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.

Stora Enso Reports Q2 & H1 Results

Stora Enso Interim Review January–June 2012: Operational EBIT at similar level to Q1 2012, lower year-on-year at EUR 141 (EUR 239) million mainly due to lower sales prices.
Cash flow from operations EUR 246 (EUR 207) million and liquidity EUR 1 240 (EUR 996) million, both stronger year-on-year.
Q2/2012 Results (compared with Q2/2011)
Sales at EUR 2 720 million were EUR 97 million lower than a year ago. Operational EBIT at EUR 141 million was EUR 98 million lower than a year ago. This represents an operational EBIT margin of 5.2% (8.5%).
Clearly lower sales prices in local currencies, mainly in paper and pulp grades, decreased operational EBIT by EUR 83 million and slightly lower deliveries and production decreased operational EBIT by EUR 14 million. Paper and board production was curtailed by 7% (6%) and sawnwood production by 6% (3%) to manage inventories.
 CEO Jouko Karvinen:
“The reality, as for most of the past five years since 2007, is that the environment is not going to get any easier. We need to double our own efforts to get through the short-term and long-term challenges. Operationally, every Business Area needs not only to complete the announced restructuring programmes, and the literally hundreds of cost and productivity improvement efforts, but also to add more of them and implement them faster. We also must and will continue to adjust our manufacturing capacity to the market demand, as we have been doing since late in the second quarter. This is crucial not only to maximise our margins with a focused market and product mix, but also to further demonstrate that we can get through the market cycles with continued solid cash generation."

BC Protects More Old Growth Forests

More old growth forest protected in British Columbia:
British Columbia is now protecting an additional 14,750 hectares of old growth forest on the Sunshine Coast.
These old growth management areas were established under the Land Act, following public consultation and discussions with First Nations, forestry companies and local stakeholders.

IP Will Close Kalamazoo

International Paper Co. announces plant to close its Kalamazoo plant; 77 jobs to be lost:
About 77 jobs will be lost when International Paper Co. closes its corrugated container plant in Kalamazoo in mid-September. "Following the merger with Temple-Inland, we have more capacity than our customers need in this area," Scott Dillon, complex general manager, stated in a press release.

Pulp Producer Announces Another Decrease

Canfor Pulp informed customers in the USA today that its northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp list price will decline to $850/tonne, effective August 1 until further notice, industry sources told RISI.

Black Liquor Tax Credits Still Have Senate Support

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/us/politics/in-black-liquor-a-cautionary-tale-for-deficit-reduction.html?ref=politics&pagewanted=print

As a member of the “Gang of Six,” Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho has emerged as something of a hero among advocates of bipartisanship, one of three conservative Republicans working with three Democrats to cut the deficit by closing loopholes that allow businesses and households to avoid paying taxes.

Yet earlier this year, the senator made sure that a $3 billion loophole — protecting “black liquor,” an alcoholic sludge used as fuel in timber mills and factories — remained open in the negotiations over the highway bill that President Obama signed this month. Many budget experts criticize the loophole as a tax dodge because it allows the sludge to qualify for an energy subsidy created to wean the country off imported oil for vehicles, which black liquor does not do.

Sales Tax Battle Continues on Federal Level

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-20/wal-mart-pushes-web-sales-tax-as-washington-clout-grows-retail.html

In its struggle against surging online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has unleashed a weapon long shunned by Sam Walton: lobbying.

On July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a bill to let states collect sales tax from out-of-state merchants that sell to their residents. If it is passed, online retailers, which now mostly don’t collect sales tax, will lose a price advantage that has helped them take business from brick-and-mortar stores.

Wal-Mart, which has been boosting political contributions and staffing up its Washington office, is one of the prime movers behind the bill, said Congressman Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican who authored the proposed legislation.

Gap's Athleta has Agressive Strategy

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/07/19/v-print/2208372/gaps-athleta-appears-to-stalk.html

Last month Lululemon Athletica opened a store in Durham. Three weeks later Athleta, Gap’s answer to Lululemon, opened in the same mall.

The pattern – Lululemon store opens, Athleta shop pops up nearby – is happening nationwide as Gap mounts the most potent threat so far to the Vancouver-based competitor.

Say Media Raises $27 Million

http://techcrunch.com/2012/07/19/say-media-says-yes-to-27m-will-build-out-publishing-platform-buy-more-assets/

Another milestone for online publishing company SAY Media, just 10 days after it had announced that Time Magazine publisher Kim Kelleher would be coming on board as president in September: today it confirmed that it has raised $27 million in funding, which it will use to make acquisitions and enhance its publishing platform.

Murdoch Resigns from News Corp. Boards

http://www.adweek.com/news/television/rupert-murdoch-resigns-news-corp-boards-142094

Rupert Murdoch resigned from a number of News Corp. boards—including his post as director of News International, the holding company for the newspapers at the center of the U.K. hacking scandal—as the company prepares to divest its publishing and entertainment properties, according to an internal memo cited by Reuters.

