Monday, June 4, 2012

Penton Launches WealthManagement

Penton Launches New Wealth Management Website:  B-to-b media company Penton has launched a new website targeting the wealth management market called, appropriately enough, WealthManagement.com.
Those two brands are also supported by print titles—Registered Rep. and Trusts & Estates. Registered Rep. will changed its name to REP. and both titles, effective with the June issues, will become "units" of WealthManagement.com.

Friday, June 1, 2012

IP Selling 3 Containerboard Mills

International Paper today announced that it has reached two agreements to sell three U.S containerboard mills in order to satisfy the company's obligations in its February 2012 settlement agreement, entered into in connection with the company's acquisition of Temple-Inland, with the U.S. Department of Justice.

UPM Completes Sale of Packaging Paper Operations

http://www.upm.com/en/media/all-news/Pages/The-sale-of-UPM%E2%80%99s-packaging-paper-operations-of-the-Pietarsaari-and-Tervasaari-m-001-Fri-01-Jun-2012-12-15.aspx

Billerud Finland Oy's acquisition of UPM's packaging paper operations at Pietarsaari and Tervasaari is now completed. Billerud Finland Oy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Billerud AB. The purchase price is around EUR 130 million.
Separately, UPM Raflatac reported that the company signed an agreement to acquire the business operations of Gascogne Laminates Switzerland SA. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The closing of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals.

Verso Back in Control of Sartell PMs


Control of portions of the Sartell Verso paper mill were handed back to the company Wednesday after fire officials deemed them safe.
The paper production area is again under Verso’s control after an explosion and fire broke out in the warehouse Monday, badly damaging the building, killing one worker and injuring four.

Catalyst Posts For Sale Notice


Catalyst Paper Corporation advises that under order of the Supreme Court of British Columbia authorizing procedures for a sale and investor solicitation process, the following notice was published today in The Globe & Mail and The Wall Street Journal.

AF&PA CEO Named President of ICFPA

http://www.afandpa.org/

The International Council of Forest and Paper Associations (ICFPA) announced Donna Harman as its new President. Harman, president and CEO of the American Forest & Paper Association, will serve in this capacity for the next two years. 
Separately, the AF&PA announced its approval of a bill introduced in Congress, the Forest Products Fairness Act of 2012 - which would modify the definition of "biobased" materials to specifically include forest products in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Biobased Markets Program.

Manufacturing Sector Posts Continued Growth

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-06-01/u-dot-s-dot-may-ism-manufacturing-report-on-business-text
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May for the 34th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 36th consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. This represents an increase of 1.9 percentage points from April and also the highest level recorded by the index since April 2011.

List Rental Prices Fall


Worldata's List Price Index, released June 1, reveals that during Spring 2012, list rental prices have continued to drop, said Ray Tesi, SVP at Worldata.
According to the report, aggregated business database files, which typically get their information through web scraping and crowd sourcing, dropped substantially in b-to-c email list prices. Prices for databases and master files, which are sourced more traditionally from response and subscription lists, have also continued to fall.

Container Store Introduces Digital Catalog


The Container Store is introducing themed, interactive digital catalogs to highlight different subsets of its eclectic mix of storage and organization products. A new Web-based catalog will be published every six weeks, allowing the retailer to more effectively target specific audiences or shopping seasons. 

GQ Launches E-Commerce Sales

GQ Launches E-Commerce Sales with Nordstrom: GQ—Condé Nast's 980,000-circulation men's magazine—takes another step into e-commerce with a new partnership with retailer, and long-time advertiser, Nordstrom.

NAPL Expands Its Small Printer Services

NAPL Expands Its Small Printer Services: The industry’s quick and small commercial printers include “some of the industry’s most innovative and fast-growing companies,” says Andrew Paparozzi, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). Now NAPL is expanding its services for this key industry segment with two new newsletters and a conference created exclusively for quick and small commercial printers.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

NewPage Port Hawkesbury Granted Extension

NewPage Port Hawkesbury granted extension:
In court this morning, Justice John Murphy approved another extension to NewPage Port Hawkesbury‘s period of creditor protection.
But the judge expressed concern about possible delays getting the purchase deal with Pacific West Commercial Corp. done by September.
This extension is for 2 more months.
NewPage Port Hawkesbury will return to court on August 1.

