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05.29.2012
Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, is today announcing the acquisition of GlobalEnglish from its current ownership group for $90 million in cash.
Founded in 1997 in California, GlobalEnglish is a leading provider of cloud-based, on-demand Business English learning, assessment and performance support software. It serves more than 450 corporate customers, including 20 per cent of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, including General Electric, HSBC, Tata Consultancy Services and Unilever. Its product suite is uniquely suited to serve the needs of global professionals with a comprehensive offering - formal Business English learning coursework, informal and social learning capabilities, performance support tools, an enterprise collaboration platform, a mobile app, assessments and a premium one-on-one coaching service. GlobalEnglish’s Business English content is also entirely focused on the application of Business English to real life business situations such as composing emails and participating in conference calls, and its efficacy is highly rated by global companies and their employees. Approximately 75 per cent of GlobalEnglish’s more than 200,000 active subscribers are in fast growing economies in Latin America and Asia.
The transaction is subject to approval by GlobalEnglish’s shareholders.
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05.29.2012
UPM and Karl Unternehmensgruppe, Innernzell, Germany have reached an agreement on the sale of the Papierfabrik Albbruck GmbH. The closing of the deal is planned to be effective by the beginning of August 2012. The contract parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the transaction.
UPM closed the unprofitable Albbruck paper mill in Baden-Württemberg, Germany in January 2012 and permanently ceased graphic paper production at the site. Since then UPM has actively participated in round table discussions about the possible future use of the mill premises.
“The aim of the forum was to find development ideas and business opportunities for the site. This is now possible by selling the mill to the Karl Unternehmensgruppe“, explains Hartmut Wurster, Executive Vice President, UPM. “We are glad to have found a solid partner in Karl Unternehmensgruppe, which already has experience in the field of re-allocation of industrial companies. This provides new opportunities to the economy of the whole region,” says Wurster.
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05.29.2012
Thanks to a new generation of software and computing tools, in the future, book marketing will be determined by data rather than by intuition.
If you're a publishing executive and you haven't been reading about Big Data, then you soon will be. Big Data is just what it sounds like—data collections of such enormous size they are awkward, expensive, and impossible to process with conventional computing. Big Data also refers to the ability to use distributed computing—parsing out these huge data sets and processing them simultaneously on multiple computers—plus new software tools and deep analysis to create new kinds of predictive business models that will drive the decisionmaking in the future.
But Big Data is also a broad and informal term used to refer to the vast amounts of raw data generated by global online networks and an ever-increasing variety of data-capturing digital technologies. "All the stuff we do online" is how Jake Freivald, v-p, corporate marketing at Information Builders, characterized it. His company, a business intelligence and data analysis firm very much involved in Big Data, spoke on the topic at BISG's recent Making Information Pay conference.
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05.29.2012
The National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL) has announced that Pittsburgh-based TCP Printing (dab Typecraft) and MarketPlace Direct (MPD), based in McKees Rocks, PA, have merged operations. James Kaufman, MPD owner, will join Typecraft and assume responsibility for all accounting operations.
Serving as MPD’s strategic mergers and acquisitions advisor, NAPL introduced the parties, advised on the transaction price and structure, and prepared the letter of intent. Senior Vice President John Hyde, head of NAPL’s Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Team, stated, “Greg Bozzi, Typecraft’s owner, has demonstrated a vision for consolidation in the industry, and Jim Kaufman’s financial management background will be a wonderful complement as the team embarks on a growth-by-acquisition strategy.”
Typecraft is part of a family of companies specializing in web and commercial sheetfed printing. MPD is known for direct marketing services that include printing, mailing and fulfillment. This acquisition follows a plan of expansion employed by Bozzi in numerous similar transactions over the past 25 years.
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05.29.2012
Wilen , a leading end-to-end provider of comprehensive marketing services, announced the launch of its new iPad publishing capabilities. The company, which has a 40-year history in the publishing arena, will leverage its experience with one-to-one (print and digital) marketing and mobile technology know-how to deliver robust mobile applications with personalized, interactive content.
According to Darrin Wilen, president, “It was a natural extension for us to advance from our four decades of publishing experience and interactive, multimedia capabilities to become more actively involved in the exploding Apple space. Now, we are offering our clients full concept-to-completion capabilities in iPad publishing applications.”
Wilen noted that its mobile publishing capabilities also extend to the Android platform.
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05.29.2012
Apart from digital magazines that reside on the Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook Color/Tablet customized versions of Android, few paid periodicals have made a strong presence on the Google-led platform. Some brands like The Economist are visible here, and others have free smartphone iterations of their brands. But the dearth of viable Android tablets in the market leaves a very small target for developers of digital editions looking to delvier immersive experiences. Android is hoping to change some developer reticence over Android by adding at last in-app subscription mechanisms to its existing app billing system. Now users can not only buy extra goods and one-off items in an Android App, but they can deploy subscriptions with auto-renewals.
According to a post last week at the Android Developers’ Blog the In-App Billing system introduced last year for in-app purchasing can now handle more involved subscription models. “Developers can use in-app billing to sell monthly or annual subscriptions from inside of their apps,” writes Dirk Dougherty. All subs are auto-renewing. Developers set a price and billing interval. Consumers receive emails when their sub has been auto-renewed and they can manage and cancel orders from within their My Apps section of the Google Play store. The subscriptions model can be used in the traditional way to sell recurring access to an app or they can be used to access bundles of features across apps. For instance, the game make Glu is using a subscription method to give players virtual currency that can be applied to multiple titles in their mobile games catalog.
