triangle) have come about?" says Dominique Merot, the actress who plays Loyal. "He must have a lot of charm behind closed doors."

Life Time Fitness Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2012 Financial Results

Life Time Fitness, Inc. (LTM), The Healthy Way of Life Company, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2012.

Fourth quarter 2012 revenue grew 9.7% to $275.3 million from $250.9 million during the same period last year. Total revenue for the year grew 11.2% to $1.127 billion from $1.014 billion in 2011.

Net income for the quarter was $23.4 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, compared to net income of $19.8 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for 4Q 2011. Net income for the year was $111.5 million, or $2.66 per diluted share, compared to net income of $92.6 million, or $2.26 per diluted share, in 2011.
“For 2012, I am pleased to report double-digit growth in revenue, operating profit, net income, and earnings per share,” said Bahram Akradi, chairman, president and chief executive officer.

“We also saw total-center revenue growth above 10%, along with solid revenue-per-membership and same-store-sales. Looking ahead, we are positioning our company for top-line growth through center expansion, new membership and programming initiatives, and expanded products and services. For 2013, we plan to open one new center in the first half of the year, our first in Alabama, and two in the second half, including one in Virginia and one in New Jersey. We also have initial plans to double our center openings in 2014, led by openings in New York and California early in the year.”

Individuals Are Complicit in Work-Life Flexibility Failure, Say Workplace and Academic Experts

For years, the mandates for more work life flexibility were directed at organizations and management, but workplace and academic experts say the boss or company are no longer the ones to solely blame for flexibility failure. Increasingly the challenge is for risk-averse employees, especially in the current economic climate, to focus less on sweeping transformative change and instead make small every day shifts in work style.

"We've spent nearly the last two decades calling out the companies and management for the need for work life flexibility.  Many have responded, but now employees also need to step up and assert control by making small, subtle, practical choices that no one will notice but them," explains Cali Williams Yost (www.worklifefit.com), a leading thinker on workplace issues and author of the just published Tweak It: Make What Matters To You Happen Every Day (January 2013/Center Street/Hachette).

Adds Brad Harrington, Ph.D., the Executive Director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family, "For over 20 years, our Center has stressed the importance of organizational culture, the right types of management support, and the most effective human resource policies and programs needed to facilitate work life fit. But I have always stressed my belief that ultimately it is the individual who must solve this problem, must determine their fit, and must manage the process of achieving it."

But according to research Yost conducted with ORC International nearly 75 percent of the population believes that work life flexibility is only possible if their employer and/or boss provide it.  Employees do not feel empowered and are stressed by increased workloads and lack of time, the most cited obstacles to work life flexibility in Yost's research. 

Both Yost and Harrington agree the workplace has become more supportive, offering flexibility programs and policies that help employees manage life's major transitions such as parenthood and illness. But for many, it's unrealistic to regularly work from home, have a compressed or reduced schedule, or take advantage of some other formal flexibility offering.  Even so, that doesn't mean work life fit has to be a lost cause or failed resolution.

"Major life events matter," explains Yost, "but it's the everyday routine we crave and where employees struggle the most with managing work life fit.  We can't wait for HR or the boss to solve this conflict for us.  Employees themselves need to manage work life fit as a daily practice.  And while it may be counterintuitive, it starts by thinking small – by yes, sweating the 'small stuff.'"

During the nearly two decades that Yost has advised hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals, she has observed a small segment of the population that she calls the work+life fit "naturals" – the envied few who seemingly fit all of the pieces of their personal and professional lives together with ease while the majority of us continue to struggle. 

"The 'naturals' make small, consistent changes in how, when and where they manage their work and their lives," Yost says.  "There is no scary, bold, disruption.  No one-size-fits-all balance that is never achieved.  Instead they 'tweak', taking granular deliberate actions that over time build the foundation for a successful work life fit that collectively transforms their performance on and off the job."

In her new book Tweak It (www.worklifefit.com/book), Yost uncovers the secrets of the work life fit naturals and describes four simple steps that surprisingly few of us follow to ensure that what matters to us happens with the competing demands of work and life.  These include merging our work and life calendars and to do lists so that we have a complete picture to guide daily decision making, progress tracking and fine tuning.

"Yost's latest contribution to the field provides individuals with a simple yet elegant way to take hold of their lives and in doing so, achieve their personal and professional goals," notes Harrington.  "Tweak It illustrates vividly how small changes can have a big impact on the quality of our lives and work."