AF&PA Reports April Paper & Board Production

http://www.afandpa.org/
US paper and board production in April declined 2.5% vs April 2011 production and was down year-to-date by 1.2%, based on American Forest & Paper Association figures.
The April decline resulted from a 3.2% drop in paper production and 2% fall in paperboard production.
Year-to-date, uncoated mechanical paper production was down 16.2% and coated papers down 5%.
US mills year-to-date ran at an average of 91.2%, in line with the 2011 average.

Catalyst Asks Goverment for Support


 Kevin J. Clarke, president and CEO of Catalyst Paper is asking Victoria and Ottawa for it's support. " Catalyst delivers 7,000 jobs in B.C., and has a $2 billion impact a year." The company is asking the B.C. government to support North Cowichan's efforts to achieve a competitive industrial tax rate, to make available $30 million over five years to support new hiring and high-tech training programs at Catalyst mills. It's asking Victoria for support in ensuring certainty in BC Hydro rates and to eliminate the $8 million per year risk to Catalyst operations and Ottawa to return to Catalyst the $5.5 million each month in HST credits that are normally returned to the company but that are now frozen under CCAA.

Verso Still Assessing Sartell Damage



The future of a paper mill that's one of the main employers and taxpayers in the central Minnesota town of Sartell was unclear Tuesday as firefighters spent a second day trying to extinguish a fire that killed one worker and injured four.
The fire broke out Monday with an explosion in a warehouse at the Verso Paper Corp. mill. The warehouse held nearly 4,000 rolls of paper, each weighing hundreds of pounds. Firefighters Tuesday still were trying to get to the burning rolls at the back of the building.
The building is unstable and structural beams are resting on top of paper rolls, Fire Chief Ken Heim said. "We have a massive challenge ahead of us," Heim said during a news conference.
However, Heim also said he didn't think the rest of the plant was damaged.
The plant is so important to the area that Gov. Mark Dayton visited the site Tuesday.

New York Magazine & Dwell Partner


http://www.foliomag.com/2012/new-york-and-dwell-partner-upcoming-print-publication-event
In a collaboration that will play out in person and in print, New York and Dwell partner to bring design to a greater audience. The partnership aims to expand both Dwell’s and New York’s footprints in the New York City design scene, as well as to aid the American Institute of Architects [AIA] in reaching the consumer market.

Magazine Readership by Young People Actually Up


It’s a fairly common assumption that millennials don’t read print media because they’re all too busy browsing blogs, clicking on Facebook links, and watching YouTube videos to crack open a physical magazine. Well, a new study from Condé Nast says young people's magazine readership is actually the highest it's been in decades. 

Consumer Magazine Readership Declines


http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/175861/magazine-print-readership-declines-digital-grows.html
Consumer magazines’ print readership declined over the last year, but the losses were partly offset by growth in digital readership, according to GfK MRI, which recently released the second wave of its revised Survey of The American Consumer, amended to include more questions about digital reading.
In the period from September 2011-April 2012, the total average print audience of 190 major titles tracked by GfK MRI came to just over 1.2 billion, down 2.7% from 1.24 billion for the same period in 2011. When print and digital editions are considered together, the figure sank 2.6% from just under 1.25 billion to just under 1.22 billion.

Sycamore Partners Buys Talbots


Talbots Inc., a clothing brand known for classically styled apparel for middle-age women, has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of the private equity firm Sycamore Partners, the two companies said Thursday.
In the press release issued Thursday, the companies said that the current transaction is valued at about $369 million when debt is included. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

USPS; New Branding Program for Marketers

USPS Launching Mailing Permit Branding Program for Marketers: In response to customer requests, the U.S. Postal Service is announcing the launch of the “Picture Permit Imprint Indicia” program for commercial mailers.
This program provides new advertising opportunities for commercial mail customers by allowing them to use corporate logos, product visuals or other brand images in the permit indicia space on their mail.