AF&PA Reports June P&W Ships

http://www.afandpa.org/pressreleases.aspx?id=2762

According to the American Forest & Paper Association's June 2012 Printing-Writing Paper Report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 8% in June compared to June 2011. Shipments for coated free sheet and uncoated mechanical grades posted double-digit year-over-year decreases compared to last June. U.S. purchases (shipments + imports - exports) of printing-writing papers also decreased 8% in June. Total printing-writing paper inventory levels decreased 4% from last month, primarily due to double-digit decreases among the mechanical grade papers.

Purchases of coated mechanical (CM) papers are up slightly compared to June 2011, which is the second consecutive year-over-year increase.

Second Company Announces Yet Another Decrease

Fibrek told North American customers today its August 1 list price for northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp would decline to $850/tonne, RISI has learned.

Russia's WTO Membership Benefits Finnish Industry

Russia's WTO membership creates opportunities for Finnish forest industry
Russia's ratification of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) accession agreement on July 21 improves corporate access to the Russian market. Membership will lead to lower export duties on Russian raw timber and reduced import duties will improve the position of Finnish forest industry products on the Russian market, as the Finnish Forest Industries Federation (FFIF) said in a press release received by Lesprom Network.

Sappi Extends Agreement with Lenzing

http://wood.lesprom.com/news/52817/

Sappi, the world’s largest manufacturer of dissolving pulp with an annual capacity of 800,000 tons at present growing to 1.3 million tons, s intensifying its longstanding cooperation with the paper and pulp group Lenzing AG.

Scholastic Moves Weekly Reader

Scholastic Folds Weekly Reader Brands into Its Classroom Magazines:  Scholastic is folding the Weekly Reader brand into its Classroom Magazines group. Some of the resulting titles will be co-branded, while others will be discontinued. The move comes just five months after Scholastic acquired Weekly Reader from Reader's Digest Association for $3.6 million.

Harman Family Getting Out of Newsweek

Harman Family to 'Stop Investing' in Newsweek:
On Monday it was announced that family of the late Sidney Harman is freezing their 20-month investment in Newsweek/Daily Beast Co. That gives the other party, the Barry Diller-led IAC/InterActive Corp., a controlling interest that will grow as more money is put into the venture.

Ad Age Publishes Hispanic Fact Pack

http://adage.com/print/236263

Ad Age's ninth-annual Hispanic Fact Pack, distributed with the July 23 issue of the magazine, includes data about marketers, 2011 ad spending, demographic trends and rankings of top TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, online media and social-networking sites. Other rankings in the 52-page guide include the top 50 Hispanic advertisers, the 50 largest Hispanic agencies and the 15 biggest Hispanic media agencies. The digital edition of the Hispanic Fact Pack is available free at adage.com/trend-reports/ through Aug. 22, 2012, and will be available for $29 after that.

Wet Seal CEO Leaves

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/wet-seal-fires-ceo-susan-mcgalla-as-the-teen-retailers-summer-sales-sink-cuts-2q-outlook/2012/07/23/gJQA8CM53W_story.html

As sales declines deepen, teen clothing seller Wet Seal Inc. has fired CEO Susan McGalla without a replacement for her.

McGalla had been Wet Seal’s CEO since January 2011, and had signed an employment contract with the company through August 2014. Her departure is effective immediately, and the company said Monday that it is starting a search for a new CEO. In the meantime, the company’s chairman, president and chief financial officer are overseeing Wet Seal.

WSJ Adds Real Estate Section

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/179330/wsj-launches-a-real-estate-section.html

With the national residential real estate market possibly reaching its bottom, and premium markets scarcely affected by the downturn, The Wall Street Journal is calculating that the time is right for a new real estate section, which will appear on Fridays beginning in late September or early October, according to the newspaper.
The as-yet-unnamed section will be 16 pages long and will be produced by a team of up to 10 new staffers.

Yankee Candle Names Executive

http://www.dmnews.com/yankee-candle-hires-new-president-of-direct-and-cmo/article/251429/

Yankee Candle Inc. has appointed Brad Wolansky to the newly created roles of president of direct and CMO, says Karen Wood, director of PR at Yankee Candle.

River Group Launches Print/Digital Marketing Magazine

River Group launches bi-monthly 'thought leadership' printed publication:
The multi-channel publication, which is produced in a concertina format with hand drawn illustrations, will look at all areas of print and digital marketing, with the first issue tackling "generational" marketing.
River's business development director Adrian Odds said the new publication was designed to highlight the importance of content strategy in marketing. "We want to demonstrate innovation in marketing with print solutions as well as in digital," he added.
Odds said: "Print has the ability to reach across all generations - it speaks a language that digital doesn't.

Ad Agency Revenues on Upswing

Advertising Agency Changing Product Mix Keeps Revenues on an Upswing; What it Means to the Marketing Services Strategy (Economics & Research Center):
The latest Quarterly Services Survey of the Department of Commerce show that ad agency revenues continue their slow rise despite corporate cutbacks and a sluggish economy.