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05.29.2012
A rather eclectic group of advertising gainers sport min’s top 5 monthly mags in our June collection. Taking the top spot is enthusiast title Guns & Ammo with 47.84 more ad pages in June 2012 compared with 2011. There are two women’s fashion magazines in Allure (40.04 more pages) and Elle (21.51), technology's IEEE Spectrum (30.09), and the African-American standard-bearer Ebony (19.58).
Our lower- than-par monthly report of 154 titles for first half is not a surprising one. The year has been like that. June demonstrated -6.45% and the overall differential for year-to-date 2012-versus-2011 was -6.10%. As you can see from the timeline below, the second quarter was -6.13% in 2012. At the same time last year, the second-quarter differential was +1.69% and in 2010 it was +4.67%. Sad but true.
Only 48 of the monthlies were up in June and 45 were up year-to-date.
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05.29.2012
HP today announced that its performance at drupa 2012 surpassed results from any other graphic arts tradeshow in its history, further validating HP’s success in leading the analog-to-digital transformation.
Demand for HP’s new digital printing solutions significantly exceeded the company’s goals for all regions and product lines. Results included:
Orders from more than 200 customers across 55 countries; Thousands of qualified sales leads; Record levels of booth attendees, with more presentations and live demonstrations than at any previous show.
Customer demand was especially strong for HP’s new digital printing solutions, including the HP Indigo 7600 Digital Press, the HP T410 Color Inkjet Web Press, the HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Press and the HP Print Module Solutions. PSPs also showed strong interest in HP’s next-generation HP Indigo solutions—including the B2-format HP Indigo 10000 Digital Press—in advance of its early 2013 release date.
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05.29.2012
For its June issue, Bonnier’s Popular Science wanted to move past print constraints in its annual Invention Awards feature. Instead of integrating the more standard QR code to bring interactive content to its audience, PopSci tapped Aurasma “reality technology.”
“The difference between Aurasma’s technology and a QR code is that the QR code is used to activate a piece of Web content or a special offer; it typically drives you to a destination of some sort. In this case, Aurasma is combining the image with animation, so you have the sensation of picture coming to life in front of you,” says PopSci’s editor-in-chief Jake Ward.
Aurasma’s overlay (which is added over static images during the production process) leads users directly into video, etc. The magazine created an app called “PopSci Interactive” to house Aurasma’s technology through a provided STK; the app is available for both iOS and Android operating systems. Once a user accesses the additional content, they are able to double-tap the video and move the device away from the content’s print origin.
The Interactive app allows for screen shots of extra content for easy sharing through social media. Aurasma sends these engagement metrics, along with app download results and how many utilized the “Aura” technology, to PopSci each week.
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05.29.2012
MACtac ® Printing Products secured Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Recognition for Flint Group inks when used with its durable film product line, including 3.4-mil white vinyl, 2.6-mil white polypropylene, 2.0-mil white and clear polyester and 2.0-mil bright silver polyester labels.
When using UL Recognized MACtac ® products, converters now have pre-approval for Flexo inks. Pre-approval means no new testing is required, only a paper transfer which can be submitted through an internet portal, via email or phone. Upfront UL Recognition reduces converters’ cost and time spent qualifying substrates with UL and allows our customers to enter new markets faster.
UL’s label adoption process ensures fast market access by demonstrating that recognized labels have been evaluated to meet UL safety requirements. UL’s Marking and Labelling Systems Program covers labels that display safety and warning information on UL certified components and products.
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05.29.2012
Total European shipments of Graphic Papers were down 4.8% vs. April 2011 and are down 4.0% year-to-date.
Total European shipment of Newsprint were down 3.9% vs. April 2011 and are down 4.4% year-to-date.
Total European shipments of SC-Magazine grades were down 7.5% vs. April 2011 and are down 1.5% year-to-date.
Total European shipments of Coated Mechanical Reels were down 8.3% vs. April 2011 and are down 4.5% year-to-date.
Total European shipments of Uncoated Mechanical (Improved and Others) were down 6.4% vs. April 2011 and are down 5.6% year-to-date.
Total European shipments of Coated Woodfree were down 2.4% vs. April 2011 and are down 4.1% year-to-date.
Total European shipments of Uncoated Woodfree were down 2.6% vs. April 2011 and are down 3.5% year-to-date.
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05.29.2012
Oil rose to a four-day high in New York as speculation that economic growth will boost fuel demand in the U.S. and China, the world’s biggest crude consumers, countered concern that Europe’s debt crisis will worsen.
Futures advanced as much as 1.2 percent from the close on May 25. U.S. consumer confidence probably gained in May and job growth may have picked up, according to surveys by Bloomberg News before reports this week. China’s cabinet agreed to revive incentives for consumers to trade in their used cars to help increase demand in the world’s biggest vehicle market, a government official said. The U.S. Memorial Day holiday yesterday marked the start of the nation’s peak driving period.
“The U.S. situation is hopeful, with demand numbers improving lately as we kick off the summer driving season,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, who predicts oil will trade from $84 and $96 a barrel next month. “But at the same time inventories are high, so we’d really need refinery runs to hold up early summer to work through the excess crude.”
