Fibrek Files Circular Rejecting Bid

Fibrek files Director’s Circular rejecting the AbitibiBowater insider bid:
Fibrek Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors filed its Directors’ Circular on December 30, 2011 recommending that Fibrek shareholders REJECT the AbitibiBowater Inc. (doing business as Resolute Forest Products) unsolicited insider bid made for all issued and outstanding common shares of the company. The Board also recommended that any shareholders who have tendered their common shares WITHDRAW them immediately.
The Board has thoroughly reviewed Abitibi’s Insider Bid to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of Fibrek’s shareholders and other stakeholders. Its formal recommendation and the reasons supporting such recommendation are outlined in its Directors’ Circular filed on December 30, 2011, as contemplated by securities laws.

PPI; Five Companies to Watch

Five companies to watch: As the New Year kicks off, what better place to start than to highlight the companies we at PPI think will be the ones the watch over the coming 12 months.

UPM

UPM is big in graphic papers in Europe, but it is also making huge progress elsewhere and away from the commodities based end of the paper industry. And this is why the Finnish giant appears on list of Five to Watch for 2012. UPM has garnered a reputation as being one of the most innovative in the global industry and it continues to pursue its "Biofore" strategy which it devised in recent years, which of which it says : "Bio stands for future orientation, sustainable solutions and good environmental performance. Fore stands for forest and the company's position at the forefront of development".

International Paper

Often, we look at smaller companies, those flying under the radar so to speak, to fill out this list. It's a given that the larger companies are almost always in the spotlight. However, this year PPI's long-time Number One in the Top 100 listings (PPI, September 2011) merits special attention and not only because its CEO, John Faraci, also was named Number One in the RISI Top 50 Power List (PPI, July 2011). And, Paul Herbert, CEO of Ilim Group, in which IP holds a 50% stake, was recently named Global CEO of the Year at the recent PPI Awards gala held in November.

Top 10 USPS Stories

Top 10 Stories of 2011 | USPS OIG: 
The staff at the Office of Inspector General has pulled together the list below of the top 10 postal stories for 2011.
10. Another Year, Another Loss – Even with a deferral of the retiree health payment, the Postal Service loses $5.1 billion in 2011, although $3.7 billion is changes to workers’ compensation expenses.
9. To Exigent or Not to Exigent – After federal appeals court remands the exigency case back to the PR, the Postal Service is still undecided on whether it will pursue higher than CPI rates.
8. Pension Funding in the Black – OPM projects a $13.1 billion surplus in the Postal Service’s FERS and CSRS pension accounts for 2011.
7. DVDs by Mail Not Dead Yet – Netflix is forced to backpedal after customers rail against the company’s plan to unbundle DVDs by mail.
6. GAO Just Says No Overpayment – The GAO weighs in on the debate about the Postal Service’s $75 billion CSRS overpayment, stating there was no evidence of accounting errors and returning the funds is ultimately a policy choice that impacts the federal budget.
5. Digital Media to the Rescue – Ironically, blogs such as Postal Observer and Save the Post Office are driving the debate in the area of hard copy postal issues.
4. Is Overnight Over? – The Postal Service proposes changing delivery service standards, including eliminating overnight delivery for First-Class Mail, to capture savings from network consolidation.
3. Plethora of Bills, Paucity of Law – An unprecedented interest in postal reform yields an abundance of legislative proposals, yet still no new law.
2. Cut, Cut, Cut – The Postal Service announces a provocative plan to break labor contracts, withdraw from federal health and retirement plans, and seek workforce reductions of 220,000 through layoffs and attrition.
1. Something’s Got to Give Round 1 – The Postal Service’s aggressive plans to close about 250 processing plants and more than 3,600 post offices hits strong opposition leading to a temporary moratorium on closings until May 15, 2012.

Kodak Names President

Kodak Names Laura Quatela President Alongside Faraci: Eastman Kodak Company announced that its board of directors has elected Laura Quatela as President, effective January 1, 2012.
Quatela, 54, who is currently the company’s General Counsel, will serve alongside Philip Faraci, who continues as President, a position he has held since September 2007. Both report to Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Antonio M. Perez.

St. Marys Paper in Receivership

St. Marys Paper in receivership:
On December 30, 2011 at 9am, St. Marys Paper of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario fell into receivership after failing to provide proof of sufficient insurance coverage to the court.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has appointed Ernst & Young Inc. as receiver for the assets of St. Marys Paper.

Winning Bid for NewPage Post Hawkwsbury Due This Week

Successful bidder for NewPage Port Hawkesbury to be made public:
Ernst & Young is met with the four remaining bidders for the NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill and is expected to publicly announce this week the identify of the successful bidder.
Two bidders, who both want to operate the mill to some degree, are known: Paper Excellence and Pacific West Commercial Corporation (associated with Stern Partners Inc.).

China's Pulp Imports Up 18.2%

The figure was 18.2% higher than the 1.109 million tonnes recorded in November last year. Pulp imports for the first eleven months of this year totaled some 13.058 million tonnes, a surge of 27.3% from the previous year.

Chinese Recovered Paper Imports Jump 22.5%

China's total recovered paper (RCP) imports rose 30.1% to around 2.487 million tonnes in November, up from some 1.911 million tonnes the previous month, according to data from China Customs. November's figure was 22.5% higher than the 2.030 million tonnes recorded in the same month of 2010.

Wausau Will Sell Brands, Close Brokaw in Q1

Wausau Paper Enters Agreement to Sell Premium Print & Color Brands: Thw Wausau Paper Board of Directors has approved the sale of its premium Print & Color brands - including Astrobrights(R), Astroparche(R) and the Royal family of products - and closure of its Brokaw, Wisconsin, paper mill. The sale, to Neenah Paper, Inc., is scheduled to close on January 31, 2012. The Brokaw mill will be permanently closed by March 31, 2012, marking the end of the Company's material participation in the Print and Color markets. The Brokaw shutdown will affect approximately 450 hourly and salaried jobs.

