Ad Groups Launch New Push For Federal Privacy Law (mediapost.com)

FedEx Ground operating results increased due to lower structural costs resulting from DRIVE initiatives, higher base yield, and reduced self-insurance costs. Cost per package was flat, as lower line-haul expense and improved dock productivity offset higher first- and last-mile costs. FedEx Freight operating results decreased due to lower fuel surcharges, reduced weight per shipment and lower shipments, partially offset by higher base yield and the benefit from one additional operating day. Last year's third quarter operating income included a $30 million gain on the sale of a facility. The company completed a $1 billion accelerated share repurchase (ASR) transaction during the quarter. Approximately 4.1 million shares were delivered under the ASR agreement. The year-to-date decrease in outstanding shares benefited third quarter results by $0.09 per diluted share.

Year-end book sales across Europe were slammed by December lockdowns after Covid-19 cases surged across the continent. Still, preliminary results in three major markets show declines for the full year were modest. In Germany, Europe’s single largest book market, sales were up 25% in the first two weeks of December over 2019, but they plummeted when a new lockdown was imposed on December 16. Overall sales for the year were down 2.3% compared with 2019, according to BUCH, a German book publishing trade group. Bookstores saw sales drop 8.7% for the year, but gains by online booksellers and platforms offset that decline. “It is true that books played an important role for people during the crisis,” said Karin Schmidt-Friderichs, head of the BDB, in a press release. “There was great enthusiasm for reading and demand for books was high for much of the year. But the shutdown in December thwarted the industry’s plans. The renewed store closings in the middle of the Christmas business stopped the race to catch up from lost sales due to the shutdown in spring.”

Total revenue at Penguin Random House inched up 1.1% in the first half of 2017, over the first six months of 2016, while earnings at the publisher rose 11.4%. Parent company Bertlesmann reported that worldwide sales were €1.53 billion ($1.81 billion) in the period, up from €1.52 billion. Meanwhile, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) was €206 million, up from €185 million in the first six months of 2016. Bertlesmann said the earnings improvement reflected continued benefits from the Penguin-Random House merger.