Crude for July delivery climbed as much as $1.13 to $91.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since May 22, and was at $91.25 at 11:53 a.m. London time.
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05.29.2012
Digital and direct marketing performance grew modestly during the first quarter, with improvements in revenue and campaign profitability, according to a report from the Direct Marketing Association.
According to DMA's “Quarterly Business Review,” 77.9% of respondents reported that their budgets remained unchanged or grew compared to the last quarter of 2011, with the strongest growth coming in social, mobile and email. Also, 80.7% reported unchanged or increasing revenue.
While only 37.0% said profitability increased in the first quarter, 45.4% said profitability will increase in the second quarter.
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05.25.2012
City officials confirmed early Thursday afternoon that printing company RR Donnelley will close its Prindle Lane plant. The shutdown will affect 145 workers.
Mayor Mark Boughton said the city received a notice from the company that it would shut down its printing plant and lay off its workers starting in July.
The news comes on the heels of RR Donnelley's announcement Tuesday that it is buying Edgar Online for $38.6 million, according to The Associated Press.
Both Boughton and Bruce Tuomala, the city's economic development director, said the news is not a surprise given the nature of the printing industry and the migration to the Internet and other technologies.
"They have shut down several plants across the country leading up to this," Boughton said. "Obviously we are not pleased about the closure, but hopefully, we can help these employees transition to other jobs."
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05.25.2012
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) has announced its new High Conservation Value Forest policies to evolve APP’s business, including the immediate suspension of natural forest clearance on its own pulpwood plantations in Indonesia. WWF have responded immediately by issuing a press release which states that this new initiative by APP represents very little gains for natural forest and tiger protection in Sumatra, and represents another example of the company’s greenwashing.
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05.25.2012
The European Commission has today, 25 May 2012, approved DS Smith’s acquisition of SCA's packaging operations, excluding the two kraftliner mills in Sweden. The purchase price amounts to EUR 1.7bn on a debt free basis. The operations have approximately 12,000 employees.
Jan Johansson, President and CEO of SCA, comments: "The most important condition for finalizing the deal has now been fulfilled. Today's decision by the EU will enable SCA to continue to strengthen and consolidate its positions in the hygiene and forest products areas."
The Commission has conditioned the decision to DS Smith making some divestments after the acquisition. SCA's packaging operations will be transferred to DS Smith's ownership in connection with the closing of the deal which is expected to take place according to schedule.
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05.25.2012
In September of 2011, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded the company two patents: US 8,020,765 Method of Printing, Distributing and Placing Price Information and US 8,011,126 Price and Information Tag Construction.
"I think this validates our market leadership position for solving the very tough demands of in-store retail shelf tag production. We are helping leading retailers to lower their in-store labor costs while at the same time enabling them to create more effective shelf-edge marketing programs," says Chris E. Nunez, Director of Digital Printing for Grandville Printing Company.
Grandville Printing has three HP Indigo 7500's, three HP 5500's, two Xeikon 5000's, a robust finishing and packaging line, large poster and strip production equipment and employs over seventy-five who are dedicated to centralized shelf tag production. It also has fifteen digital print partners across the country to provide just-in time delivery to stores.
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05.25.2012
M, the upscale men's fashion magazine published by Fairchild Publications from 1983-1992, is returning. The new version from Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM) will debut in September as a quarterly with a starting circulation of 75,000. The median household income is a hefty $200,000-plus.
In charge is FFM editorial director (since July 2010) Peter Kaplan, who told the New York Post (May 23) that the revival "will be for guys in their 30s and 40s who are Web-savvy but want to hold onto to print." Kaplan wrote for the original M (full name was M: The Civilized Man), which at the end was edited by the late Clay Felker. (There will be more on M's history in the May 28 min.)
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05.25.2012
Given its dismal first quarter performance, Best Buy Co.’s interim CEO Mike Mikan isn’t mincing words about the company’s future.
Mikan told Wall Street analysts this week that Best Buy is no longer as relevant to customers with its current business model, and will continue to emphasize e-commerce and smaller stores to reshape its future. “The annual rate of growth of e-commerce transactions is far outstripping traditional retail sales,” Mikan told analysts on the company’s first quarter earnings call. “Consumers have needs and preferences that are new and changing rapidly. Today, they need virtual products and services as much, if not more, than they need hardware. And businesses are under pressure to respond to those changes; to connect with consumers, whether they are online or in the store; and to meet these new needs and preferences.”
In the past Best Buy could count on its network of big-box stores and experienced salespeople to drive growth. But now the retailer is in a turnaround mode, Mikan said. “Best Buy provided a unique customer experience that gave us a clear edge over competitors, but not anymore,” Mikan told analysts. “Today's marketplace is different. From my perspective, it is a marketplace we weren't prepared for. Best Buy's customer experience is no longer unique as it once was, and it is no longer a distinct competitive advantage.”
Going forward and as a key part of its turnaround strategy, Best Buy will continue to growth its e-commerce base, focus on a smaller-store format such as Best Buy Mobile that sells cell phones and close more big-box stores. “We will right size the company to better meet customers wherever they want, whenever they want, in the neighborhood store or online with a strengthened e-commerce capability that opens markets at home and abroad,” Mikan told analysts. “My goal is to continue to shrink the company's physical footprint and substantially reduce our cost structure. Total square footage will go down as we make decisions about the best use of space and resources.”
