Resolute Forest Products Sues Greenpeace

http://metronews.ca/news/canada/717861/quebec-forestry-company-suing-greenpeace-for-7-million/

A Quebec-based Resolute Forest Products Inc. is suing Greenpeace for $7 million, accusing the environmental group of defamation, malicious falsehood and intentional interference with economic relations.

In the 40-page suit filed in Ontario Superior court in late May, Resolute alleges the conservation agency has damaged the company's "business, goodwill and reputation."
The company lists multiple incidents, beginning in December 2012, where it says Greenpeace wrongly accused the company of logging in areas it shouldn't have been and not honouring the pensions of company retirees.

Transformative Sustainability: Domtar's 2020 Roadmap

http://whattheythink.com/news/64296-transformative-sustainability-year-1-progress-domtar-2020-roadmap

Domtar Corporation today released its 2012 Sustainable Growth Report, providing a Year-1 update on its 2020 sustainable business roadmap.  Progress is being tracked through a framework of 35 key performance indicators that cover the range of the Company's sustainability efforts, from increasing production efficiency and environmental footprint reductions, to promoting the development of employees, serving customers better and contributing more effectively to host communities.

The report highlights a long list of Year-1 achievements: the Company's best year on record for health and safety performance; close to 85% renewable energy use; decreasing greenhouse gas emissions intensity; and, increasing FSC^® certified fiber use.  Additional focus in the report is also given to innovations that have resulted in almost half of what was previously considered mill by-product "waste" now providing economic value through beneficial re-use; greater employee engagement around sustainable business issues; and, Domtar's deep connections to local communities.

IP Notes Sustainability Progress

http://whattheythink.com/news/64276-international-paper-announces-significant-progress-2020-sustainability-goals

International Paper published its 2012 Sustainability Report, revealing progress against its voluntary goals including certified fiber use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, and water quality improvement. 
In 2011, International Paper announced 12 environmental and social goals that it planned to achieve by 2020.

Sappi to Divest Swaziland Assets for Rand 1 billion

http://www.sappi.com/regions/sa/group/GroupProfile/Pages/default.aspx

Sappi will part with its Usutu assets in Swaziland. The firm announced this morning that it entered into an agreement with Montigny Investments in terms of which the latter will acquire all the shares in Usutu Forest Products Company for Rand 1 billion ($101 million).

Usutu controls some 67,000 ha of softwood plantations, a decommissioned pulp mill and two villages in close proximity to the pulp mill, all located in the Kingdom of Swaziland.

US Publishers See Ongoing Growth, Including Print

http://www.publishers.org/press/111/

English-language books from US Trade sector publishers continue to flourish worldwide, especially in Europe and Asia and in expanding online international retail sales channels, according to the second annual Association of American Publishers (AAP) Export Sales Report being released today.The report also shows particular worldwide growth in US-published, English-language fiction for Adults and Young Adults.
The report examines US Trade sector (publishers of fiction and non-fiction) 2012 net sales revenue from international markets and includes data from all major consumer publishing houses. 
Total overall 2012 net revenue from non-US markets reported by publishers is $833.389 million, increasing +7.2% vs 2011. This represents 135,526 million units, a gain of +2.4% vs last year. Publishers’ net revenue from export of eBooks increased by +63% and print books by +1.3% over the same period.

Hachette Book Group to Acquire Disney's Hyperion

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/01/hachette-to-acquire-disneys-hyperion/2478859

Hachette Book Group, a division of French publishing giant Hachette Livre, says it's buying Disney's Hyperion, in a deal that will significantly expand HBG's backlist with about 1,000 books and a list of forthcoming titles from authors including actor Ethan Hawke.

Hachette Book Group did not disclose the price it's paying to acquire Hyperion, which has published more than 250 bestsellers.
Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch was quoted in a Friday statement as saying that Hyperion, with its strong non-fiction list, is a "perfect complement" to HBC.
The statement says that under the deal, Disney Publishing Worldwide is to retain Disney-Hyperion branded children and young adult titles.

Penguin/Random House Merger Completed

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/media/merger-of-penguin-and-random-house-is-completed.html?hp&_r=

Random House and Penguin completed their planned merger Monday morning, creating the biggest and most powerful book publisher in the world.

The new company, called Penguin Random House, will control more than 25 percent of the trade book market in the United States, giving it unmatched leverage against Amazon.com, a growing force in the industry. 
Bertelsmann and Pearson, the European owners of Random House and Penguin, respectively, announced the merger in October, saying that Bertelsmann would control 53 percent of the company and Penguin 47 percent. Since then, the merger has sailed through regulatory approvals in the United States and Europe, as well as China, Canada and other countries. 
The new company would have more than 10,000 employees, 250 independent publishing imprints and about $3.9 billion in annual revenues.

Warc Boosts U.S. Ad Spending Projection

http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130628/ADVERTISING13/306289997/warc-downgrades-global-ad-spending-forecast-boosts-u-s-projectio

Global ad spending will increase 3.4% this year, according to a downgraded forecast from media intelligence firm Warc. The prediction is down from a January forecast of 4.0% growth.

Next year, Warc projected, global ad spending will rise 5.4%.
In the U.S., ad spending will increase 1.8% this year, according to Warc's latest forecast. In January it had predicted a 0.3% decline.

RDA Bankruptcy Plan Approved

http://www.foliomag.com/2013/rda-bankruptcy-plan-approved-court#.UdG7yOuYyKw
RDA Holding, parent company of The Reader's Digest Association, had its plan for emergence from bankruptcy approved and will officially exit Chapter 11 in late July. 
The company is set to reemerge with about $100 million in debt, down from around $500 million before the filing in February. RDA says it converted approximately $465 million in secured notes to equity. 
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved the measures Friday afternoon. 
According to CEO Robert Guth, RDA will focus on its "most profitable core businesses" moving forward. Ancillary units—including Every Day with Rachel Ray and Allrecipies.com—have already been divested.
The publisher's flagship titles, Reader's Digest and Taste of Home, have slowly trended upward since Guth took over in September of 2011.

Senator Vows Postal Reform Act by July 4

http://www.dmnews.com/senator-carper-vows-postal-reform-act-by-july-4/article/290606/

Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the United States Postal Service, told a group of postal officials and business leaders yesterday at the Postal Vision 2020 conference that he expected to have a new reform bill passed by both Houses of Congress and sitting on President Obama's desk before Congress's July 4 recession. 
“It's not easy to get this done, but we can get this done and, in the end, we have no choice,” Carper told a group of postal officials and business leaders at the conference held across street from USPS headquarters in Washington, DC. 
Carper was a coauthor of the 21st Century Postal Act that failed to gain passage during the lame-duck session of Congress at the end of 2012. Had it passed, the act would have given USPS some relief from its $5 billion a year obligation to prepay pension benefits for its employees and allowed it to pursue other cost-cutting and revenue-building opportunities. Its failure to pass the house led to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's controversial announcement to cut Saturday mail delivery.

Private Forest Owners Significant Contributers to Economy

http://nafoalliance.org/featured/private-forest-owners-make-significant-contribution-to-u-s-economy-new-report-shows

The National Alliance of Forest Owners (NAFO) today released new data confirming the strong value forest owners provide to the U.S. economy. “The Economic Impact of Privately-Owned Forest in the United States” reveals forest owners support 2.4 million jobs, $87 billion in payroll, $223 billion in sales and 5.7 percent of all U.S. manufacturing. In addition to the full report, NAFO’s interactive U.S. map provides a convenient snapshot of individual state data.