USPS Defaults on $5.5 Billion Payment to Treasury

http://www.dmnews.com/usps-defaults-on-55-billion-payment-to-us-treasury/article/252995/

The United States Postal Service defaulted today on a $5.5 billion payment to the United States Treasury, which was intended to cover the healthcare benefits of the organization's future retirees.

On July 30, the USPS issued a statement warning of the August 1 default, as well as a subsequent $5.6 billion payment that will not be made due. According to the statement, the USPS says there should not be any disruption of service.

Resolute Forest Products Reports Q2 Results

Resolute Forest Products reports net loss of $20 million in second quarter, 2012:
Resolute Forest Products has reported a net loss of $20 million in its second quarter of 2012 on sales of $1.2 billion. This can be compared to a net income of $61 million on sales of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of 2011.

Second Derailment Raises Concerns for Verso

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/07/30/news/hancock/verso-paper-mill-assessing-damage-after-train-carrying-paper-derailed/?ref=latest

After the second derailment in about as many months of a train going to or from the Verso mill, the papermaking plant is concerned.
The train that derailed early Sunday afternoon was carrying paper from Verso Paper Corp. when it went off the tracks at the intersection of Route 15, said Bill Cohen, a Verso spokesman.
Cohen said he couldn’t confirm how much paper was on the train, but said Verso was working with Pan Am Railways — which owns the tracks and operates the train — to assess how much product was damaged in the derailment.

Resolute Acquisition of Fibrek Moves Forward

Resolute Forest Products and Fibrek complete their second step arrangement:
/Resolute Forest Products Inc. and Fibrek Inc. have completed their previously announced second step plan of arrangement transaction, whereby Fibrek and RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute, have amalgamated resulting in Resolute indirectly owning 100% of the shares of Fibrek Inc.
This announcement comes following the approval of the arrangement by Fibrek’s shareholders on July 23, 2012 and the issuance of a final order of the Superior Court of Quebec on July 27, 2012 approving the arrangement.

Judge Approves Sale of SP Newsprint Assets

http://www.thedeal.com/content/restructuring/sp-newsprint-set-for-aug-17-auction.ph

Judge Christopher Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on July 27 signed an order approving the bidding procedures of the newsprint producer.

According to court papers filed July 19, an affiliate of secured lender GE Capital Corp. will be stalking-horse bidder for the assets in a deal valued at $145 million. SPN AcquisitionCo LLC would credit-bid the entire amount of GE Capital’s outstanding revolving loans and a portion of an outstanding term loan for substantially all of the Greenwich, Conn., newsprint producer’s assets.

Consumers Prefer Print Statements & Bills

Print Statements and Bills Still Favored by Many U.S. Consumers: A survey of more than 5,000 US households found that 71% of consumers open print financial statements and bills mailed to them, and 65% said they actually preferred to get a print copy of their bill or statement.

USPS Issues Sustainability Report

http://www.triplepundit.com/2012/07/post-office-tract-meet-all-one-sustainability-target/

The Sustainability and Energy Scorecard of the USPS shows that it is on track to meet all of its goals, except reducing vehicle petroleum fuel use by 20 percent by 2015.  The Scorecard is a reporting tool that federal government agencies use to publicly report on the progress of their sustainability goals. The USPS has experienced a 6.4 percent increase in fuel use, which earned it a “red” score, meaning it did not meet its goal to achieve a 10 percent reduction since 2005. All other goals earned a “green” score, which means they are on track to meet targets.

Catalyst Paper Closing Snowflake Mill

Catalyst Paper is permanently closing its Snowflake mill in Arizona:
Catalyst Paper has decided to permanently close its Snowflake recycle mill located in northeastern Arizona and its subsidiary the Apache Railway Company. The mill has two PMs with the capacity to produce ~400,000 stpy of newsprint and uncoated mechanical paper.
This follows extensive efforts to improve the operation’s financial performance in the face of intense supply input and market pressures. The operation is scheduled to shut production on September 30, 2012.