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05.25.2012
Future, a leading specialist hybrid media group, today announced a milestone in its digital strategy, generating more than $5 million in gross revenue from over 830,000 copy sales across its brands since Apple’s Newsstand launched in October 2011. The success is a testament to the company’s move from traditional print to digital, as the business restructures around high value audiences and a truly borderless digital marketplace for its market-leading products.
“As part of an aggressive digital strategy, our launch on Apple’s Newsstand exemplifies the success of our transition and underlines the vitality of our brands,” said Rachelle Considine, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Future US. “Our focus on creating a clear, unified global product line and digital platform are already helping us to unlock the potential for our best-in-class specialist content in both domestic and international markets. As tablet penetration continues at a pace, Future has a golden opportunity to deliver its wealth of high value content to audiences beyond the reach of our print products.”
Future’s successful fast-to-market approach demonstrates its ability to quickly address the rapidly evolving media marketplace by developing and delivering relevant digital products. Additionally, Future’s success in the tablet market underlines the global appeal of its content, ranging from technology and cycling to gaming, music, movies, crafts, and digital design.
Brands including Mac|Life, Total Film, Fast Car, T3 and many of Future’s games and music titles have all found large international audiences through their exposure to tablets like Apple’s iPad. Overall, 33% of revenues through the Newsstand have come from the domestic U.S. market, with 25% coming from the U.K. and the other 42% coming from countries as diverse as China, Korea, Germany and France. Additionally, more than 50% of all the revenues are attributable to subscriptions sold.
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05.25.2012
Future plc, the international specialist media group and leading digital publisher, today announces its unaudited interim results for the half-year ended 31 March 2012.
Summary:
Group digital revenues up 37%, with digital advertising now 44% of total advertising
Sales on the iPad pass £3m ($5m) gross since launch of Apple's Newsstand in October 2011
Normalised Group revenues down 4%, Normalised Group EBITDAE up 3%
UK revenues up 1% with digital increases offsetting print decline
US operations remain on track to return to profitability in FY13
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05.25.2012
AAA’s Fuel Gage Report as of 5/25/12
National Unleaded Regular:
Current Average - $3.666/gallon
Month Ago Average - $3.840/gallon
Year Ago Average - $3.814/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08
Diesel:
Current Average - $3.964/gallon
Month Ago Average - $4.108/gallon
Year Ago Average - $4.041/gallon
Highest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 5/24/12
American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.975153 (120 day high - 1.01905 on April 26, 2012; low 0.964227 on December 14, 2011)
American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.157866 (120 day high – 0.159363 on May 2, 2012; low 0.157147 on December 13, 2011)
American Dollar to Euro = 1.2557 (120 day high - 1.3454 on February 28, 2012; low 1.2557 on May 24, 2012)
American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.0125885 (120 day high – 0.0131387 on February 2, 2012; low 0.0119026 on March 21, 2012)
American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.071582 (120 day high – 0.0793808 on March 14, 2012; low 0.0715026 on December 28, 2011)
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05.25.2012
Oil rose for a second day in New York, paring its fourth weekly decline, as support among European Union leaders for joint euro-area bonds fueled speculation that the bloc can resolve its debt crisis.
West Texas Intermediate futures advanced as much as 0.7 percent. Most of the EU leaders at a summit in Brussels this week backed the idea of issuing common euro-area debt, and Italy can help persuade Germany to support Europe’s “common good” as well, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said. Iran, OPEC’s second-biggest crude producer, and world powers decided yesterday they will meet again in June after they were unable to negotiate a deal on the nation’s nuclear program.
“We are getting a technical bounce after several oversold sessions, but risk aversion still remains in the driver seat,” said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity-markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London. “While forward fundamentals suggest a floor around current levels, the direction for oil prices in the lead-up to the next Greek elections in mid-June remains skewed to the downside.”
Crude for July delivery gained as much as 66 cents to $91.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and was at $91.07 at 11:25 a.m. London time. The contract increased yesterday 0.9 percent to $90.66.
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05.25.2012
The American Forest & Paper Association released its April 2012 U.S. Recovered Fiber Monthly Report today.
According to the report, total U.S. industry consumption of recovered paper in April was 2.48 million tons, 4% lower than March 2012. Year-to-date consumption in 2012 is 3% lower than during the same period last year.
U.S. exports of recovered paper increased 7% in March compared to February, with increases mainly seen in Mixed and Corrugated. Year-to-date exports of recovered paper in 2012 are 3% higher than during the same period in 2011.
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05.25.2012
From condominiums to co-generation, all options are on the table for the former St. Marys Paper site, say the developers who bought the bankrupt mill.
Riversedge Developments offered media a tour Wednesday of the 38-acre site, where crews have already begun to disassemble the mill’s paper-making equipment in preparation for the eventual knocking down some of the plant’s more modern structures.
Willem Galle, a managing partner with Riversedge, said he doesn’t yet know what will take the mill’s place, though he offered hints as to what might and might not go up on the site.
Riversedge sees the site, “as an urban destination,” and Galle said he does anticipate interest in potential office space on the site, as well as residential uses, including condominium, apartment, or townhouse developments.
“Between today and actually handing out the keys there’s a lot that needs to be done, a lot that needs to be overcome, and a lot of further discussion is required,” said Galle.
He said he has heard from parties interested in renewable energy, “whether it is co-generation, whether it is the manufacture of certain products that are extracted from wood products.”
