Friday, August 3, 2012

Verso Announces Permanent Closure of Sartell

Verso Paper Corp. Announces Permanent Shutdown of Sartell Mill: Verso Paper Corp. today announced that after conducting a comprehensive assessment, Verso has made the difficult decision not to reopen its paper mill in Sartell, Minnesota.
The permanent closure of the Sartell Mill will reduce Verso's annual coated mechanical capacity by 180,000 tons and will eliminate approximately 35,000 tons of annual supercalendered paper capacity. 

Verso to be Billed by Public Safety Agencies


Public safety agencies that responded to the Verso paper mill on May 28 following a fatal fire have listed expenses that will mean a $350,000 bill to the company for reimbursement.

News on Port Hawkesbury Sale


A claim that electricity customers will pay an extra $7 million a year to operate a new biomass plant because a Cape Breton paper mill needs the steam is wrong, says the mill’s would-be owner.
Pacific West Commercial Corp. called the figure, included in a regulatory filing last week by the Avon Group of companies, an “erroneous assertion.”
The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia approved a plan Wednesday that would see 11 municipalities paid about $3 million in outstanding property taxes if the sale of the idle NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill is approved.

Sappi Reports Q3 2012 Results


Operating profit excluding special items for the quarter was in line with guidance and similar to that achieved in the corresponding quarter in the prior year.
Sales for the quarter was US$1.5 billion, a decrease of 14% in US Dollar terms compared to the equivalent quarter a year ago primarily due to a stronger US Dollar which impacted the translation of the European and South African sales, and 7% lower sales volumes in Europe.

Norske Skog Reports Q2 Results

Norske Skog, Second Quarter 2012: Lower Debt and Stable Margins: (Norway) Higher capital utilisation and lower costs strengthen Norske Skog's gross operating earnings in the second quarter compared with the same quarter last year. Gross operating earnings in the second quarter were NOK 393 million, up from NOK 248 million in the same period last year, mainly due to lower costs and better capacity utilisation.

City & Regional Magazines Centered on Print

The 2012 City and Regional Magazine Survey: While consumer magazines across the industry wrestle with their mobile and digital strategies, the city and regional sector continues to focus on its print-centric strategies, largely maintaining modest digital operations.

June Commercial Printing Shipments Up

June 2012 US Commercial Printing Shipments Up +$139 Million Compared to 2011 (Economics & Research Center):
The US Commerce Department report of US commercial printing shipments for June 2012 was $6.85 billion, up +$139 million compared to last year (+2.1%). On an inflation-adjusted basis, shipments were up +$27 million (+0.4%).

Time Names Editor, Southern Living

Time Inc.’s Lifestyle Group editor Sid Evans has landed a big fish in his effort to rebuild his magazine stable, hiring food editor Hunter Lewis away from Condé Nast’s Bon Appétit.
Lewis will be executive editor at Southern Living, overseeing food content in print and online and managing the magazine’s test kitchen staff. 

Time Inc. Reports Q2 Revenue


http://allthingsd.com/?p=236844&ak_action=printable  
Time Warner took time to boast about HBO during its earnings call this morning. But it was harder to brag about its Time Inc. publishing unit, which had another lousy quarter: Revenue was down 9 percent, and operating income was down 43 percent.

Senate Hears Testimony about Online Tax


Amazon on Wednesday reiterated its call for federal legislation that would pave the way for states to begin requiring online sellers from out of state to remit sales taxes, urging members of the Senate Commerce Committee to rally behind the Marketplace Fairness Act.
Misener told lawmakers that the bill would not create a new tax, but instead facilitate the collection of one that is already due, but goes largely unpaid.
Under the bill, only states that took steps to simplify their tax codes would be eligible to require retailers to remit the taxes. But opponents of the bill have countered that the simplification provisions in the current version of the bill don't go nearly far enough to harmonize the roughly 9,600 state and local tax codes across the country.

July Retail Sales Better than Expected


US shoppers proved resilient in July, driving a key sales figure up at retailers across the country, despite persistent worry about jobs and the global economy.