Yost will share her insights and more on this "downsized" approach to work life flexibility at several noteworthy 2013 conferences including the American Psychological Association's 2013 Work & Wellbeing Conferences, South by Southwest, and Invent Your Future. 

Sun Life Reverses Prior-Year Loss

The Canadian life insurer Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF) announced operating earnings $457.1 million (C$453 million), compared to an operating loss of $216 million (C$221 million) in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Adjusted revenue was $5.7 billion (C$5.6 billion), compared to $4.6 billion (C $4.7 billion) in the year ago quarter. The increase in revenue came on the back of higher premium revenue from SLF Group Retirement Services in Canada and SLF Life and Investment Products businesses in the U.S., higher investment income and increased fee income from Mutual Fund Segment (:MFS).

Total benefits and expenses was $ 3.9 billion (C$3.9 billion) down from $5.4 billion (C$5.5 billion) in the year ago quarter.

Full Year Highlights

The company reported operating earnings of $1.6 billion (C$1.6 billion), compared to loss of $361 million (C$370 million) in 2011.

Adjusted revenue of $19.5 billion (C$19.5 billion) was up from $ 18.7 billion (C$19.1 billion) in full year 2011. The increase was driven by higher fee income from MFS and favorable impact from currency movements.

Segment Results

During the quarter SLF Canada reported operating income of $149 million (C$149 million), down 18% year over year, led by favorable impact of investment activity on insurance contract liabilities in Individual Insurance & Investments and Group Retirement Services, and positive morbidity and mortality experience in Group Benefits.

SLF U.S. operating income during the quarter was $93 million (C$93 million), compared to an operating loss of $75 million (C$77 million) in the year ago quarter. Results were favorably impacted by the refinement of certain actuarial assumption updates from the prior quarter, partially offset by unfavorable morbidity experience in Employee Benefits Group as well as an investment in voluntary benefits capabilities.

MFS Investment Management reported operating net income of $85 million (C$85 million) compared to $66 million (C$68 million) in the year ago quarter.

SLF Asia reported operating income was $50 million (C$50 million), compared to $43 million (C$44 million) in the year ago quarter

Corporate segment reported operating net loss of (C$44 million), compared to an operating loss of $6.8 million (C$7 million) in the year ago quarter

The company reported operating return on equity of 12.9%, compared to a negative 6.5% in the year ago quarter.

Sun Life Assurance's MCCSR ratio was 209% as at Dec 31, 2012, compared to 211% as at Dec 31, 2011. The decline in capital ratio was due to low interest rates and volatile equity markets.

In an effort to shed its variable annuity exposure, during the fourth quarter the company entered into an agreement to sell off its U.S. annuities business. It also made agreement to sell certain of its U.S. life insurance businesses including all of the issued and outstanding shares of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

Results reflect the company’s consistent effort towards its growth strategy. We expect favorable results from the company going forward.

Other players in the same field StanCorp Financial Group Inc. (SFG), Lincoln National Corporation (LNC), Protective Life Corp. (PL) all reported fourth quarter earnings ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.   

Life Insurance Comparison Website lifeinsuranceselect.net Helps 5,000 Visitors in First 10 Days Online

A brand-new life insurance comparison website has hit the Internet and is already getting a lot of attention from life insurance shoppers. In their first 10 days online they reached the milestone of 5,000 people helped, and today just announced that they have unveiled their new cutting edge life insurance comparison software.

According to Danielle Lynn, director of marketing for lifeinsuranceselect.net, the new software represents the forefront of technology for comparison software: "When we first started in this industry in 2002 the software we used required readers to enter sensitive information such as their credit card number, birth date, and even home address. Today however, the need for sensitive personal information is no longer required. With a simple zip code our website provides side-by-side comparisons of the most reputable life insurance companies in any given area. Further, our new software does it 25% faster than before and has access to almost triple the gigabytes of information than our previous technology."

Indeed, the trend for the life-insurance industry has completely changed over the last two years. Before, life insurance shoppers had to reach out to life insurance companies in their area just to get price quotes or to see outlines of their plans. This put the advantage in the hands of the life-insurance companies and made the process of searching for life insurance an exhausting endeavor.

Today, in stark contrast to that dynamic, shoppers are now in the driver seat. They can go to websites like lifeinsuranceselect.net, gather price quotes of all the life-insurance companies in their area, and contact each company on their own terms- pitting one life insurance company against the other and making them fight it out for their business.