When it comes to co-generation, Galle said it is a possibility, though he cautioned that a market for the power such a plant would produce needs to be found outside the Sault, which he believes is already well served for electricity.
St. Marys Paper could never drum up the funds to do it, but it was approved by the province for a 35-megawatt co-generation plant, and the province has opened the door to the plant’s buyer renegotiating a deal to sell the power. However, if you add that 35 megawatts to the 50 megawatts the defunct mill is no longer using to operate, you end up with 85 megawatts more electricity available, which the Sault doesn’t need, said Galle.
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05.25.2012
Tribune Co. is streamlining its corporate structure for the possible sale of publishing and broadcast units after its exit from bankruptcy.
The Chicago-based company recently filed a document with the Delaware court handling the bankruptcy that shows it will collect its units into fewer subsidiaries as part of its reorganization. The company also plans to create a new publishing subsidiary under the parent that will hold all its publishing entities, including eight new limited liability companies for its main English-language papers.
The media company is expected to win court approval of its reorganization plan early next month at a hearing over several days, giving Tribune a chance to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year. Bankers, consultants and industry executives expect the new creditor-owners to be eager to convert assets to cash by separating and selling some, especially given the diverging prospects for broadcast and print.
While Tribune could be streamlining its structure for the sake of simplification and potential tax benefits, it's also a potential set-up for sales, said Dan Wikel, a restructuring consultant and managing director for Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group LLC.
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05.24.2012
The Los Angeles City Council voted 13 to 1 on Wednesday to ban single-use plastic bags, making it the largest city in the United States to approve such a ban.
The law will affect about 7,500 businesses, including supermarket chains, independent grocers and markets, retailers with pharmacies, and convenience stores, according to the City Council. Not included in the ban are restaurants, retailers without food/pharmacy components and produce bags and food packaging.
A vote on the ban was preceded by a rally from supporters of the ban, including former Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Opponents of the ban also voiced their opinions, with several wearing "Don't Kill My Job" T-shirts, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.
The bag ban was opposed by several Los Angeles-area plastic bag manufacturers, including Command Packaging, based in Vernon, Calif., and by the American Progressive Bag Alliance, which is a unit of the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc. of Washington D.C.
Large stores will have six months and smaller retailers will have a year to phase out plastic bags. Two years from now -- and a year after the plastic bag ban -- those retailers will be required to charge 10 cents for paper bags.
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05.24.2012
AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products, today clarified that Resolute currently expects that trading in its common stock will commence under the new symbol 'RFP' on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 28, 2012, and not May 24, 2012 as previously announced. Resolute also reconfirms that trading in its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'RFP' will commence as of the opening of markets on May 24, 2012.
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05.24.2012
AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products, today held its annual general meeting of stockholders in Charlotte, North Carolina. At the meeting, shareholders approved a resolution to amend the Company's certificate of incorporation to change its legal corporate name to "Resolute Forest Products Inc.", effective May 24, 2012. As part of this change, stockholders also agreed to change the Company's common stock ticker symbol from ABH to RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), also effective May 24, 2012. Any impact this legal entity name transition may have for Resolute's customers and business partners will be communicated directly to these parties over the coming days.
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05.24.2012
Alliance Creative Group is pleased to announce its results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.
The company’s revenues for the quarter were $2.5 million compared with $1.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2011, an increase of 32 percent.
Gross Profits for the quarter were $763,379 compared with $461,877 for the three months ended March 31, 2011, or an increase of 65 precent.
Net Income for the three months ended March 31, 2012, totaled $296,731 vs. $127,336 for the three months ended March 31, 2011, an increase of 133 precent.
The total assets of the Alliance Creative Group as of March 31, 2012 were $5.1 million. The total equity was $1.7 million.
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05.24.2012
Macy’s, Inc. today announced it will sell an assortment of its highly regarded private brand merchandise directly to consumers in China through a Macy’s section on omei.com, a newly established China-based online retailer of in-season luxury and fashion brands operated by VIPStore Co., Ltd.
In addition, Macy’s, Inc. has made an equity investment of $15 million in VIPStore Co., a Chinese e-commerce firm and parent company of omei.com. Macy’s, Inc. joins other venture capital providers, including Intel Capital, in acquiring a minority stake in the company. In addition to omei.com, VIPStore operates jiapin.com, an established flash sales site.
“Our relationship with VIPStore will allow us to gain additional experience in the fast-growing Chinese market, and to better understand how consumers across China interact with Macy’s and the products we sell,” said Terry J. Lundgren, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Macy’s, Inc. “We know that Macy’s is very well known and regarded in China through international tourism, globally broadcast events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and movies such as Miracle on 34th Street. But we still have a great deal to learn about the shopping patterns and merchandise preferences of consumers in China’s very diverse and rapidly emerging consumer marketplace.
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05.24.2012
Nine out of 10 web retailers say they have some sort of a mobile strategy in place, according to Forrester Research Inc. and Shop.Org, the online retail division of the industry trade group National Retail Federation.
The two organizations today released the latest research from “The State of Retailing Online 2012,” with findings based on survey responses from 59 retailers, including merchants that operate stores, sell only on the web and manufacturers selling directly to consumers. This is the first part of the two-part report focused on how retailers are implementing smartphone and tablet marketing into their sales mix.
Participating retailers say mobile generated 4.7% of their total web sales in 2011, with tablet users accounting for 3.2% and smartphone users accounting for 1.5%.