RISI Names Richard Garneau "CEO of the Year"

Richard Garneau named 2012 North American CEO of the Year:
RISI today announced that Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer of Resolute Forest Products, has been selected as RISI’s 2012 North American CEO of the Year.

Domtar Reports Q2 Results

Domtar Corporation Reports Preliminary Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results: Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) today reported net earnings of $59 million ($1.61 per share) for the second quarter of 2012 compared to net earnings of $28 million ($0.76 per share) for the first quarter of 2012.

China's June RCP & Pulp Imports Fall

According to data from China Customs; China's total recovered paper (RCP) imports fell 16.7% to nearly 2.346 million tonnes in June, down from some 2.816 million tonnes in May.
China's total pulp imports fell 9.4% in June compared to the previous month, to nearly 1.354 million tonnes.

Resolute Estimates Cost of Bowater Mersey Closing

Resolute Forest Products’ costs for closing Bowater Mersey:
Resolute Forest Products has amended their estimate for the cost they will incur for indefinitely idling the Bowater Mersey newsprint mill in Nova Scotia.
Resolute Forest Products now estimates that it will incur, on an accounting basis, a charge of approximately $18 million for severance and other termination benefits and approximately $77 million of asset impairment charges to reduce the carrying value of the mill assets.

USPS Default Coming, Congress Not Moved to Act

Looming U.S. Postal Service Default Shakes Mailers’ Confidence: Missing the health pre-payment, the first default in the agency’s history, would not cause interruptions in service or prevent the Postal Service from paying suppliers and employees, USPS spokesman David Partenheimer said in an email. 

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120731/BUSINESS03/707319975/1006/BUSINESS?template=printart

The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency’s solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.

Cabela's Multi-Channel Future

http://risnews.edgl.com/print?printpath=/RIS/Feature-Article/Trends/Trends/Print-Catalogs-Go-Digital-as-Cabela-s-Embarks-on-O&classname=CMS.Article

Cabela's is taking initial steps to focus on a print-to-digital transformation. Last year, the company began to develop an approach to transform our 51-year-old legacy catalog business into an omni-channel enterprise.

New York Magazine & Dwell Annouce Venture

http://www.pubexec.com/article/custom-publication-design-events-home-tours-october-1-7-2012/?params=print#

Dwell Media and New York Magazine today unveil the name of their joint venture celebrating design, now known as CITY MODERN. The partnership is comprised of a joint-publication (out this Fall), 10+ special design events the week of Oct 1-7, and modern home tours in Manhattan & Brooklyn Oct 6 & 7. 

Financial Times Digital Subscriptions Top Print

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-27/financial-times-digital-subscribers-surpass-its-print-readers

The Financial Times’ digital subscribers surpassed its print customers for the first time, marking a milestone that the New York Times and other newspapers with so-called paywalls are aiming to reach.

The newspaper’s digital subscribers grew 31 percent to 300,000 paying readers, compared with a year ago, Financial Times owner Pearson Plc (PSON) said today. Total circulation, including print, increased to almost 600,000.

F+W Acquires Aspire Media

F+W Acquires Aspire Media:  F+W has purchased Aspire Media, a Loveland, Colorado-based enthusiast publisher serving the craft market and backed by private equity firms Frontenac Company and Catalyst Investors. Terms of the deal were not released, but F+W CEO David Nussbaum says it will add another 30 percent of revenue to the company.

New Paper Options

New Paper Options: 
Production managers weigh in.
The basic idea behind paper buying is to strike the right balance between cost and quality. Determine your organization’s priorities, and make your compromises accordingly.

Omnimedia Reports Q2 Results

Martha Stewart Pares Loss; Publishing Still Weighs: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.’s  second-quarter loss narrowed as the media-and-merchandise company’s struggling publishing unit continued to weigh on its revenue. Martha Stewart Living reported a loss of $2.7 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a loss of $2.94 million, or 5 cents, a year earlier. The most-recent quarter included $777,000 in restructuring charges. Revenue dropped 13% to $47.9 million.

