Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Resolute Forest Products Reports Q2 Results

Resolute Forest Products reports net loss of $20 million in second quarter, 2012:
Resolute Forest Products has reported a net loss of $20 million in its second quarter of 2012 on sales of $1.2 billion. This can be compared to a net income of $61 million on sales of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2011.

Second Derailment Raises Concerns for Verso


After the second derailment in about as many months of a train going to or from the Verso mill, the papermaking plant is concerned.
The train that derailed early Sunday afternoon was carrying paper from Verso Paper Corp. when it went off the tracks at the intersection of Route 15, said Bill Cohen, a Verso spokesman.
Cohen said he couldn’t confirm how much paper was on the train, but said Verso was working with Pan Am Railways — which owns the tracks and operates the train — to assess how much product was damaged in the derailment.

Resolute Acquisition of Fibrek Moves Forward

Resolute Forest Products and Fibrek complete their second step arrangement:
/Resolute Forest Products Inc. and Fibrek Inc. have completed their previously announced second step plan of arrangement transaction, whereby Fibrek and RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute, have amalgamated resulting in Resolute indirectly owning 100% of the shares of Fibrek Inc.
This announcement comes following the approval of the arrangement by Fibrek’s shareholders on July 23, 2012 and the issuance of a final order of the Superior Court of Quebec on July 27, 2012 approving the arrangement.

Judge Approves Sale of SP Newsprint Assets


Judge Christopher Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on July 27 signed an order approving the bidding procedures of the newsprint producer.
According to court papers filed July 19, an affiliate of secured lender GE Capital Corp. will be stalking-horse bidder for the assets in a deal valued at $145 million. SPN AcquisitionCo LLC would credit-bid the entire amount of GE Capital’s outstanding revolving loans and a portion of an outstanding term loan for substantially all of the Greenwich, Conn., newsprint producer’s assets.

Consumers Prefer Print Statements & Bills

Print Statements and Bills Still Favored by Many U.S. Consumers: A survey of more than 5,000 US households found that 71% of consumers open print financial statements and bills mailed to them, and 65% said they actually preferred to get a print copy of their bill or statement.

USPS Issues Sustainability Report


The Sustainability and Energy Scorecard of the USPS shows that it is on track to meet all of its goals, except reducing vehicle petroleum fuel use by 20 percent by 2015.  The Scorecard is a reporting tool that federal government agencies use to publicly report on the progress of their sustainability goals. The USPS has experienced a 6.4 percent increase in fuel use, which earned it a “red” score, meaning it did not meet its goal to achieve a 10 percent reduction since 2005. All other goals earned a “green” score, which means they are on track to meet targets.