The man who pleaded guilty to a deadly Arizona shooting rampage that wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been sentenced to life in prison.
Former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, left, and her husband, Mark Kelly, leave U.S. District Court in Tucson, Ariz., on Thursday, Nov. 8, after the sentencing of Jared Loughner.
U.S. District Judge Larry Burns sentenced 24-year-old Jared Lee Loughner on Thursday for the January 2011 attack that left six people dead and Giffords and others wounded.
Loughner pleaded guilty to federal charges under an agreement that guarantees he will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. He received seven life terms, one for each death and one for the attempt on Giffords' life, plus 140 years.
Giffords hugged her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, after the sentencing was handed down.
Loughner showed little response to the sentence.
The hearing marked the first time victims -- including Giffords -- could confront Loughner in court. Her husband spoke on her behalf, saying Loughner changed his wife's life forever but couldn't dent her spirit.
At the courtroom podium, Giffords held Kelly’s hand silently and stared directly at Loughner as Kelly addressed him in a stern tone, NBC News reported.
"That bright and chilly morning you killed six innocent people," Kelly said. "Gabby would trade her own life to save any of those you savagely murdered that day."
Monday, November 12, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Relieving Stress by Planning for the Future can help Extend Life Expectancy
Search the web today and a variety of research-based articles regarding extending life expectancy will appear. Some include the obvious healthy habits such as exercising, eating more fruits and vegetables and not smoking. Others include not so common items such as learning a new language, volunteering and eating dark chocolate. But one recommendation found on nearly every list--reduce stress and anxiety.
What are the long-term effects of not reducing stress? According to HelpGuide.org, an online health resource guide, constant stress puts pressure on your immune system so you become more susceptible to illness and disease. Moreover, chronic stress—whether from internal or external sources-- can cause a number of health issues including heart disease, digestive and sleep problems, depression, obesity and eczema.
Stress caused by external factors like a stressful job, long commute or a destructive relationship can be alleviated in obvious ways but some stressors are self-generated. One in particular is the inability to accept uncertainty. "I've seen some clients come into my office feeling very anxious about the lack of control in their financial situation and they worry about their family's future should they lose their jobs or much worse, die prematurely," states an Orange-County based financial planner who sells life insurance among other financial products. She continued to say she has seen first-hand the peace of mind purchasing life insurance brings to these clients knowing their family has an emergency financial safety net.
For those anxious about the future, taking positive measures to exert control over some areas in life can go far in dialing down that anxiety, which can help slow down the aging process. A 2011 study conducted by the research firm LIMRA found that 27 percent of the more than 2000 people polled online in a 2011 Insurance Barometer Study were very concerned about leaving their family in a worse financial state in the event of their early death.
Someone who provides half to all of a family's income is a perfect example of one that needs to have a policy in place. An eliminated stress being worrying about the negative and financial impact your loss of income will have on a grieving family. In fact, depending on the amount of coverage selected, a spouse can have a death benefit payout that can help pay off remaining debt, medical bills, retirement fund and in some cases, all or some college tuition for surviving children.
A real-life example is a businessman who shared his own personal experience at a meeting with his work peers. For years he had bought and sold life insurance with his main focus on the financial benefits it provided. His entire outlook changed on 9/11 when he was traveling by plane when he and the other passengers were told by the pilot that the plane would have to land early. He said he first felt afraid but then when he saw the fear on the other passengers' faces, his fear turned into a sense of calm knowing that his family would be taken care of financially should he lose his life that day. Thankfully he did not lose his life but was left with a deeper understanding of the emotional benefit of having a life insurance policy and often shares that experience with his clients.
Another real-life example is a forty-something couple who believed in the benefits of life insurance and had a policy in place to provide financial support to the wife and their three young boys should the husband die prematurely. Both parents worked in a volatile job industry and money was tight so they got behind on paying some of their bills. They got a few months behind on paying their life insurance premiums and unknowingly let the time run out to keep their policy active and it was terminated. Less than two weeks later, the husband died in a tragic car accident and the wife received nothing from the term life insurance policy they had dutifully paid the premiums each month for years. Instead of paying off the family home as they planned so the family could remain in spite of the loss of income, the wife was forced to leave the home and raise her children in an apartment until she could earn enough money for a down payment on another home. This was not the scenario the couple had planned for.