Graphic Arts & Print; Pessimism for Q3

Semper Finds Pessimism Regarding Third-Quarter Sales in Latest ‘Industry Insight’ Survey: Semper International, the leading placement firm for skilled help in the graphic arts and printing industry, announces that in spite of profitability throughout the industry, many companies have a negative outlook for the rest of the quarter. The results of Semper’s most recent “Industry Insight” survey show a negative outlook and indecision about hiring plans.

Search for North America’s Greenest Printers

Search Launched for North America’s Greenest Printers: Canopy announces the release of the first comprehensive effort to identify North America’s greenest printers. The “Green Print Leadership Survey” will be circulated to the top 50 printers in North America to identify those demonstrating the highest green standards and engagement on forest conservation.

IDEAlliance; New Specification for Intelligent Mail

IDEAlliance Publishes New Specification for Intelligent Mail: IDEAlliance and its Postal Operations and Technology Committee has published for public review a new specification for presort vendors, list processors, inkjet technicians, and all concerned mail owners who choose to support the launch of the Intelligent Mail Package Barcode (IMpb) Implementation for Commercial Parcels.

Global Pulp Shipments Fall in June

http://www.pulpandpaper.net/NetLetter/DJ10052011.html 

Global pulp deliveries slipped by 2.6% to 3.449 million tonnes in June, down from 3.541 million tonnes the previous month, according to Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC) data.

Shipments were 5.5% lower than a year earlier, down from 3.651 million tonnes in June 2011.

Weyerhaeuser Reports Q2 Results

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Media/NewsReleases/NewsRelease?dcrID=2012-07-27_WeyerhaeuserReportsSecondQuarterResults

Weyerhaeuser Company today reported net earnings of $84 million for the second quarter, or 16 cents per diluted share, on net sales of $1.8 billion. This compares with net earnings of $10 million on net sales from continuing operations of $1.6 billion for the same period last year.

IP Sells Franklin PM to Tak

Tak Investments, LLC, is pleased to announce it has completed a deal to purchase a portion of the papermaking assets at International Paper's recently reopened mill in Franklin, Virginia. Over the past few months, Tak Investments has been converting one of the mill's former paper machines to tissue production. Tak Investments has established a new subsidiary, ST Tissue, LLC, that will operate at the Franklin mill site. Full-scale tissue making operations will begin in late September, 2012.

Study: Direct Mail Still Preferred

Direct Mail the Top Channel for Some of America's Best Known Companies: Among some of America's most well-known companies, direct mail ranks number one in planned marketing channels.
Direct mail ranked number one (88%) planned marketing channels for 2012, followed by web/micro-site, email, and social media.

Media Measurement & Tracking Tools

Top Social Media Measurement and Tracking Tools: Social media audiences have effectively become another universe of prospects to tap, which means measurement and tracking is essential to yielding from these visitors both direct and indirect revenue. While Facebook and Twitter offer their own analytics tools, a host of third-party offerings exist to pick up where they leave off.

Managing Multi-Channel Content

The New CMS Mandate: Managing Multi-Channel Content: Magazine publishers—especially larger ones with multiple syndication and distribution channels—have struggled for years with finding better ways to manage and automate the use of their valuable intellectual property.

Standard Register Reports Q2 Results

Standard Register Announces 6% Revenue Decline for Q2: Standard Register, a leader in the management and execution of mission-critical communications, today announced its financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2012. The Company reported quarterly revenue of $155.1 million and a net loss of $1.1 million. The results compare to prior year quarterly revenue of $164.3 million and a net loss of $1.0 million.

Spin Magazine Reports Layoffs

Reports: Major Layoffs at Spin:
Billboard.biz broke the news Friday that Spin had a round of layoffs and a later report by The New York Times said 11 employees were let go—a third of the staff. Among those that were shown the door were editor-in-chief Steve Kandell and managing editor Catherine Davis.