According to the website owners this new software has created a spike in their viewership, effectually tripling their weekly average views in its first 10 days after release. "The real difference between us and our competition is we have invested in the absolute best comparison software available," says Daniel Lynn. "We require no personal information from our readers and our results aggregate in just seconds. A viewer can click over to our website, enter their zip code, and in the time it takes to read this sentence have a full list of the prices, policies, and specific details of all the best life insurance companies in their area."

To learn more about lifeinsuranceselect.net, or to get a side-by-side comparison of all the best life insurance providers in an area, please visit www.lifeinsuranceselect.net.

Life returns to normal in Kashmir Valley

Life returned to normal in Srinagar and other major towns of the Kashmir Valley Monday after seven days of curfew and two days of separatist-sponsored shutdown following the Feb 9 execution of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

Shops, banks, post offices, business establishments and government offices were open in the Jammu and Kashmir summer capital, while public transport was plying normally.

Students attended tuitions and coaching classes in the morning, as the city's educational institutions have been closed for winter vacations.

Railway officials said train services in Jammu and Kashmir would resume by afternoon.
The curfew, imposed after the execution of Afzal Guru at Delhi's Tihar Jail, was lifted in the entire Kashmir Valley Saturday. However, life remained paralysed for the next two days owing to a total shutdown called by Syed Ali Geelani, chairman of the hardline Hurriyat group.

Three people died across the region during clashes with the security forces in the aftermath of Guru's hanging.

Meanwhile, rumours continue to do the rounds in north Kashmir's Baramulla district and Srinagar city about the possibility of Afzal Guru's body being returned to the family for last rites. However, there has been no official confirmation on this so far.

A Life of Galileo, RSC

Brecht’s Life of Galileo sounds like a straight biographical account, but of course it’s a drama. The real history of Galileo is more interesting and complex than the attenuated cliché that has come down to us since, of the lonely, heroic scientist standing up to the might of the repressive, backward-looking Roman Catholic Church.

It was Cardinal Newman who pointed out that when ­people argued that the Catholic Church had always stood in the way of scientific advance, about the only example they could come up with was Galileo. Even this is a hazy memory. In 1610, Father Clavius wrote to tell Galileo that his fellow Jesuit astronomers had confirmed his observations. (The Jesuits were always at the forefront of astronomy, which is why there are 35 mountains and craters on the moon named after them.) Galileo was greeted rapturously in Rome the next year. In 1612 his work on sunspots received an enthusiastic letter of congratulation from Cardinal Barberini, later Pope Urban VIII, and his Dialogue of 1632 was also written at the urging of the Pope.

These are all interesting details that indicate a more complex truth beneath the popular legend — but this A Life of Galileo, for its own reasons, sticks firmly with the legend. It’s not just about Galileo, it’s about Brecht’s passionate conviction that intellectuals must always resist tyranny and totalitarianism, no matter what the cost. That’s Bertolt Brecht, by the way, lifelong Marxist, winner of the Stalin Peace prize in 1954, who was furious with Einstein for suggesting that perhaps the Soviet Union ought not to have the atomic bomb.

Before the dawn of modernity and science, all is darkness. “Our cities are cramped, so are our minds,” Galileo tells us at the start. “Superstition, plague...” Then he makes a new telescope, looks up at the stars and sees that “heaven is empty”. Instantly he seems to become a 21st-century atheist. Ian McDiarmid communicates an invigorating sense of excitement at new discoveries and makes a genial, enthusiastic, sometimes peppery Galileo until the end, when, apparently having been cruelly tortured and broken by the Inquisition (historical note: he wasn’t), he comes shuffling on like Lear himself, white-haired, white-gowned, defeated, though still with a nice line in mordant irony against his oppressors.

There are some wildly over-the-top costumes, though Galileo is just a scruffy old boffin in a tweed suit. The young Cosimo de’ Medici appears in silver DMs and on a scooter, for no clear reason; three of Jupiter’s moons are dancers wearing silver discs in front of their faces, like something out of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The sinister Inquisitor is comic-book and there’s a ­hysterical old ­cardinal, who shrieks “Everything depends without question on me, God’s creation in the centre, the image of God, the eternal and...”, then collapses.

Just when you are beginning to think that, despite all McDiarmid’s amiability, everything here rather lacks subtlety and nuance, it gets a whole lot worse. Act II begins with a kind of diabolical carnival of celebration and revolt, with various figures leaping and cavorting about the stage, singing: “Who doesn’t want to be their own master?” Galileo is looking down a telescope and discovering that Jupiter has moons, you see. He has begun to unstitch the very fabric of hierarchical European society almost overnight. The oppressed proletariat are starting to liberate themselves from their chains and a new world is born. There’s a nun of the Sacred Heart in heavy make-up, a girning man in a white robe covered in crosses, another cross splatted across his face like an England supporter at the World Cup. Oh, and most daringly of all, Christ himself, crowned in thorns, in crucified pose, but looking utterly ridiculous in bright red Y-fronts!

