AF&PA Reports July Ships

http://www.afandpa.org/

According to the report, total printing-writing paper shipments decreased 3 percent last month compared to July 2011.  Shipments of coated mechanical papers posted the only year-over-year increase among the four major grades.  U.S. purchases (demand) of printing-writing papers also decreased by 4 percent in July.  Additional key findings include:
Shipments of coated mechanical papers increased compared to July 2011 – the third such year-over-year increase in 2012.
Shipments of coated free sheet papers reached a new high for the year but still decreased slightly year-over-year.
Shipments of uncoated free sheet papers were down year-over-year, the fifth consecutive year-over-year decrease.
Uncoated mechanical paper shipments continue the downward trend with sixteen consecutive month year-over-year decreases.

Catalyst Announces Newsprint Price Increase

Canadian papermaker Catalyst, which has the largest production capacity on the North American West Coast, has told customers that it plans to increase the price of newsprint on October 1.

O'Neill Resigns from Great Northern

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/21/business/great-northern-paper-director-of-operations-abruptly-resigns/?ref=latest

Everett O’Neill abruptly resigned as director of operations at Great Northern Paper Co. LLC on Monday, company officials said Tuesday.

Informally regarded as the mill’s manager, O’Neill’s resignation came without any explanation and as the mill gears up to hire 37 employees who will help restart the mill’s No. 5 paper machine next month.

PBGC to Assume SP Newsprint Pension Plans

http://www.pionline.com/article/20120821/DAILYREG/120829971/pbgc-to-assume-sp-newsprint-pension-plans

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will take over two pension plans for SP Newsprint Co. LLC, Greenwich, Conn., as the company goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the PBGC announced Tuesday.

According to bankruptcy court documents, a group of lenders is planning a “stalking horse” bid for the company. A hearing to approve that bid is set for Sept. 4. The new buyers are not assuming the SP Newsprint pension plans, according to a PBGC news release.

PBGC officials estimate the two pension plans — the SP Newsprint Co. Pension Plan and the SP Newsprint Co. Union Pension Plan — are 49% funded, with $74.4 million in assets and $150.7 million in liabilities. The PBGC will cover $73 million of the $76.3 million shortfall.

Catalogs Remain Key Tool for Online Merchants

Catalogs Remain Key Tool for Online Merchants: According to Multichannel Marketing Magazine's 2012-13 Catalog Outlook Survey, online merchants continue to embrace catalogs as part of their effort to effectively market and increase sales.

Catalogs remain the top prospecting tool of merchants with 71.7% of all respondents plan to use catalogs for prospecting.

Litle Reports State-by-State Direct Response Spending

http://www.dmnews.com/litle-co-finds-state-by-state-variance-in-direct-response-spending/article/255701/

Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada are the most active states for consumer direct response spending. The least active are Oregon, Indiana, Tennessee, and Michigan, according to payment processing company Litle & Co., which released its findings on state-by-state consumer direct response spending on August 22.

GPO/Apple Agreement to Sell Federal eBooks

http://www.piworld.com/article/government-printing-office-gpo-teams-up-apple-sell-federal-ebooks/1

The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) has signed an agreement with Apple Inc. to sell Federal eBooks. Titles are available in eBook format for the iPad, eReaders, PCs, and Macs when running the iTunes Store app.

Carat Lowers Global Ad Forecast, US Unchanged

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/181458/carat-global-ad-spend-forecast-dips-us-holds.html?print

Carat, the flagship media agency of London-based Aegis Group, has downgraded its global ad spending forecasts for both 2012 and 2013. The agency cited sluggish growth in developed markets as one reason for the downgrade.
In the U.S., however, the agency did not downgrade its forecast. Instead, it maintained an estimate of 4.9% growth for 2012, while modestly upgrading the outlook for 2013 to 5.3% from the previously forecast 4.2%.

Bonnier Creates Accelerator for Startups

http://adage.com/print/236828

The accelerator, called Bonnier Innovation Lab, is asking for applications from companies trying to change the way content is created, distributed or consumed. It will select four to receive at least $25,000 in seed funding as well as services and support in areas such as public relations, e-commerce, web hosting and human relations. The four startups will also participate in a 14-week program at Bonnier's Boulder, Colo., office to go over topics such as content strategy, audience development, search engine optimization, social media, product development cycles and investor relations.

Williams-Sonoma Global Expansion

http://www.financialpost.com/markets/news/Williams+Sonoma+Announces+Sydney+Australia+First+Company+Owned+Global/7123393/story.html

Williams-Sonoma, Inc., the North America-based retailer that specializes in high-quality products for the home, today announced that it has signed a lease for approximately 22,000 square feet of retail space to house four of its iconic brands, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm at the newly constructed Exchange Building in Sydney, Australia, at Bondi Junction. The four stores, currently slated to open in early fiscal 2013, are the first retail locations outside of North America to be owned and operated by the retailer as part of its overall global expansion strategy.

USPS Reports Q3 2012 Loss

USPS reports $5.2 billion Q3 net loss: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reported a Q3 net loss of $5.2 billion on August 8, with $3.1 billion attributable to refunding retiree health benefits, acting CFO Stephen Masse said in an earnings call. The Q3 report covered expenses from April 1 to June 30.

Inspector General; USPS Wasted $1.2 Million on Stamp Decision

Simpsons Stamps Wasted $1.2 Million for Postal Service: Someone at the U.S. Postal Service guessed that commemorative stamps featuring TV cartoon character Homer Simpson would be twice as popular as those of Elvis Presley. In a move that wasted $1.2 million in printing costs, the Postal Service produced 1 billion of “The Simpsons” stamps. It sold 318 million.
The inspector general criticized the process the service uses to decide how many stamps to produce, saying it’s unscientific and too much of a judgment call....
The Postal Service, in a response to the report, said it already addressed the problem by creating the “forever” stamp, which can be used to mail a letter any time in the future.

CMO Confidence Falls

CMO confidence in U.S. economy slumps: Chief marketing officers are less optimistic about the U.S. economy than they were six months ago, according to a survey conducted by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

PrintCity Releases “Print: Seen! Lean & Green”

PrintCity Releases Print Edition of “Green” Industry Reference Book (Going Green):
The new industry reference book, Print: Seen! Lean & Green, is now available in either PDF or print form—a dual distribution strategy that reflects one of the book’s basic themes, that print is one choice for the dissemination of content among many in an evolving media mix.

Presstek to be Acquired

Presstek to Be Acquired by Affiliate of American Industrial Partners: Presstek Inc., a leading supplier of digital offset printing solutions to the printing and communications industries, has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which it would be acquired by MAI Holdings, an entity affiliated with American Industrial Partners Capital Fund IV.