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05.24.2012
HP today outlined plans for a multi-year productivity initiative designed to simplify business processes, advance innovation and deliver better results for customers, employees and shareholders.
The restructuring is expected to generate annualized savings in the range of $3.0 to $3.5 billion exiting fiscal year 2014, of which the majority will be reinvested back into the company. Enabling investments in people, processes and technology will allow HP to accomplish the restructuring effort and to generate the savings. These moves are expected to yield significant improvements in efficiency and customer service during the next several years. HP expects to use the savings to boost investment in innovation around its three areas of strategic focus: cloud, big data and security, as well as in other segments that offer attractive growth potential.
As part of the restructuring, HP expects approximately 27,000 employees to exit the company, or 8.0% of its workforce as of Oct. 31, 2011, by the end of fiscal year 2014. The company is offering an early retirement program, so the total number of employees affected will be impacted by the number of employees that participate in the early retirement plan. Workforce reduction plans will vary by country, based on local legal requirements and consultation with works councils and employee representatives, as appropriate.
In addition to these restructuring actions, HP expects to achieve additional savings from non-headcount cost reductions, including supply chain optimization, SKU and platform rationalization, go-to-market strategy simplification and business process improvement.
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05.24.2012
Costco Wholesale Corporation announced today its operating results for the third quarter (twelve weeks) and first thirty-six weeks of fiscal 2012, both ended May 6, 2012.
Net sales for the quarter increased eight percent, to $21.85 billion, from $20.19 billion last year. Net sales for the first thirty-six weeks increased ten percent, to $65.54 billion, from $59.46 billion last year.
Net income for the quarter was $386 million, or $.88 per diluted share, compared to $324 million, or $.73 per diluted share, last year. Net income for the first thirty-six weeks was $1.100 billion, or $2.50 per diluted share, compared to $984 million, or $2.22 per diluted share, last year. The quarter this year included a $6.5 million pre-tax LIFO charge ($.01 per diluted share) compared to a $49 million pre-tax LIFO charge ($.07 per diluted share) last year.
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05.24.2012
Catalyst Paper Corporation announced that the company did not receive the necessary creditor approval for its amended plan of arrangement under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Approval of not less than 66 2/3% of the principal amount of each creditor class voting on the plan is required. Although 99.5% of the principal amount of the secured creditor class voted in favour of the plan, only 64% of the principal amount of the unsecured creditor class voted in favour of the plan at meetings held today in Richmond, BC. Details of the voting results including votes on a class-by-class basis are available at www.catalystpaper.com/restructuring.
Since the amended plan of arrangement was not approved at the meetings, Catalyst Paper is required to commence a sale transaction in accordance with certain court-approved sale and investor solicitation procedures (SISP) as described in the Management Proxy Circular delivered to Catalyst Paper’s creditors in advance of the meetings.
“Today's creditors' vote makes it clear for stakeholders that our path to emerge from protection will be through a sales process initiated by a stalking horse bid from secured noteholders. Our objective remains unchanged and that's to put our company on better financial footing to enable us to compete vigorously and to adapt as necessary to the continuing changes in the markets for our products,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Clarke. “Stakeholders can be assured that as milestones in the sales process are met, issues resolved and decisions reached, we will continue to provide timely updates on developments and progress.”
The company’s debtor-in possession (DIP) financing continues to be available to the company and, combined with the company’s operating revenue, is expected to continue to provide sufficient liquidity to meet ongoing obligations to employees and suppliers and ensure that normal operations continue during the sale process.
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05.24.2012
Cascades Fine Papers Group announces today the launch of CheckSecur Platinum Enviro, a security paper made with 100% recycled fiber. Designed to protect against the most sophisticated forms of check fraud, this new and innovative paper rises above the pack of security papers by responding to the increasing demand for environmentally friendly products without compromising document security.
A pioneer in recycling and manufacturer of its own deinked pulp, Cascades combined its skill in recycled pulp with its expert R&D team to create a UV dull pulp that contains a negligible amount of contaminants. This pulp is key to the production of CheckSecur Platinum Enviro, a unique product of its kind in the market. Enhanced with the superior protection of SecurLaser PlusTM, this new paper has been optimized for digital printing technologies and is OCR - MICR compatible.
Consistent with Cascades' focus on manufacturing the most responsible products possible, this new security paper contains 100% post-consumer fiber, is FSC and Processed Chlorine Free certified, and is manufactured using local and renewable biogas energy.
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05.24.2012
Oil rebounded after closing below $90 a barrel for the first time in seven months amid signs China will accelerate efforts to spur growth and speculation that talks in Baghdad on Iran’s nuclear program have stalled.
Futures gained as much as 1.1 percent in New York. China, the world’s second-biggest oil consumer, will intensify “fine- tuning” of policies, according to the government’s second statement in four days signaling a commitment to growth as domestic demand slows. World powers and Iran, meeting in Baghdad for a second day, are struggling to overcome disagreements over proposed measures to ensure the Persian Gulf country’s nuclear program is peaceful.
“China has been discussing ways of boosting growth in the last couple of weeks, focusing on building infrastructure which is a positive for commodities, especially oil,” said Thina Margethe Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AB (NDA) in Oslo. “Most eyes will be on Iran today as the meetings will give an idea about how far the parties are willing to go in negotiations.”