Just to emphasise the RSC’s bravery and daring here, a minute later he is bouncing around the stage on a space ­hopper like an overgrown child. How insanely and courageously satirical to make mock of such a figure in a nation still so devoutly and indeed fiercely Christian! Yet if we were to ­suspect that the RSC wouldn’t dream of making mock of any other religious figure in this way, might it not suggest a rather pathetic and contemptible sort of cowardice?

This interlude only emphasises what a schematic play this is, made more so by Roxana ­Silbert’s direction and Mark Ravenhill’s translation. “Science good, church bad!” — we are ­hectored for two and a half loquacious hours. And I thought theatre was supposed to set up conflicts, represent different points of view, rather than try to hammer into the thick skulls of the groundlings its pre­decided opinions.

Life Wireless to offer cellphone service to eligible low-income customers in Arizona

Life Wireless is now offering subsidized mobile phone service to eligible low-income residents in Arizona.

Life Wireless provides phone service through the federal Lifeline program, which was created by Congress in 1985 to ensure that all Americans have access to quality telephone service and the security and opportunities that it affords. Eligible subscribers in Arizona must take part in a federal assistance program such as Medicaid or Food Stamps or earn less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level. Customers may not receive service from more than one Lifeline carrier at the same time.

Life Wireless customers receive a basic mobile handset with voicemail, text messaging, call waiting, and other features. Smart phones are not available. Calling plans offer up to 250 minutes a month.

"We're excited about this new venture into Arizona," said Jim Carpenter, a senior vice president with Life Wireless. "We want to fulfill the mission of the Lifeline phone program by having our sales representatives go out into the community to reach those most in need of telephone service."

Life Wireless recently had its compliance plan approved by the Federal Communications Commission. The compliance plan details the industry-leading steps Life Wireless takes to preserve the integrity of the federal Lifeline program and deliver affordable telephone service to eligible low-income families and individuals. Life Wireless performs multiple checks on each potential customer to verify that they qualify for phone service through the Lifeline program. All Life Wireless sales representatives receive extensive training and oversight to ensure that company policies are upheld.

"A cellphone is no longer a luxury item, it's a necessity," said Carpenter. "A cellphone helps people to stay in touch with their doctors, loved ones, and potential employers, and enables them to contact 911 during an emergency."

Life Science Association of Manitoba (LSAM) Honours Innovation and Expertise in Manitoba

LSAM has its work cut out for itself when trying to choose winners for their highly coveted awards program.

“This is an industry of innovators, so choosing just a few of them to receive recognition is challenging,” says Tracey Maconachie, President, LSAM. “But, what a fantastic position to be in. The whole industry is becoming a major success story for our province and this year’s winners showcase the best and the brightest we offer to the world.”

The life science industry in Manitoba, which now accounts for 7% of the province’s GDP, covers a wide range of core businesses. The over 100 LSAM member companies can be grouped into three primary categories: agriculture and food products, health products and industrial bio-products.
This year’s winners exemplify that variety of expertise in a very real way.

“With such a big range of businesses covered by life sciences our awards program is truly representative of the breadth and impact of this industry,“ says Earl Gardiner, Board Chair, LSAM. “From a green pulp and paper company to life saving medical equipment, the awards showcase the far reaching impact our province is having on the world outside our borders.”

Winners were chosen in several categories: outstanding leadership in research, life science company of the year, life science award for innovation (health), life science award for innovation (agriculture) and most promising life science student.

“We’re honoured to have been recognized for our accomplishments to date, and for our further potential going forward,” said Christopher J. Moreau, President and Chief Executive Officer, Miraculins, winner of the Life Sciences Company of the Year award. “We are proud to share news of this award and this recognition with our shareholders, our investors, and our customers. Furthermore, we are pleased to be acknowledged amongst the many deserving companies in Manitoba and we are proud to be a part of this important industry in a region with a true appreciation for innovation.”

The Life Science Association of Manitoba (LSAM) presents its annual Life Science Awards as a way to recognize the leaders and innovators of the life science community.