Sears, Kmart First Round Closings Cut ~4,700 Jobs

Estimated 4,700 Workers May Be Cut in First Round of Sears, Kmart Closures: Sears Holdings didn't provide an estimate of how many workers will be cut as a result of the 79 store closures. However, the retailer did say that a typical store on the closure list employs 40 to 80 people. At 60 employees per store (the middle point between 40 and 80), that would mean a loss of more than 4,700 jobs — assuming that no workers transfer to other stores.

CEPIPRINT Reports November Mechanical Paper Shipments

European coated mechanical paper shipments fell -2.9% in November as compared to the same month last year.  Demand declined -7.5%, but exports increased +22.3%.  Year-to-date, shipments were up slightly by 0.7%, demand decreased -3.1%, but exports jumped +16.4%.  Supercalendered paper shipments for November fell -7%, demand declined -6.9% and exports were down -7.5%.  Y-t-D, SC shipments decreased slightly by -0.6% and demand fell -3.1%.  Exports rose +10.9%.

PRC Opinion on USPS Planned Closings

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/postal-services-closure-review-process-was-flawed-panel-says/2011/12/28/gIQA5oHNNP_story.html

The Postal Regulatory Commission has issued an advisory opinion on the Postal Service plan, called the Postal Service Retail Access Optimization Initiative (RAOI), to close 3,600 post offices.  The PRC’s primary finding was that the RAOI was not designed to optimize the network, so the very process was flawed; it used questionable data to identify the post offices that might be closed and lacked sufficient data and analysis to make the best decisions.   For example, the program ignored whether an alternate post office was nearby and which closures would reduce costs.  The PRC recommended the use of modern optimization tools and techniques to maximize net retail revenues while fulfilling statutory obligations.

Baldwin Technology Bought by Forsyth

Baldwin to be Acquired by Forsyth: Baldwin Technology Company, Inc., a global leader in process automation technology for the print media industry, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Forsyth Baldwin, LLC, a company controlled by Forsyth Capital Investors, LLC.

Help from Minnesota for Verso Workers

$350,000 Available to Help Verso Workers Find New Jobs: Money that will help former Verso Paper workers retrain and find new jobs is available for those who were caught in layoffs. The Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council has $350,000 from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for up to 100 workers, said Sally Brenden, deputy director of the Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council. In October, Verso Paper in Sartell announced it was shutting down two of its three paper-making machines. This month, 175 people were laid off, about 41 percent of the workers at the century-old mill.

Mark Andy Names New CEO

Mark Andy Announces Top Management Change: ST. LOUIS, MO—Dec. 21, 2011—Mark Andy Companies announced it has named PJ Desai as its new CEO effective Jan. 1, 2012. Desai spent several years of his career in various engineering and manufacturing positions in business units of the positions in business units of the Monsanto Co., including an assignment in Europe to design, construct and manage a new plant.

Some Titles See Digital Subscriptions Excel

For Some Titles, Digital Engagement Outweighs Print: 

Affinity’s American Magazine Study found that more subscribers access the digital versions than the printed for 15 magazines in their report.  (The digital category includes websites, social networks, smartphone and tablet apps, eReader apps and Zinio editions.)  At the top of the list, ranked by the number of digital subscriptions, were ESPN the Magazine, WebMD the magazine, Food Network Magazine, Money, Fortune and Forbes.  ESPN senior vice president and general manager for digital and print media John Kosner said “Unlike digital, print is constrained by the number of issues ESPN can print and circulate…” but he added, “There’s an ability with print to be authoritative, definitive, have a level of writing and editing and reflection that is hard to do…with the rapid fire website…[In print] the storytelling is better…There’s a way that photography can be revelatory in print.”  All of which left Mr. Kosner to conclude that despite the lower numbers, the print magazine “plays and invaluable role in the …product portfolio.” 

New York Times Co Sells Regional Papers

The New York Times Company Sells Regional Media Group: After The New York Times Company said it was in advanced talks to sell off its Regional Media Group, it announced late Tuesday that it has agreed to sell 16 local papers to Halifax Media Holdings for $143 million in cash.
The papers span 6 states, including 5 in Florida, 3 in California, 3 in North Carolina, 1 in South Carolina, 2 in Alabama and 2 in Louisiana.

Online Holiday Spending Up 15%

Final Christmas Push Propels US Online Holiday Spending to $35.3 Billion, Up 15%, comScore Finds: comScore has reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 56 days of the November - December 2011 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $35.3 billion has been spent online, marking a 15% increase versus the corresponding days last year.

NewPage Port Hawkesbury Gets $3.3 Million

http://www.capebretonpost.com/Business/2011-12-19/article-2841803/NewPage-given-$3.3M-tax-refund/1

Nova Scotia has given the NewPage Port Hawkesbury, a Supercalendered paper mill that has been under bankruptcy protection since September, a tax refund of $3.3 million.  The company is trying to sell the mill and this money will help to keep the facility from running out of money before that happens.  Monitor Ernst & Young has also reported that Nova Scotia could step in and provide debtor-in-possession financing to conclude a sale transaction should that prove necessary.

http://times-news.com/local/x1996143757/Judge-OKs-NewPage-executive-bonuses

Separately, a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware has approved a proposal for NewPage in the U.S.; the bonus plan provides $1.5 million for 15 executives.

Sears, Kmart to Close Over 100 Stores

Sears, Kmart to Close Over 100 Stores: A lackluster Christmas season has left the company no other choice but to shutter 100 to 120 stores. Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores will be closing soon, according to the retailer on Tuesday.