Crude for July delivery gained as much as $1.03 to $90.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $90.85 at 11:39 a.m. London time. The contract yesterday slid 2.1 percent to $89.90, the lowest close since Oct. 21.
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05.24.2012
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. today announced earnings of $0.20 per diluted share for the first quarter ended April 28, 2012, compared to $0.14 per diluted share for the comparable quarter last year. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.22 per diluted share, which excludes the operating results for 77kids, compared to adjusted earnings of $0.16 per diluted share last year.
GAAP First Quarter Results
Net sales increased 18% to $719 million, compared to $610 million last year.
Comparable store sales, including AE Direct, increased 17%, compared to a 7% decrease last year.
Gross profit increased 18% to $273 million, or 37.9% as a rate to sales, compared to $232 million, or 38.0% as a rate to sales, last year. Higher product costs, driven by the spike in cotton and incremental incentive costs, adversely affected the merchandise margin. This was offset by a 220 basis point improvement in buying, occupancy and warehousing due to strong sales.
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05.24.2012
Overall North American printing and writing paper shipments continued their downtrend with a 5.3% year-over-year decline in April - a marginal improvement over the year-to-date average of 6.9%, according to the Pulp and Paper Products Council.
Overall mill operating rates ticked up to 89% from 88% a year ago.
Total demand for the month was down 5.25% compared with 7.3% for the first four months of the year.
Of the four major grade segments, the best performer in April was coated mechanical with a 5.1% improvement in volumes. The weakest was uncoated mechanical with a 12.5% decline. Coated and uncoated freesheet were down 2.8% and 6.2% respectively.
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05.23.2012
Nekoosa Coated Products is announcing a price increase on the MagneCote® product line sold in the United States and Canada. This change affects all orders placed on or after June 22, 2012. The increase is broken down below by sheet thickness:
MagneCote® and Digital MagneCote® 11 pt. sheets: 8.3% price increase
MagneCote® and Digital MagneCote® 13 pt. sheets: 5.3% price increase
MagneCote® and Digital MagneCote® 17 pt. sheets: 9.6% price increase
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05.23.2012
The Los Angeles City Council is poised this week to move forward with a draconian policy - the first of its kind - a ban on all paper and plastic retail bags. It's a move that would put hundreds of Los Angeles area jobs at risk, and has been proven to have no benefit for the environment.
The following is a statement from Mark Daniels, Chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, an organization representing the United States' plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sector, which employs 30,800 workers in 349 communities across the nation 1,900 of which are in California - whose jobs depend on plastic bag manufacturing and recycling.
"The Los Angeles City Council has signaled all along that it would bring a retail bag ban to a vote, so we are not surprised, but are disappointed by the Council's decision to effectively disregard the facts and impose a misguided policy to ban plastic and paper bags. By voting to move forward with this ban, the City of Los Angeles will place an onerous policy on its residents that puts the jobs of hundreds of Angelenos at risk who work in the bag manufacturing and recycling sector. At a time when we should be creating more manufacturing jobs, this ban takes them away, while pushing people to imported reusable bags which are produced overseas and are a less-environmentally friendly option.
Bag bans have not been proven to reduce litter. With this draconian bag ban, the city takes a simplistic approach that misses an opportunity to provide a more effective solution for consumers and the environment - programs that encourage greater recycling of plastic and paper bags and preserve jobs."
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05.23.2012
Voith Paper, one of the world's leading partners and pioneers in the paper industry, gears up for structural changes in its markets.
On the one hand, the ongoing digitalization of everyday life through tablets like the iPad and the ensuing changes in consumer behavior is faster than expected having a negative impact on the demand for so-called graphic papers. These paper grades are, for example, used for printing newspapers or magazines. As a result of this continued development, Voith Paper has experienced a noticeable slow-down in business in this fiscal year and a deterioration of its medium to long-term perspectives for graphic paper machines.
On the other hand, the demand for paper machines will continue to grow in the medium and long term, especially in Asia. These countries are, however, increasingly asking for medium-size plants, particularly for board and packaging papers, which are less investment-intensive. In this newly arising segment, Voith has to fight for a market share against stiff competition from local suppliers. Due to the ensuing cost pressure, these machines are already largely produced locally. The fast-growing demand in this new segment therefore results in a lower share in value creation and sales in and from Europe.
The company is adapting to these developments with a comprehensive catalogue of measures. The German and Austrian Voith Paper locations, which mainly develop, design and produce large plants with high investment costs, are particularly affected by the market changes and are to be streamlined. Wherever it appears feasible, it is planned to amalgamate and pool production and engineering capacities from several locations, in order to adapt the resources in the German-speaking area to the new market situation.
In the course of this reorganization, personnel measures will be inevitable. It is envisaged to cut a total of about 710 jobs in Germany and Austria in all areas - in the administration and also in the production departments. The intended staff reductions will hit the Voith Paper locations Heidenheim (about 280 jobs), Ravensburg (about 300 jobs), Krefeld (about 55 jobs) and St. Pölten (about 70 jobs). The Voith Paper Management has today informed all relevant committees and the workforces of the affected locations about these plans.
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05.23.2012
R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company and EDGAR Online jointly announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement pursuant to which RR Donnelley will acquire EDGAR Online, a leading provider of disclosure management services, financial data and enterprise risk analytics software and solutions for both corporate and investment professionals. The deal is valued at approximately $70.5 million, which includes $1.092 per common share, assumption of debt and payment of an amount equal to the redemption price of the preferred shares. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2012. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to RR Donnelley's earnings in the first full year after the closing of the transaction and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval of EDGAR Online shareholders.
