April 2019 - Page 2 of 32

Solenis to Increase Prices on Selected Colorants Globally

Solenis, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, will increase prices on selected colorants globally, effective immediately or as customer contracts allow. The price increase is necessary due to the sudden cost increase in highly specialized raw materials and intermediates used to produce colorants, combined with a significant tightening of overall global supply.

Royle Printing welcomes Todd Kintopf

Royle Printing is pleased to announce that Todd Kintopf is joining Royle Printing as Manager of Mailing and Distribution Services. In this role, Todd will oversee all aspects of mailing and distribution, both of which play a critical role for Royle and their customers. “We are very pleased to have Todd join our team,” says Chris Carpenter, President and Owner of Royle Printing. “His experience and tenure in mail and distribution services will be put to good use as Royle grows and expands our service offering in these areas. We are continuing to invest in equipment, technology and partnerships, to provide customers with highly efficient and cost effective solutions. Todd will play a lead role in helping us fulfill this plan.” Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Six consecutive years of top-notch safety

UPM Kymi pulp mill in Finland is about to record its sixth year without a single lost time accident (LTA, or an accident so serious it leads to an absence from work) in the spring. That two massive expansion projects were completed during the same five-year period make the achievement even more impressive. In 2015 the production capacity of Kymi was raised by 170,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes and in 2017, to 870,000 tonnes. “Our success cannot be traced to any specific action. It is rather a result of the whole organisation making a strong commitment to safety,” notes Tuomo Lindén, Safety and Security Manager at Kymi. Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Oil prices stumble as hedge funds become overextended

April 29, 2019
Midland Paper Clips
Misc

Hedge fund managers added even more bullish long positions in crude oil and refined fuels last week, but positions showed signs of becoming stretched, setting prices up for a setback. Oil production is being disrupted by tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, while Saudi Arabia is hesitating before increasing its output. On the consumption side, uncertainty surrounds the global economic outlook, but traders are increasingly confident central banks will respond to any sign of weakness by cutting interest rates promptly and aggressively. Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Announces Reauthorization of Stock Repurchase Program

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has reauthorized a common stock repurchase program of up to $4 billion. This program will expire in April 2023 and replaces the current $4 billion program (which expired earlier this month), which had unused authorization of approximately $2.2 billion. The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend on Costco common stock, including a quarterly increase from 57 to 65 cents per share, or $2.60 per share on an annualized basis. The dividend is payable May 24, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 10, 2019. Costco currently operates 770 warehouses, including 535 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 28 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 15 in Korea, 13 in Taiwan, 10 in Australia, two in Spain, and one each in Iceland and France. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan.

The Improper Bostonian Shutters After 28 Years (foliomag.com)

The Improper Bostonian, a regional lifestyle magazine, closed its doors on Thursday after 28 years in print. “While this news might be surprising, the company has had a great run and we’re hopefully leaving this incredible city better and brighter since our inception in 1991,” said owner and publisher Wendy Semonian Eppich in a statement posted on the Improper’s that followed with a long list of thank you’s to readers, staffers and clients but didn’t give any indication as to why the decision was made. However, she explains to Folio: that “it was ultimately a family decision, that was really the bottom line. It was was heavily based on finances, but it goes bigger than finances and that is critical and that is the truth. I said on Bloomberg radio that by dad is 87 and what you don’t know is that this isn’t something that I wanted to do long term.” Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Interfor to Take Downtime in BC Interior

Interfor Corporation announced plans to temporarily reduce production across its operating platform in the BC Interior during the month of May 2019 due to a combination of weak lumber prices and continuing high log costs. The curtailment is expected to reduce production in the region by approximately 20 million board feet for the month of May and will be taken by way of reduced operating days at each of the three BC Interior mills. Interfor has three sawmills in the BC Interior, with total annual capacity of approximately 750 million board feet.

International Paper continues commitment to forest stewardship through collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation

International Paper is continuing work on its commitment to sustain forests through two new collaborations with the Arbor Day Foundation: the Time for Trees initiative and Community Tree Recovery. As one of 17 founding members of the Arbor Day Foundation's Evergreen Alliance, International Paper is championing the Time for Trees initiative, a commitment to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities worldwide by 2022. The initiative leverages trees as a simple, natural climate solution, improves community resilience and helps preserve clean air and water, healthy food and a livable climate. International Paper has also committed to planting 46,000 trees through the Arbor Day Foundation's Community Tree Recovery program – a public and private partnership aimed at distributing free trees to residents in communities affected by natural disaster. International Paper's support of this program also promotes community resilience, a focus of their community engagement strategy. Click Read More bellow for additional information.

Shutterfly Announces First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

“Our first-quarter results were solid across all three divisions, Shutterfly Consumer, Lifetouch, and SBS,” said Christopher North, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We met our expectations on revenue and exceeded our expectations on Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter. In addition, we made good progress against key initiatives across the company, including product range expansion, mobile, and personalized marketing in Shutterfly Consumer, and integration with Lifetouch. We also won a new client in SBS.” GAAP net revenue was $325 million. Shutterfly Consumer segment net revenue totaled $149 million, a 2% year-over-year decrease. Shutterfly Consumer revenue was negatively impacted in the first quarter of 2019 by approximately $6.0 million primarily due to exiting the fourth quarter of 2018 with a lower year-over-year backlog. Lifetouch segment net revenue was $129 million. Shutterfly Business Solutions segment net revenue totaled $47 million, a 2% year-over-year decrease. GAAP operating loss totaled $106 million. Net loss was $84 million or a loss of $2.47 per share. Click Read More bellow for additional information.

UPS Contract With Teamsters To Be Implemented, Effective April 29, 2019

The last remaining local agreement under the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Small Package Agreement with UPS was ratified on Sunday, April 28. The master contract covering approximately 243,000 UPS employees was negotiated earlier, and all remaining supplements have now been ratified. The master contract will be effective on April 29, 2019. The new five-year contract will run from August 1, 2018 through July 31, 2023. More information can be found on the UPS Investor Relations website after the contract is implemented. Click Read More bellow for additional information.