While most people know the financial benefits of owning a life insurance policy should the unthinkable happen, it still falls down the priority list for many as other expenses get higher billing. However, for those who have taken advantage of the competitive rates of today's life insurance policies, they can be rest assured it is one less thing to cause them stress about the future—and that peace of mind can go a long way toward better health.
www.CompassQuote.com is an independent insurance broker that represents many of the country's top insurance companies. They help consumers save money and time by providing information on what financial products each of the companies specialize in so they can make the best informed decision for their individual situations. Compass Quote can assist with alleviating these worries and thus reducing stress and preparing for the future!
What are the long-term effects of not reducing stress? According to HelpGuide.org, an online health resource guide, constant stress puts pressure on your immune system so you become more susceptible to illness and disease. Moreover, chronic stress—whether from internal or external sources-- can cause a number of health issues including heart disease, digestive and sleep problems, depression, obesity and eczema.
Stress caused by external factors like a stressful job, long commute or a destructive relationship can be alleviated in obvious ways but some stressors are self-generated. One in particular is the inability to accept uncertainty. "I've seen some clients come into my office feeling very anxious about the lack of control in their financial situation and they worry about their family's future should they lose their jobs or much worse, die prematurely," states an Orange-County based financial planner who sells life insurance among other financial products. She continued to say she has seen first-hand the peace of mind purchasing life insurance brings to these clients knowing their family has an emergency financial safety net.
For those anxious about the future, taking positive measures to exert control over some areas in life can go far in dialing down that anxiety, which can help slow down the aging process. A 2011 study conducted by the research firm LIMRA found that 27 percent of the more than 2000 people polled online in a 2011 Insurance Barometer Study were very concerned about leaving their family in a worse financial state in the event of their early death.
Someone who provides half to all of a family's income is a perfect example of one that needs to have a policy in place. An eliminated stress being worrying about the negative and financial impact your loss of income will have on a grieving family. In fact, depending on the amount of coverage selected, a spouse can have a death benefit payout that can help pay off remaining debt, medical bills, retirement fund and in some cases, all or some college tuition for surviving children.
A real-life example is a businessman who shared his own personal experience at a meeting with his work peers. For years he had bought and sold life insurance with his main focus on the financial benefits it provided. His entire outlook changed on 9/11 when he was traveling by plane when he and the other passengers were told by the pilot that the plane would have to land early. He said he first felt afraid but then when he saw the fear on the other passengers' faces, his fear turned into a sense of calm knowing that his family would be taken care of financially should he lose his life that day. Thankfully he did not lose his life but was left with a deeper understanding of the emotional benefit of having a life insurance policy and often shares that experience with his clients.
Another real-life example is a forty-something couple who believed in the benefits of life insurance and had a policy in place to provide financial support to the wife and their three young boys should the husband die prematurely. Both parents worked in a volatile job industry and money was tight so they got behind on paying some of their bills. They got a few months behind on paying their life insurance premiums and unknowingly let the time run out to keep their policy active and it was terminated. Less than two weeks later, the husband died in a tragic car accident and the wife received nothing from the term life insurance policy they had dutifully paid the premiums each month for years. Instead of paying off the family home as they planned so the family could remain in spite of the loss of income, the wife was forced to leave the home and raise her children in an apartment until she could earn enough money for a down payment on another home. This was not the scenario the couple had planned for.
While most people know the financial benefits of owning a life insurance policy should the unthinkable happen, it still falls down the priority list for many as other expenses get higher billing. However, for those who have taken advantage of the competitive rates of today's life insurance policies, they can be rest assured it is one less thing to cause them stress about the future—and that peace of mind can go a long way toward better health.
www.CompassQuote.com is an independent insurance broker that represents many of the country's top insurance companies. They help consumers save money and time by providing information on what financial products each of the companies specialize in so they can make the best informed decision for their individual situations. Compass Quote can assist with alleviating these worries and thus reducing stress and preparing for the future!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Jared Lee Loughner sentenced to life in prison
A federal judge in Arizona sentenced Jared Lee Loughner to life in prison without parole Thursday after several victims of his 2011 shooting rampage in Tucson — including former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords — confronted him in court.
Loughner was ordered to serve seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years for killing six people and wounding 13 others, including Giffords. The 24-year-old college dropout, who has a history of psychiatric disorders, agreed in August to a plea bargain that avoided the possibility of a federal death sentence.
Before sentencing, Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, confronted Loughner. Reading from prepared remarks, Kelly delivered an impassioned statement that was not only highly personal but also deeply political in its appeal for stricter gun control.
In the statement, the couple told Loughner that although he had changed Giffords’s life forever, he had not succeeded in his mission; he had “failed to extinguish the beauty of life.”
“Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy, you sought to extinguish the beauty of life, to diminish potential, to strain love and to cancel ideas,” Kelly said. “You tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own. But know this, and remember it always: You failed.”
The court appearance marked the first time that Giffords has come face to face with Loughner since he opened fire at a constituent meeting she was holding in a supermarket parking lot in January 2011. He shot Giffords in the head at close range.
Giffords did not speak at the hearing. She stood at Kelly’s side as they faced Loughner, who was about 20 feet away and showed little emotion as he listened to a succession of victims.
“You pointed a weapon and shot me three times,” said Susan Hileman, another survivor, as she looked directly at Loughner.
“We’ve been told about your demons, about the illness that skewed your thinking,” Hileman said, according to an Associated Press report. “Your parents, your schools, your community, they all failed you.” Hileman said she would “walk out of this courtroom and into the rest of my life, and I won’t think of you again.”
Loughner told U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns that he did not want to speak at the hearing. Burns said the sentence — including a life term for each of the six people killed and a seventh for the attempted assassination of Giffords — meant that Loughner “will never have the opportunity to pick up a gun and do this again.”
In Washington, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. issued a statement echoing that sentiment. Holder also said, “For the victims, their families and the larger community impacted by this tragic event in our nation’s history, it is my sincere hope that this conclusion will help in their journey toward physical and emotional recovery.”
Armed with a 9mm Glock 19 pistol he had bought at a sporting goods store, Loughner fired 33 shots during the 2011 attack before he was tackled while trying to reload. He was carrying 93 rounds, and he intended to assassinate Giffords, according to federal authorities.
Kelly called on politicians across the country to deal with the issue of gun violence. It was the first time that he or Giffords had spoken so forcefully on the issue.
“We are a people who can watch a young man like you spiral into murderous rampage without choosing to intervene before it is too late,” he said. “We have a political class that is too afraid to do something as simple as have a meaningful debate about our gun laws and how they are being enforced. We have representatives who look at gun violence not as a problem to solve but as the white elephant in the room to ignore.”
Many of the survivors of Loughner’s rampage were in the packed federal courtroom for the sentencing hearing. Also present were relatives of those killed in the attack, who included John M. Roll, a federal judge; Gabe Zimmerman, a member of Giffords’s staff; and 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. Kelly paid tribute to each of the victims in his remarks, before continuing:
“Gabby would give anything to take away the grief you visited upon the Morrises, the Schnecks and the Stoddards — anything to heal the bodies and the psyches of your other victims,” Kelly said.
Giffords was critically wounded in the attack, of which she was thought to be the primary target. Her injuries, Kelly said, damaged her ability to speak and to see and left her partially paralyzed.
The 42-year-old Democrat resigned her House seat in January, but she appeared at the Democratic National Convention in September to deliver the Pledge of Allegiance.
On Thursday, Kelly was critical of Arizona’s governor, Republican Jan Brewer, saying she was among the “feckless” political leaders who had failed to take on gun control. He cited Brewer’s remark after the attack that the shooting did not “have anything to do with the size of the magazine or the caliber of the gun.”
Arizona gun laws are among the most lenient in the country. The state allows anyone 21 or older to own a firearm and to carry it concealed, and gun owners can carry their firearms almost anywhere in Arizona, including inside the State Capitol and other government buildings. In January 2010, Brewer signed a bill that repealed a state law that required gun owners to have permits to carry concealed guns.
On Thursday, Kelly ended his statement to the court by paying tribute to his wife.
“Even amid all that was lost, Gabby and I give thanks for her life, her spirit and her intellect, which are a continued force in the world despite what you’ve done,” he said.
Loughner, who was declared schizophrenic after the attack, pleaded guilty in August to 19 federal charges in the shooting rampage. Arizona authorities have said they will not file state charges against Loughner.
Loughner was ordered to serve seven consecutive life terms plus 140 years for killing six people and wounding 13 others, including Giffords. The 24-year-old college dropout, who has a history of psychiatric disorders, agreed in August to a plea bargain that avoided the possibility of a federal death sentence.
Before sentencing, Giffords and her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, confronted Loughner. Reading from prepared remarks, Kelly delivered an impassioned statement that was not only highly personal but also deeply political in its appeal for stricter gun control.
In the statement, the couple told Loughner that although he had changed Giffords’s life forever, he had not succeeded in his mission; he had “failed to extinguish the beauty of life.”
“Mr. Loughner, by making death and producing tragedy, you sought to extinguish the beauty of life, to diminish potential, to strain love and to cancel ideas,” Kelly said. “You tried to create for all of us a world as dark and evil as your own. But know this, and remember it always: You failed.”
