Resolute Forest Products Announces Downtime at SC Mill

Resolute reported that it will temporarily stop production the two machines at its Kénogami, Quebec mill.   PM 6, a 77,000 metric tonne per year uncoated mechanical/SC-B paper machine will close next week and PM 7, a 139,000 mtpy uncoated mechanical/SC-A machine will be shut down on December 23.  The machines will be restarted on January 3.  The downtime is market related.  Resolute announced five weeks of downtime at its Fort Francis mill last week.

Separately, Resolute CEO Richard Garneau said that the company will continue to operate its Bowater Mersey newsprint mill in Nova Scotia.  The government granted the mill a $50 million package to help keep it running.

Stockholders Approve Merger

Temple-Inland stockholders approved the company’s merger with International Paper.  The merger is still subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

More QR Codes in Magazines

Interactive barcodes have been popping up more in magazines—Meredith Corp. has just announced it had selected Microsoft Tag as the 2D barcode standard across its magazines—but some questions still remain about its impact as an advertising tool.  Effectiveness remains a question, though
http://www.adweek.com/print/136948

Time Warner CEO Sees Good Q1 Ad Forecast

Time Warner Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said the outlook for first-quarter advertising is "pretty good," depending on what happens with the world economy, despite signs of softness in the fourth quarter. Assuming no new economic shock internationally, "we are looking fine for the first quarter," he said at an appearance at an investor conference sponsored by UBS AG in New York on Tuesday. His comments came a day after Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman said he also expected to see stronger ad-sales growth in the beginning of 2012 than the end of 2011.

Third-Party Environmental Audits On the Rise

Reuters had a piece a couple of weeks ago about the growing pressure on corporations to hire independent auditors to validate their “green cred” and stave off claims of greenwashing:

Green audits – which for medium-sized companies can easily cost more than $100,000 – are helping a growing number of corporations assert their environmental responsibility in the face of scrutiny from the government, as well as consumers.

Regulators are making more demands. For example, companies that label their products as eco-friendly likely will face tougher oversight from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission under guidelines proposed a year ago.

Environmentalists make demands also. Overly positive green claims regularly trigger protest campaigns by such groups as Greenpeace. Green audits can also help companies find energy savings, fend off publicity nightmares and attract investors concerned about climate change.

EU Commission to Investigate Pricing of eBooks

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM—Dec. 6, 2011—The European Commission has opened formal antitrust proceedings to investigate whether international book publishers have, possibly with the help of Apple, engaged in anti-competitive practices affecting the sale of eBooks in breach of EU antitrust rules. The publishers include Hachette Livre, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holzbrinck.

Talbots Looking for New CEO, Closing Stores and Gets Offer From Sycamore

Yesterday, Talbots announced it had hired an executive search firm to find a new chief executive officer and that it was closing 83 stores this year and 110 stores by the end of 2013.  Today, Talbots received an offer from private equity firm Sycamore Partners, which currently owns 9.9%, of $212 million for the balance of the company.

http://www.retailonlineintegration.com/aggregatedcontent/talbots-closing-83-stores-2011

Publisher Bonnier Buys Four Hunting Events

Bonnier Corporation [1], publisher of magazines including Field & Stream [2] and Outdoor Life [3], has purchased four hunting expos from Mequon, Wisconsin-based Target Communications [4] for an undisclosed sum.
http://www.foliomag.com/node/38304/print

Twin Rivers Madawaska Mill/Rail Deal

 Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway announced a tentative deal Tuesday to sell 25 miles of railroad tracks and effectively end a long-running dispute by allowing another shipper access to a Madawaska paper mill. If the Federal Rail Administration and Maine Department of Transportation approve, J.D. Irving subsidiary Eastern Maine Railway will purchase the Madawaska-Van Buren-St. Leonard railroad line for an undisclosed amount.
Twin Rivers Paper Co. executives claimed a year ago that the Madawaska mill’s future was threatened by MM&A’s failure to maintain its railroad tracks and by its missed delivery and pickup deadlines — often forcing the coated and uncoated papermaker to hire trucks on the fly to make shipments — because of miscommunication or an insufficient number of railroad runs.
http://bangordailynews.com/2011/12/06/business/hermon-railroad-announces-deal-to-sell-tracks-to-madawaska-mill/print/

J.C. Penney Buys 16.6 Percent Share of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

After initiating a search for investors and potential partners with Blackstone Advisory Partners in May 2011, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia announces the resulting partnership. Retailer J.C. Penney invests $38.5 million in the multi-brand company, and will hold a 16.6 percent stake.