Technology Will Help Direct Mail to Prosper

Direct Mail Will Never Die!! Here’s Why:
Provided by: Matt Haskell of Sourcelink
Direct mail is here to stay! Want to know why? Two reasons: technology.
1. Technology used in conjunction with Direct Mail can only serve to make it stronger
2. Technology and compatibility move at different paces

Printing Industry Hall of Fame Announces Inductees

2012 Printing Industry Hall of Fame Inductees Announced: Printing Impressions magazine is pleased to announce its 2012 class of inductees into the Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame. They will be honored at the annual Gold Ink & Hall of Fame Awards Gala on Monday evening, Oct. 8, at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago during Graph Expo 2012.
The 27th induction class includes:
• Carl Gerhardt, chairman, Allegra Network, Plymouth, MI
• Michael Graff, president and CEO, Sandy Alexander, Clifton, NJ
• David Harding, president and CEO, HardingPoorman Group, Indianapolis
• Volker Petersen, president and CEO, Brown Printing, Waseca, MN

Johnson & Quin Buys American Mailers

Johnson & Quin Acquires American Mailers to Add High-Volume Mailing Capacity: NILES, IL—July 19, 2012—Johnson & Quin, a national leader in targeted direct marketing services (#204 with $23.7 million in sales on the 2011 Printing Impressions 400 ranking), announced the acquisition of Naperville, IL-based American Mailers, a division of ANET Corp. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Operations will be combined into two Johnson & Quin facilities in Niles, IL.

Xerox Reports Q2 Results

Xerox reports Q2 earnings, sees continued decline in technology revenue: This morning Xerox reported its Q2 financials; similar to Q1, the company saw growth in services revenue and a decline in technology revenue (printers, MFPs, scanners, software, supplies, etc.). Xerox also experienced a decline in “other” revenue, which includes paper sales, wide-format systems, and electronic presentation systems.

PPPC Reports H1 2012 Numbers

The Pulp & Paper Products Council reported that North American coated mechanical paper demand fell -4.1% in the first half of 2012 as compared to H1 2011, shipments decreased -3.3%, imports were down -7.4% and the operating rate was 91% (for June, the rate was 100%). Coated woodfree demand in H1 declined -7.1%, shipments were down -4.5%, imports fell -12% and the operating rate was 85%. SC-A/A+ demand for the first six months decreased -23.9%, shipments fell -24.3% and imports were down -23.9%. The operating rate for Supercalendered paper was 94%.

AF&PA: P&W Shipments Fall in June, CM Purchases Up

http://www.afandpa.org/

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. 

Purchases of coated mechanical (CM) papers were up slightly compared to June 2011 - the second consecutive year-over-year increase. CM shipments decreased 3% compared to June 2011. Year-to-date shipments are down 4% compared to first six months of 2011.

FERC Accuses Rumford Paper & Energy Co.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57475544/ferc-accuses-maine-firms-of-power-scheme/

Federal energy regulators are accusing a Maine energy business, one of its principals and a paper mill of a scheme to manipulate the regional energy market.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says Portland-based Competitive Energy Services LLC and one of its partners, Richard Silkman, violated agency rules by giving fraudulent advice to Rumford Paper Co. that allowed the mill to financially benefit when it was later paid to reduce electricity consumption during times of high demand.

Georgia-Pacific Sells Tissue Business

Georgia-Pacific Completes Sale of EMEA Tissue Business: (USA) Georgia-Pacific LLC today announced that it has completed the previously announced sale of its EMEA tissue business to SCA.

Heidelberg Names New CEO

Management of Heidelberg to Pass from Bernhard Schreier to Dr. Gerold Linzbach: Effective from Sept. 1, 2012, Dr. Gerold Linzbach will be the CEO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. Current CEO Bernhard Schreier will not be extending his management contract and will be leaving the company at the end of 2012. Schreier is handing over the company’s chairmanship after almost 13 years.

IKEA Unveils New Catalogue

IKEA Unveils Its Catalog Of The Future:
For its 2013 catalog teaser, IKEA has revealed its adoption of mobile augmented-reality and interactive technology, as a new approach for its future catalogs.Users have to download the new IKEA Catalog App (which would be available from 31 July) for their smartphone or tablet, and scan select pages of the 2013 catalog to unlock films, interactive experiences, photo galleries and other home-furnishing inspiration.

FOLIO Show Rebranded as MediaNext

FOLIO: Show Rebranded as MediaNext, Returns to New York in October:
For more than 35 years, magazine media professionals have come together to at the FOLIO: Show, the largest magazine industry event. In an effort to evolve with the changing media landscape and deliver more insights, innovative research and cutting-edge solutions to the magazine industry’s biggest challenges, FOLIO: is producing a completely rethought event this year: MediaNext.

Make Magazine & Google in Partnership

Make Magazine Launches Interactive Google Partnership: Make magazine is harnessing the power of Google through a new interactive campaign that leverages a variety of aspects from social media, online gaming, audience development and live events, with the launch of its Maker Camp on Google+.

Warc Index Shows Slight Improvement

Warc index shows marketing in the Americas tops global spending: The Warc Global Marketing Index, which tracks global marketing spending, indicated a slight improvement in July over June. Marketers in the Americas reported the strongest growth.

GroupM Revises Ad Forecast

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/179133/groupm-revises-ad-forecast-down-to-51.html

The continuing uncertain economic climate in both Europe and the U.S. has led WPP’s GroupM to downgrade its global ad spending growth forecast for 2012. The firm now predicts growth will reach 5.1% to $506 billion in measured media.

Hearst and Time Warner Reach Agreement

http://www.adweek.com/news/television/time-warner-cable-and-hearst-reach-deal-142032

Hearst and Time Warner Cable have reached an agreement regarding the 16 stations in 14 markets blacked out [1] of TWC's cable package as the two companies tried to come to an agreement over a fair price to retransmit those stations' signals.

Scholastic Reports Q4 2012 Revenue Up 24%

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/19/4641708/scholastic-announces-fiscal-2012.html

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education and media company, today reported significant revenue and earnings growth for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2012.  The Company also outlined its fiscal 2013 plan to continue investing in key long-term growth initiatives, including ebooks and educational technology, and to sustain operating improvements and strong free cash flow.