Domtar Reports Q2 Results

Domtar reports net earnings of $59 million in second quarter, 2012:
Domtar Corporation has reported net earnings of $59 million in the second quarter of 2012 on sales of $1.4 billion.
In comparison, Domtar reported net earnings of $28 million for the first quarter of 2012, and net earnings of $54 million for the second quarter of 2011.

Paperlinx Selling Operations in Europe, South Africa, CEO Resigns

Paperlinx to sell operations in Europe and South Africa, CEO to step down
PaperlinX announced recently announced that it has entered into the following agreements:
- to sell its operations in Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia to the Heinzel Group for EUR 19.6 million.
- to sell its loss-making operations in South Africa to local management.

Buckeye CEO Resigns

Buckeye Announces Resignation: Buckeye Technologies Inc. reported that President and Chief Operating Officer Kristopher J. Matula has announced his intent to resign from the Company effective August 31, 2012 to focus on other interests. Mr. Matula stated that he will resign from the Company’s Board of Directors on August 7, 2012.

61% of Consumers Take Action on Magazine Ads

Consumers Take Action Thanks to Magazine Ads: Six out of 10 magazine readers say exposure to specific magazine ads led them to take, or plan to take, action (such as make a purchase).

ABC Makes Changes

ABC Raises Fees, Defers Reporting Actions:
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) is making strategic changes to its reporting requirements and will be raising fees by 3 percent before the end of the year.
ABC’s board voted to defer implementation of a new publisher’s statement that would have expanded how consumer magazines report metrics for digital publications, and those that require larger magazines to report issue-by-issue data through ABC’s Rapid Report tool until new digital reporting requirements have been vetted further.

House Beautiful Multiplatform Ad Campaigns

House Beautiful: A Case Study On Multiplatform Ad Campaigns: House Beautiful has come a long way in its 117-year history, and the publication is now offering its advertisers more, too. Over the next year, it will be slowly rolling out a highly integrated advertising campaign, complete with print, online, tablet, social, live events and mobile media support.

Dennis Launches New Cycling Title

Dennis Publishing launches monthly cycling magazine:
London-headquartered, £100m turnover Dennis Publishing, which owns over 50 magazines, will launch the new cycling title with an initial UK print run of 50,000.
Produced by Bicester printer BGP, Cyclist will hit both digital and high street shelves, priced at £5 an issue, on 19 September backed by a £500,000 multi-platform marketing campaign.

NYT Revenues Up

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/179679/nytco-revs-edge-up.html?print

For the first time in years, the New York Times Co. has posted a year-over-year gain in quarterly revenues -- a rare bright spot in the struggling newspaper industry. Total revenues edged up 0.6% to $515 million in the second quarter of 2012. Total revenues at its News Media Group increased 1.2% to $489 million.

Meredith Reports FY 2012 Results

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/26/idUS137002+26-Jul-2012+PRN20120726

Meredith Corporation, the leading media and marketing company serving American women, today reported fiscal 2012 fourth quarter revenues grew 6 percent to $375 million, and earnings per share grew 2 percent to $0.67, both from the prior-year period.

Magazine Industry Thriving in China

http://fashionista.com/2012/07/can-china-save-fashion-magazines/

While print publishing’s had a tough time in the states and in many parts of the world over the past few years, the magazine industry in China is apparently booming.

China has become a huge market for luxury fashion, with consumers buying more than just clothes and accessories. According to a piece in the New York Times this past weekend, young Chinese women are spending huge chunks of their incomes on Chinese versions of Western fashion glossies such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, etc. They’re obsessed. And Western publishing houses like Hearst are making bank.

Valassis Announces Q2 Results

Valassis Sees Its Revenues Slide and Net Earnings Take a Big Hit: Valassis announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. Its revenues were $540.2 million, a decrease of 4.4 percent from $565.2 million in the prior year quarter.

Deluxe Reports Q2 Results

Deluxe Reports Its Revenue Grew 7 Percent in the Second Quarter: Deluxe Corp. announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. “We had an outstanding second quarter following an outstanding first quarter,” said Lee Schram, CEO of Deluxe.