All awards are being presented at the Life Science Association Award Gala, February 13, 2013 at the Winnipeg Winter Club. Key note speaker James Robbins is a motivational speaker and adventurer whose new book Nine Minutes to Monday is the Globe and Mail’s #1 business book for 2012. He is sharing how to transform leadership in just minutes a day.

Should Cohabitees have Life Insurance?

Official statistics show that the total figure of cohabiting adults has increased over the last 15 years in England and Wales.

Figures show that in 1992 there were 2.7 million cohabiting adults - in 2007 this had risen to 4.5 million. Reports suggest that this number will continue to rise amongst the ''never married'' adult group.

Figures also show that there is a decline in the number of people under the age of 30 who are cohabiting, yet an increase in adult couples aged over 30 who are living together.

Further research shows that between 2001 and 2010 the number of opposite sex cohabiting couple families increased from 2.1 million to 2.7 million.

This means that the total number of children growing up in households where adults are unmarried has increased from 1.3 million to 1.8 million in the same time.

It is not just unmarried couples living together who are pushing up the trend. Groups of friends are collectively pooling their cash together to buy properties and live together for longer.

Mortgages are often considered one of the largest financial commitments that anyone can make in their lifetime. For this reason many co-habiting people may want to opt to take out a mortgage life insurance policy. A policy could safeguard finances in the event of death. Should one of the part homeowners suddenly pass away or suffer from a life threatening illness, the cover could provide financial support and peace of mind when you need it most.

George Sanchez Calderon’s work: art, memories, Americana

Art Basel set up shop in Wynwood and provided Miamians a glimpse into the art world. But before “socially relevant” art was a prerequisite in an artist’s portfolio and before Cuban-American identity had any cachet, Miami-bred Cuban-American artist George Sanchez Calderon was creating art that spoke of and to his surroundings in the most provocative and profound way.

I became familiar with Sanchez Calderon’s work in the mid to late 1990s — the first time art not only spoke to my soul but also made me question, revise and reaffirm notions and values that were for the most part digested as rote, traditions passed on from previous generations.

Sanchez Calderon’s latest work is PAX Americana, a piece that was unveiled last fall as part of a public arts project in the ritzy community of Bal Harbour. The work consists of two major pieces: a recreation of a Levittown-style house (the quintessential suburban home in the United States popularized after World War II) and a stainless steel sign that reads “AMERICANA.” The sign rests on the lawn of the present day St. Regis Bal Harbour Hotel, which stands on sandy land that was once home to the Morris Lapidus-designed Americana Hotel.

“The work is a reflection on post World War II American values. It was the age of American cultural expansionism, which had a strong impact on our immigrant parents’ generation that was weaned on Platters records and the recently deceased Stan ‘The Man’ Musial,” explained Sanchez Calderon. “I am the son of Cuban exiles who grew up respecting the core American beliefs that Musial embodied. When I learned of his passing I immediately thought of my father.”

The lore of Americana was based on the fundamental promise of freedom and prosperity that so many Cuban exiles who came here fleeing tyranny in the 1960s and ’70s passed on to their children. Part of what makes Sanchez Calderon’s work so eerily grounded is his working-class upbringing. His parents ran the Tastee Bakery on Washington Avenue on Miami Beach for 28 years — that meant nearly three decades of his parents rising at 4 a.m. “Sometimes you don’t know or appreciate how much you miss a person until you have to bury them,” said the Rhode Island School of Design graduate about his father’s passing last year. “With him, and many of his generation, went that well-defined code of ethics that served as a compass for many American Baby Boomers,” Sanchez Calderon said. “And when I say Americans I don’t just mean people born in the U.S. I’m referring to natives of the American continent.”

Pax Americana is yet another example of Sanchez Calderon’s reflective oeuvre. His substantial body of work is devoid of didactic clichés. In his engaging, sometimes brazen conceptualizations and installations, the artist pricks your intellect without pounding you into submission with his interpretations.

What initially intrigued was the cultural relevance, given my Cuban-American heritage and my interest in the Cuban diaspora. However, what made Sanchez Calderon’s work unique and engaging was the thematic universality of human frailty that his pieces exude.

He cleverly summed up for me why throughout the turbulent physical, political, and cultural changes Miami endures, Cuba remains an important issue: “Because we have yet to close that chapter in our lives.”

On March 19 (the first commemoration of the artist’s father’s birthday since his death), Sanchez Calderon will burn the Levittown house in the spirit of the Spanish tradition of “ Las Fallas,” a pagan ritual where large paper mache puppets are burned to celebrate the onset of spring and commemorate St. Joseph’s Day, which is Father’s Day throughout Spain.