The court appearance marked the first time that Giffords has come face to face with Loughner since he opened fire at a constituent meeting she was holding in a supermarket parking lot in January 2011. He shot Giffords in the head at close range.
Giffords did not speak at the hearing. She stood at Kelly’s side as they faced Loughner, who was about 20 feet away and showed little emotion as he listened to a succession of victims.
“You pointed a weapon and shot me three times,” said Susan Hileman, another survivor, as she looked directly at Loughner.
“We’ve been told about your demons, about the illness that skewed your thinking,” Hileman said, according to an Associated Press report. “Your parents, your schools, your community, they all failed you.” Hileman said she would “walk out of this courtroom and into the rest of my life, and I won’t think of you again.”
Loughner told U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns that he did not want to speak at the hearing. Burns said the sentence — including a life term for each of the six people killed and a seventh for the attempted assassination of Giffords — meant that Loughner “will never have the opportunity to pick up a gun and do this again.”
In Washington, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. issued a statement echoing that sentiment. Holder also said, “For the victims, their families and the larger community impacted by this tragic event in our nation’s history, it is my sincere hope that this conclusion will help in their journey toward physical and emotional recovery.”
Armed with a 9mm Glock 19 pistol he had bought at a sporting goods store, Loughner fired 33 shots during the 2011 attack before he was tackled while trying to reload. He was carrying 93 rounds, and he intended to assassinate Giffords, according to federal authorities.
Kelly called on politicians across the country to deal with the issue of gun violence. It was the first time that he or Giffords had spoken so forcefully on the issue.
“We are a people who can watch a young man like you spiral into murderous rampage without choosing to intervene before it is too late,” he said. “We have a political class that is too afraid to do something as simple as have a meaningful debate about our gun laws and how they are being enforced. We have representatives who look at gun violence not as a problem to solve but as the white elephant in the room to ignore.”
Many of the survivors of Loughner’s rampage were in the packed federal courtroom for the sentencing hearing. Also present were relatives of those killed in the attack, who included John M. Roll, a federal judge; Gabe Zimmerman, a member of Giffords’s staff; and 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. Kelly paid tribute to each of the victims in his remarks, before continuing:
“Gabby would give anything to take away the grief you visited upon the Morrises, the Schnecks and the Stoddards — anything to heal the bodies and the psyches of your other victims,” Kelly said.
Giffords was critically wounded in the attack, of which she was thought to be the primary target. Her injuries, Kelly said, damaged her ability to speak and to see and left her partially paralyzed.
The 42-year-old Democrat resigned her House seat in January, but she appeared at the Democratic National Convention in September to deliver the Pledge of Allegiance.
On Thursday, Kelly was critical of Arizona’s governor, Republican Jan Brewer, saying she was among the “feckless” political leaders who had failed to take on gun control. He cited Brewer’s remark after the attack that the shooting did not “have anything to do with the size of the magazine or the caliber of the gun.”
Arizona gun laws are among the most lenient in the country. The state allows anyone 21 or older to own a firearm and to carry it concealed, and gun owners can carry their firearms almost anywhere in Arizona, including inside the State Capitol and other government buildings. In January 2010, Brewer signed a bill that repealed a state law that required gun owners to have permits to carry concealed guns.
On Thursday, Kelly ended his statement to the court by paying tribute to his wife.
“Even amid all that was lost, Gabby and I give thanks for her life, her spirit and her intellect, which are a continued force in the world despite what you’ve done,” he said.
Loughner, who was declared schizophrenic after the attack, pleaded guilty in August to 19 federal charges in the shooting rampage. Arizona authorities have said they will not file state charges against Loughner.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Axa highlights life insurers' problems
Life insurer Axa cut its profit outlook, underscoring the difficulties faced by companies in this part of the market who are committed to minimum payouts to customers.
The move was in sharp contrast to reinsurer Munich Re , the world's biggest seller of protection to home and business insurers, which raised its outlook on Wednesday.
Axa, Europe's No. 2 insurer by market value, blamed tough financial markets, with returns on German and U.S. government bonds as well as European equities falling short of its initial expectations.
Central banks have slashed lending rates since the onset of the 2008 crisis in an effort to kick-start the flagging global economy, eating into the returns insurers receive from sovereign and corporate debt, their preferred investment assets.
That has squeezed European life insurers' profits particularly hard because their best-selling products are savings policies that promise minimum returns to customers, often for periods of up to 25 years.
