Catalyst Paper Reports Q2 Results

Catalyst Paper posts net loss of $11.7 million in second quarter, 2012:
Catalyst Paper is reporting a net loss of $11.7 million in the second quarter of 2012, in comparison to a net loss of $25.6 million the quarter before.

H2 Acquires Norske Skog Parenco

H2 acquires Norske Skog Parenco and recovered paper business: Norske Skog has entered into an agreement to sell its paper mill Parenco in Renkum in the Netherlands and the global recovered paper business, Reparco, to investment firm H2 Equity Partners. Norske Skog expects to release cash from the transaction in the order of EUR 30 millions.

Stora Enso's PM Rebuild Ups Production 10%

Rebuild of PM 1 increases production by 10% at Stora Enso's Sachsen newsprint mill in Germany: After Voith carried out a rebuild of the Eilenburg PM 1 at Stora Enso Sachsen, Germany, the paper machine was successfully started up again in May 2012. The aims of Stora Enso were to improve runability and to eliminate existing bottlenecks in the system. Furthermore, the maximum operating speed of the paper machine was increased to 2,000 m/min, corre-sponding to a production increase of about 10% (depending on the grade range).

Oji Reacts to Protests

The government of the city of Nantong in China has announced that it would stop construction of a local wastewater pipeline following fierce environmental protests on July 28. The move has raised concerns about whether Oji Paper's 700,000 tonne/yr pulp line at its nearby mill will come online on schedule in early 2013.

RR Donnelley Reports Q2 Results

RR Donnelley Posts Earnings Increase, Net Sales Decline: R.R. Donnelley & Sons reported second-quarter 2012 net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $88.8 million on net sales of $2.5 billion (down 3.6 percent), compared to net earnings of $12.2 million.

Global Spending Forecast; Up 7.4% in 2012

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120802/ADVERTISING13/308029998/emarketer-global-ad-spending-will-grow-7-4-this-year&template=printart

Global ad spending will reach an estimated $542.3 billion this year, up 7.4% over last year, according to a forecast from eMarketer Inc.

The U.S. leads in global ad spending, with an expected increase of 6.7% this year, to $169.5 billion.

ABC Delays New Publisher's Statement

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/180096/mag-bag-abc-delays-new-publishers-statement.html?print

A new, more detailed publisher’s statement is coming from the Audit Bureau of Circulations, including expanded reporting of digital metrics, but it will debut a little later than originally promised, allowing the ABC board to gather more input from publishers, advertisers and ad agencies, per the organization.
The board also agreed to defer requiring larger magazines to report issue-by-issue data via ABC’s Rapid Report tool until the new digital reporting requirements are approved.

CR Roll Call Consolidates Brands

http://www.foliomag.com/2012/cq-roll-call-consolidate-brands-one-print-daily

The Economist Group’s CQ Roll Call business, which produces a variety of publications that includes CQ Weekly, CQ Today and Roll Call, is undergoing a series of changes, most notably with the consolidation of its brand into one daily print publication and laying off up to 30 employees.

Condé Nast Makes Brides Bimonthly

Condé Nast Taking Brides Bimonthly, Boosts Mobile Interaction:
Brides is ratcheting back its print brand and investing more in its digital presence with a mobile-enhanced website. The 300,000-circ magazine is dropping down to a bimonthly frequency and the site will become fully mobile compatible and feature new tools and functionality to drive more engagement.
The magazine's last monthly issue will be December, with a January-March issue after that and then the bimonthly schedule will kick in with the April/May issue.

Afar Media Makes Executive Changes

Afar Media Makes Executive Changes:
Three-year old Afar is taking advantage of some forward momentum on print and digital business by shifting co-founder Joe Diaz into more of a business development role as chief product officer—he was previously vice president of sales and brand development. Meanwhile, the sales team is getting three new executives as well as promoting from within.

D&B May Be For Sale

Report: Dun & Bradstreet puts itself on the block: Short Hills, N.J.—Business and marketing information company Dun & Bradstreet has reportedly put itself on the market and hired investment banks to help with the sale.

USPS Defaults on $5.5 Billion Payment to Treasury

http://www.dmnews.com/usps-defaults-on-55-billion-payment-to-us-treasury/article/252995/

The United States Postal Service defaulted today on a $5.5 billion payment to the United States Treasury, which was intended to cover the healthcare benefits of the organization's future retirees.

On July 30, the USPS issued a statement warning of the August 1 default, as well as a subsequent $5.6 billion payment that will not be made due. According to the statement, the USPS says there should not be any disruption of service.