Catalyst Sells Share of Powell River Energy

Catalyst Paper selling its 50% interest in Powell River Energy:
Catalyst Paper has agreed, subject to court approval, to sell its approximately 50% interest in Powell River Energy Inc. and Powell River Energy Limited Partnership to Powell River Energy Trust, a Brookfield Renewable Energy affiliate for $33 million.
Powell River Energy Trust currently holds the other 50% stake in the Powell River Energy joint venture originally established in 2001.

Resolute Reviews Repositioning Fort Frances

http://fftimes.com/node/257610

Resolute Forest Products might be in a position to decide what it will do with its Fort Frances mill later this spring.

During a conference call Tuesday coinciding with the announcement of Resolute's preliminary fourth quarter and 2012 results, Resolute president and CEO Richard Garneau said the company currently is looking to reposition the mill here.
There's an investigation underway as to what kinds of grades the company.

Catalyst Paper: BC Hydro Power Rate Hurts Co.'s Revival

http://www.vancouversun.com/Hydro+hikes+negate+sacrifices+workers+retirees/7957417/story.html

On Oct. 6, 2012, The Vancouver Sun published my opinion piece headlined Eliminating barriers at home will help business compete globally. In the piece, I stated that manufacturing companies that sell their products on the international market, such as B.C.'s Catalyst Paper, often face barriers at home that undermine their global competitiveness.

Having just exited creditor protection, Catalyst circulated the article to local, provincial and federal officials to encourage elimination of barriers to investment and export, like BC Hydro rate hikes which increased Catalyst's hydro cost by $27 million.

AF&PA Elects Chairman, Sets 2013 Initiatives

AF&PA Board Elects New Chairman and Officers - Sets 2013 Association Key Policy Initiatives: The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced the election of Graphic Packaging President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Scheible as the new AF&PA board chairman, along with the 2013 slate of board officers.
Scheible has served as Graphic Packaging’s president and CEO since 2007. Since being elected to AF&PA’s board of directors, he has served in various leadership roles, including as chairman of CEO Task Force on Biomass and the Recycled Paperboard sector.
Beginning terms as members of the AF&PA Board of Directors in 2013 are: John Crowe, Buckeye Technologies Inc.; Ray Dillon, Deltic Timber Corporation; Mike Fiterman, Liberty Diversified International; James Morgan, Interstate Resources, Inc.; and Mark Staton, PaperWorks Industries Inc.In one of the board’s first actions of 2013, the group launched its advocacy on AF&PA’s key policy initiatives for the year. These include a focus on sustainability, air and greenhouse gas regulations, carbon neutrality of biomass, recycling, access to paper-based communications, U.S. Department of Agriculture programs, products fees, postal service reforms, and other policies affecting manufacturing.

Boise Invests in Packaging Business

Boise announces key investments in its packaging business
Boise has announced key investments in the converting operations of its Packaging business. The largest capital improvement is the installation of a new 110” corrugator at the company’s Central Texas Corrugated (CTC) sheet feeder facility in Waco, Texas, which is expected to start up in third quarter 2013.

USPS Enhances Every Door Direct Mail Program

Direct Mail for All: 
Every Door Direct Mail – Retail is a service that the U.S. Postal Service provides to local businesses designed to help them reach prospective local customers, whose names or addresses they lack. The USPS has added two enhancements to the service: an online mapping tool and credit card payment.

Advertisers Integrate Ads, ROI Metrics Still Questionable

75% of Advertisers Use Social Ads, Half Integrate With Print:
PRINT IS TOP OFFLINE CHANNEL ADVERTISERS INTEGRATE WITH
When asked which online tactics they typically run their paid social marketing efforts in conjunction with, respondents’ top three responses were online display (83%), online video (46%), and mobile (40%). Offline, advertisers’ paid social media advertising campaigns were mostly combined with print (52%), followed by TV (37%).
SOCIAL MEDIA'S EFFECTIVENESS IN QUESTION DUE TO LACK OF METRICS
According to  survey, many advertisers are doubtful of social media advertising's effectiveness because of a lack of "relevant, universally employed metrics."

Bill in Senate Would Require Online Sales Tax

New Bill Would Require E-Coms to Charge State Taxes:
The tax bill may be coming due for online retailers who sell across state borders without collecting state taxes.
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) led a group of senators today in introducing a bill that would require online and catalog sellers to collect taxes at the point of purchase. Uncollected taxes from such purchases amounted to some $23 billion in 2012, according to the bill's sponsors.
The National Retail Federation immediately announced its support for the Marketplace Fairness Act, saying it would level the playing field between online and brick-and-mortar retailers, which have complained for years that online sellers maintain an automatic price advantage over them through non-collection of taxes.

December & 2012 Print Shipments Fall

http://blogs.whattheythink.com/economics/2013/02/december-2012-us-commercial-printing-shipments-decrease-224-million-full-year-shipments-down-1-47-billion/

December 2012 US commercial printing shipments were down -$224 million, or -3.3% compared to 2011. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$386 million (-5.6%).
For the year, shipments were $80.4 billion, down -1.8% or -$1.47 billion. On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were down -$3.23 billion, or -2.9%.

More on Time/Meredith Talks

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/time-warner-in-talks-to-sell-off-majority-of-magazines/?ref=business 
Time Warner Considers Spinning Off Some of Its Magazines  

Time Warner is in talks to shed much of Time Inc., the country’s largest magazine publisher and the foundation on which the $49 billion media conglomerate was built, according to people involved in the negotiations. Time Warner is in early discussions with the Meredith Corporation to put most of Time Inc.’s magazines.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/time-inc-sale-talk-shocker-147273

Time Inc. Sale Talk Shocker Meredith said to eye women's division, including People and InStyle The publishing world got a jolt today with reports that Time Warner is in talks to sell its publishing unit Time Inc., a move that would cap years of speculation.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/meredith-time-inc-comparison-147280 
Meredith, Time Inc.: A Comparison

Meredith Corp., the company that's reportedly in talks to buy most of Time Inc., couldn’t be more different from the publishing giant.

2013 Forecast: Retail Sales Up 3.2%

http://www.bdo.com/news/pr/2451

Following uneven sales results in December and January, retail executives are moderating their expectations for 2013. According to a new survey by BDO USA, LLP, retail CFOs project a 3.2 percent increase in total store sales, down from last year's expected 4.5 percent increase, but still in line with recent projections released by the National Retail Federation. Similarly, they anticipate a 2.3 percent increase in comparable store sales this year, down from last year's projected 4.1 percent growth. While concerns over consumer confidence are likely driving these more conservative projections, the increase comes on top of 2012's strong 4.2 percent growth. Moreover, only seven percent of CFOs say they expect their total sales to decrease this year, a sign that retailers see the industry stabilizing.

January Retail Sales Up

http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1528
 Retail sales ticked up in the month of January as consumers adjusted their spending in response to the increase in payroll taxes and rise in gasoline and energy prices. According to the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association, January retail sales (excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants) increased 0.3 percent seasonally adjusted from December and increased 5.4 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

USPS: 80% Support New Schedule

USPS: 80% of Americans Support New Delivery Schedule:

A survey released today by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), conducted by independent market research company IPSOS between February 8-11, found that 80% of Americans support the new delivery schedule, which as of August 5 eliminates Saturday mail delivery (package delivery remains unaffected). The survey was conducted among 1,002 U.S. residents at least 18 years of age.