"The issue for life companies is that with (almost) zero percent interest rates, in the medium term they're dead," said Investec analyst Kevin Ryan.
Non-life insurers and their reinsurers, by contrast, do not have fixed financial obligations to customers, with payouts determined solely by the frequency and size of claims.
Their revenues have also held up better in the economic downturn because customers see many of their products - such as motor or home insurance - as indispensable even in hard times, unlike life insurance and savings policies.
Non-life insurers have also benefited because some investors see them as a safe haven during financial crises, analysts say.
Britain's FTSE non-life insurance index <.FTASX8530>, seen as a proxy for the wider sector, is up 26 percent since the start of 2008, the peak year of the global banking crisis, while the FTSE life index <.FTASX8570> is unchanged.
In an effort to preserve profits, life insurers have been trying to sell different types of savings, such as unit-linked policies, where no guarantee is offered and returns to the customer depend purely on market performance.
Some have also been refocusing on protection products, such as traditional life insurance, where the insurer pays a lump sum if the customer dies unexpectedly.
"It is tougher for life companies, which is why you are seeing a shift from savings products towards trying to write more protection business," said Ben Cohen, an analyst at stockbroker Canaccord Genuity in London.
Germany's Munich Re on Wednesday said it was on course for a net profit of about 3 billion euros ($3.8 billion) this year, surpassing the 2.8 billion pencilled in by analysts.
Axa said earnings per share growth between 2010 and 2015 could amount to just 5 percent, at the bottom of a 5 to 10 percent target range the French company set itself last year.
Munich Re and domestic rival Hannover Re are looking to raise their dividend for 2012 and both expect to maintain net profit at a high level in 2013 after posting a strong rise on the back of low damage claims this year.
Life after defeat for Mitt Romney: Public praise, private questions
Mitt Romney began his retreat from public life Wednesday at a private breakfast gathering with a couple hundred of his most loyal and affluent campaign benefactors. The former Massachusetts governor, humbled by the thumping that ended his six-year pursuit of the presidency, reminisced about the journey and tried not to cry.
Romney waxed about the roaring crowds in the campaign’s closing days and the feeling that he was winning, said donors in attendance. He commended Stuart Stevens, his chief strategist, as well as his senior aides, and then went around thanking donors one by one.
THE FIX | The electorate on Tuesday was at least as good for Obama as it was in 2008, and possibly better.
“Mitt was vintage Mitt,” said L.E. Simmons, an oil investor on Romney’s national finance committee. “He was analytical, no notes, spoke from the heart and was very appreciative.”
But Romney’s top aides, who only a couple of days ago were openly speculating about who would fill which jobs in a Romney administration, woke up Wednesday to face brutal recriminations.
Some top donors privately unloaded on Romney’s senior staff, describing it as a junior varsity operation that failed to adequately insulate and defend Romney through a summer of relentless attacks from the Obama campaign over his business career and personal wealth.
“Everybody feels like they were a bunch of well-meaning folks who were, to use a phrase that Governor Romney coined to describe his opponent, way in over their heads,” said one member of the campaign’s national finance committee, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
“Romney World,” the fundraiser added, “will fade into the obscurity of a lot of losing campaigns.”
Stuart Stevens, who as Romney’s chief strategist was the recipient of some of the harshest blame, did not return requests for comment Wednesday. Nor did many of Romney’s other top advisers, who during Romney’s concession speech were visibly shell-shocked.
Bob White, Romney’s close friend and business partner who chaired the campaign, strongly defended Stevens and the rest of the staff in an interview a few weeks ago.
“Mitt never doubted his team, and the reports of infighting were not true,” White said.
In Washington, meanwhile, scores of transition-team staffers who had been preparing for a Romney administration started packing their belongings Wednesday.
Mike Leavitt, the former Utah governor running the transition, convened a conference call at 10 a.m. to inform the staff they had until Friday to organize their files, return their laptops and cellphones and vacate their government office.
At the Wednesday breakfast, Romney told the donors he believed Hurricane Sandy stunted his momentum in the final week of the campaign, according to multiple donors present.
Although Romney himself stopped short of placing any blame on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who praised President Obama’s leadership during the storm, several Romney supporters privately pointed fingers at the outspoken governor.
“A lot of people feel like Christie hurt, that we definitely lost four or five points between the storm and Chris Christie giving Obama a chance to be bigger than life,” said one of Romney’s biggest fundraisers, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
Romney waxed about the roaring crowds in the campaign’s closing days and the feeling that he was winning, said donors in attendance. He commended Stuart Stevens, his chief strategist, as well as his senior aides, and then went around thanking donors one by one.
