East Coast Port Strike Averted

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/28/there-wont-be-a-coastwide-port-strike-after-all/?print=1

The “container cliff” has been averted.

On Friday, the dock workers’ union reached a tentative agreement with shippers and port operators on the East Coast, federal mediators said. The breakthrough in talks means that the country won’t have to go through a strike by 14,500 dock workers from Houston to Boston — a move that could have been quite disruptive to the U.S. economy.
For months, the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance have been battling over the issue of “container royalties,” a fee paid by shipping companies that is used to augment worker wages and benefits. That issue now appears to be resolved in principle, mediators said.
The union and the shipping companies will now extend the deadline another 30 days while they hash out the remaining issues on a new collective bargaining agreement.

S&P Raises NewPage Credit Rating

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/26/idUSWNB262720121226

U.S. coated paper manufacturer NewPage Corp. announced that it has  emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed on its exit  financing. We (Standard & Poor's) are raising the corporate credit rating to 'B+' from 'D'.  We are also assigning our 'BB' issue-level rating to the company's  six-year, $500 million senior secured term loan. The term loan has a recovery  rating of '1'. The stable outlook reflects the lower post-emergence leverage and good  prospects for meaningful free cash flow generation over the upcoming 12 to 18  months despite the significant challenges in declining North American coated  paper end markets. In addition, the outlook incorporates our view of the  company's strong liquidity position given the lack of financial maintenance  covenants and no significant debt maturities over the next five years. 

Oji Turns to Biomass

http://japandailypress.com/oji-to-sell-biomass-power-to-counter-slide-in-paper-sales-2720511

Oji Holdings Corp, which is now focusing on selling biomass power to take advantage of government subsidies for renewable energy and to address the slide in paper sales. -->
According to Shoji Fujiwara, chairman of Oji Green Resources Co, they are planning to build biomass power plants fueled by wood on the northern island of Hokkaido and the southern island of Kyushu. The company, the world’s largest corporate user of renewable energy, will spend 20 billion yen (approx. $233.5 million) to construct the plants and after three years, plans to sell the electricity to be generated by the units. Potential customers for this particular project are Kyushu Electric Power Co. and Hokkaido Electric Power Co. with a potential 2 billion income per year for each utility. Oji is investing around 60 billion yen ($700 million) for solar, geothermal and hydro energy projects.

Top Five DM News Stories

http://www.dmnews.com/new-years-countdown-dmn-style/article/274040/

It's been a long year and a busy one for direct marketers. The USPS topped the headlines and mobile marketing continued to mature. Just in case you missed any of the action, we've pulled together the top Direct Marketing News content of 2012 for you, both web and print. So, pour yourself a glass of early champagne and have a scroll.

Top five 2012 stories on dmnews.com
USPS expects Senate action on postal bill: Political gridlock in Congress was a big problem for the USPS in 2012.
DMA: Direct mail response rates beat digital: The Direct Marketing Association found that direct mail boasts a 4.4% rate, compared to email's average response rate of 0.12%.
JCPenney overhauls marketing, promo strategy: JCPenney got a new logo and  completely revamped its pricing, branding, promotions, as well as refreshing its stores.
Google finally opts for a 'Do Not Track' option: Analysts speculated the reasoning behind Google's 'Do Not Track' addition to Chrome, and questioned whether legislation will ensue nonetheless.
USPS officially announces gopost pilot: The USPS officially announced the pilot program of its gopost parcel delivery lockers, which the USPS began implementing in Northern Virginia in February.

2012 Top Magazine Launches

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/190075/recoil-read-this-list-of-2012s-top-magazine-laun.html#axzz2GHWUpE7C

The two “most notable” magazine launches of 2012 were (in this order) a magazine aimed at the kind of extreme gun enthusiasts who covet assault weapons, and a magazine aimed at young children, according to an annual list published by consumer magazine trend follower, Samir Husni, a professor at the University of Mississippi, who is also known as the “Magazine Guy.”
The aptly named Recoil ranked No. 1, Husni explained to online business news service CommPRO.biz, because it is “an artfully-done, gun-lifestyle magazine that is selling for as much as $125 an issue on eBay.”
No. 2  Highlight’s Hello, a spinoff of the long-running children’s magazine, which Husni says is aimed at ages 0-2, although its readership likely skews on the higher end.
No. 3: Dujour (targets the $5 million net-worth crowd)
No. 4: Howler (aimed at soccer enthusiasts)
No. 5: Cosmopolitan for Latinas (for Latinas, of course) 

2012 Media Advertising Up 5.4%

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/190077/forecast-solid-growth-for-global-ad-spend.html#axzz2GHWUpE7C

Media advertising spending grew 5.4% to just under $519 billion in 2012 -- up over the 3.6% growth rate in 2011, says eMarketer. This year's growth rate will continue at about the same levels through 2016, topping out at $628 billion.

This year, Latin America witnessed the fastest growth of any region -- up 11% to $34.66 billion, climbing to $51 billion by 2016.
Estimates are that China's ad spending will grow 13% this year to $42.6 billion, eMarketer says. China will also continue to climb -- albeit at a somewhat smaller rate, adding on 12%,11%, 10% and 10%, in the coming years, getting to $64 billion by 2016.
Overall, the Asia-Pacific region will grow 8.5% and will continue to climb near double-digit percentage gains over the coming years.
Though eMarketer estimates U.S. advertising spending this year at an aggressive 4.9% -- higher than other growth projections -- its actual spending number is way below that of other industry projections.

Vice Buys i-D

http://www.foliomag.com/2012/vice-acquires-british-fashion-mag-i-d#.UN3Dx7bZGKw

Bold and boastful hipster-targeted media conglomerate Vice is getting into fashion.
While the magazine has been on the edge of culture--including fashion--since inception, it's never been a fashion brand. The acquisition of British style title i-D brings them into that realm.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

M&A Hits Prerecession Levels

M&A Hits Prerecession Levels: M&A activity skyrocketed to prerecession levels in several major industry sectors, according to a year-end report from investment banking firm The Jordan, Edmiston Group (JEGI).