"This acquisition continues to expand the range of our digital offering and further enhances our ability to deliver integrated communications solutions," said Thomas J. Quinlan, III, RR Donnelley's President and Chief Executive Officer. "In every segment that we serve we provide a full set of resources for creating, managing, producing, distributing and even monetizing content."
EDGAR Online has provided XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) services to RR Donnelley's Financial Services offering since 2008. Working with EDGAR Online, RR Donnelley has become an industry leader in executing XBRL filings.
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05.23.2012
AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 10% of the Company's common stock for an aggregate purchase price of up to US$100 million. The repurchase program will be funded using the Company's available cash.
"We are taking advantage of our strong financial position to act on an attractive opportunity to return cash to shareholders," said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Company will continue to manage its capital with the utmost discipline, carefully balancing initiatives to return cash to shareholders with other considerations, such as pursuing sound capital investments and opportunities to further increase Resolute's earnings power. We are committed to enhancing shareholder value in the long term."
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05.23.2012
Rottneros said that it is beginning negotiations regarding the termination of continuous groundwood pulp production at Rottneros Mill.
The measure is the result of rapidly declining consumption of printing paper in Europe, which has led to a dramatic reduction in demand for groundwood pulp, the company said.
The mill employs about 100 workers and 50 will be given a notice of termination.
Rottneros said the production of groundwood pulp is expected to cease this winter, but the actual date depends on the outcome of union negotiations and also agreements with customers affected.
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05.23.2012
Nippon Paper Group, Inc. has formulated the Fourth Medium-Term Business Plan (FY2012-FY2014). This is the last medium-term business plan for Group Vision 2015, and aims to achieve operating income of 70 billion yen in FY2014.
After sustaining severe damage to major plants such as the Nippon Paper Industries Ishinomaki Mill (Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture) in the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Group has been moving forward with the Plan for Paper Business Revitalization, designed not only to achieve a recovery at the Ishinomaki Mill but to shut down facilities with a combined total production capacity of 800,000 tons.
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05.23.2012
Forget 2D mobile activation programs and mobile apps or sites. Your readers are already using your print magazines as launching pads to mobile activity whether or not you are providing the programs. According to the latest research of how offline advertising inspires mobile search, Google and Ipsos find that 48% of smartphone readers are performing mobile queries off of ads they see in magazines. In this regard, print holds up well with other media, since only 35% of smartphone users search off of poster and billboards, while 57% do so from in-store promotions and 58% from TV. Magazines in particular are key drivers of the mobile ecosystem.
The mobile device’s important role in the consumer’s path to purchase is starting to emerge in this early research. Among smartphone owners surveyed, 37% said that research that started on mobile led to a purchase they made online, while 32% cited mobile as a starting point for in-store purchases.
While m-commerce has been a marginal activity until recent months, the Google/Ipsos research suggests that the path from a mobile search query off of a print ad to final purchase may not be as distant as it once was. They find 35% of smartphone users have already made a purchase on their cell phones and 68% of those m-shoppers have made a mobile purchase in the last month.
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05.23.2012
Books-A-Million, Inc. today announced financial results for the 13-week first quarter ended April 28, 2012. Net sales for the 13-week period ended April 28, 2012 increased 10.5% to $113.1 million compared with sales of $102.4 million in the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales for the first quarter declined 4.2%, compared with the 13-week period in the prior year. Net loss from continuing operations for the first quarter was $1.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared with net loss from continuing operations of $3.4 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, in the year-earlier period.
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05.23.2012
Oil declined for a second day in New York after Iran agreed to grant access to United Nations nuclear inspectors and the euro slumped to a 21-month low against the dollar.
West Texas Intermediate slid as much as 1.2 percent. UN inspectors and Iran broke a five-year stalemate with a deal that gives the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the nation’s Parchin military complex, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said yesterday. Western governments are holding talks with Iran today in Baghdad. The euro fell on speculation European leaders won’t propose new measures today in Brussels to stem the region’s debt crisis.
“For now the geopolitical premium is likely to remain depressed, and today’s meeting will set the tone for future relations between Iran and the West,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, who predicts further price losses will be limited.
Crude for July delivery declined as much as $1.14 to $90.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $90.99 at 10:57 a.m. London time. The contract slid 1.1 percent to $91.85 yesterday, the lowest close since May 18. The June futures contract, which expired, fell 91 cents yesterday to $91.66.
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05.23.2012
Barnes & Noble, Inc., the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced the launch of its 2012 Summer Reading program: Imagination's Destination. Children in grades 1-6 can earn a free book just by reading eight books and turning in a completed reading journal sheet about the books they read. This year, Imagination’s Destination features the exciting new Scholastic Discover More series along with two special promotions to encourage young readers to explore their imaginations all summer long.
Scholastic Discover More is an innovative new book series that makes learning a fun and immersive journey of discovery at a variety of reading levels, through vivid color photos and in-depth diagrams. Each title in the series comes with a free digital companion book which offers even more illuminating insight. Young explorers can download a digital sample of the Scholastic Discover More experience to read on Barnes and Noble’s award-winning NOOK Color™ or NOOK Tablet™.
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