THE FIX | The electorate on Tuesday was at least as good for Obama as it was in 2008, and possibly better.
“Mitt was vintage Mitt,” said L.E. Simmons, an oil investor on Romney’s national finance committee. “He was analytical, no notes, spoke from the heart and was very appreciative.”
But Romney’s top aides, who only a couple of days ago were openly speculating about who would fill which jobs in a Romney administration, woke up Wednesday to face brutal recriminations.
Some top donors privately unloaded on Romney’s senior staff, describing it as a junior varsity operation that failed to adequately insulate and defend Romney through a summer of relentless attacks from the Obama campaign over his business career and personal wealth.
“Everybody feels like they were a bunch of well-meaning folks who were, to use a phrase that Governor Romney coined to describe his opponent, way in over their heads,” said one member of the campaign’s national finance committee, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
“Romney World,” the fundraiser added, “will fade into the obscurity of a lot of losing campaigns.”
Stuart Stevens, who as Romney’s chief strategist was the recipient of some of the harshest blame, did not return requests for comment Wednesday. Nor did many of Romney’s other top advisers, who during Romney’s concession speech were visibly shell-shocked.
Bob White, Romney’s close friend and business partner who chaired the campaign, strongly defended Stevens and the rest of the staff in an interview a few weeks ago.
“Mitt never doubted his team, and the reports of infighting were not true,” White said.
In Washington, meanwhile, scores of transition-team staffers who had been preparing for a Romney administration started packing their belongings Wednesday.
Mike Leavitt, the former Utah governor running the transition, convened a conference call at 10 a.m. to inform the staff they had until Friday to organize their files, return their laptops and cellphones and vacate their government office.
At the Wednesday breakfast, Romney told the donors he believed Hurricane Sandy stunted his momentum in the final week of the campaign, according to multiple donors present.
Although Romney himself stopped short of placing any blame on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who praised President Obama’s leadership during the storm, several Romney supporters privately pointed fingers at the outspoken governor.
“A lot of people feel like Christie hurt, that we definitely lost four or five points between the storm and Chris Christie giving Obama a chance to be bigger than life,” said one of Romney’s biggest fundraisers, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
SCRA and TAO Life Sciences Announce Intellectual Property Initiative
SCRA Technology Ventures and TAO Life Sciences Inc. today announced an initiative to accelerate the commercialization of innovative life sciences technologies from SC universities and industry laboratories. TAO Life Sciences will select the standout technologies from research labs in SC that fill unmet needs in the marketplace and collaborate with SCRA to bring these to market, ultimately bringing innovative technologies from the laboratory to customers.
“We are excited to build upon our strong relationships in the South Carolina university communities and to help to further advance their innovative potential," said Mark Chandler, CEO of TAO. "Drawing on our investment, development and commercialization capabilities, we anticipate advancing many technology projects over the next several years with SCRA.”
“SCRA has a long track-record of helping both academia and industry move technologies from the laboratory to the market,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “We are eager to incrementally assist South Carolina universities to help move innovative ideas and high-tech products to commercialization through this initiative, which should accelerate our mission of growing the Knowledge Economy in South Carolina. We look forward to a successful relationship with TAO Life Sciences.”
“We are excited to build upon our strong relationships in the South Carolina university communities and to help to further advance their innovative potential," said Mark Chandler, CEO of TAO. "Drawing on our investment, development and commercialization capabilities, we anticipate advancing many technology projects over the next several years with SCRA.”
“SCRA has a long track-record of helping both academia and industry move technologies from the laboratory to the market,” said SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney. “We are eager to incrementally assist South Carolina universities to help move innovative ideas and high-tech products to commercialization through this initiative, which should accelerate our mission of growing the Knowledge Economy in South Carolina. We look forward to a successful relationship with TAO Life Sciences.”
Life Technologies buys Advanced Microscopy Group
Life Technologies Corp. said Monday it bought Advanced Microscopy Group, which makes microscopes, digital imaging equipment, and software.
Life Technology did not disclose terms of the deal, but said it will add to its net income in 2013. It said the purchase will add to its array of cell-imaging instruments. AMG developed the FLoid Cell Imaging Station, a product that is marketed by Life Technologies. AMG's EVOS fl fluorescence microscope is distributed by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Shares of Life Technologies rose 9 cents to $48.72 on Monday. The stock lost 10 cents to $48.62 in aftermarket trading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)