BMI Launches Member Community

Best Buy Co., Inc. announced results for the 14-week fourth quarter (“Q4 FY18”) and 53-week year ended February 3, 2018 (“FY18”), as compared to the 13-week fourth quarter (“Q4 FY17”) and 52-week year ended January 28, 2017 (“FY17”). The company reported Q4 FY18 GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $1.23, which included the negative impact from items related to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“tax reform”) of approximately $1.17 in diluted earnings per share. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for Q4 FY18 were $2.42, an increase of 25% from $1.93 in Q4 FY17. “We are excited to report strong results for the fourth quarter and the year,” said Hubert Joly, Best Buy chairman and CEO. “We are especially proud of our 9.0% comparable sales growth in the quarter, which brings our annual comparable sales growth to 5.6% for the year. Customers are responding very positively to our Best Buy 2020 strategy, and I want to enthusiastically thank all our associates for their great work in delivering these results. The level of energy and dedication to serving customers that I see across the company is truly inspiring.” Click Read More below for additional information.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. Senate, led by Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Angus King (I-Maine), have introduced a bill that would delay dumping tariffs and countervailing duties currently being applied to imports of Canadian uncoated groundwood (UGW), or newsprint, being used primarily by newspaper, book, directory and circular printers, as well as other publishers and printers. The PRINT (Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade) Act would suspend the import taxes of up to 32% on Canadian uncoated groundwood paper and would require the U.S. Department of Commerce to complete a study within 90 days on the economic health of the newsprint and U.S. newspaper industry in general. The bill would also postpone any action by the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission on newsprint import duties until President Donald Trump receives the report and certifies that the taxes are in the economic interests of the United States. Click Read More below for additional information.

Penguin Random House has partnered up with PEN America, Out of Print (a PRH subsidiary), and When We All Vote to launch Book the Vote, which the publisher describes as a "nonpartisan initiative to protect free speech and ensure every voter’s right to participate in elections." Via its website, the initiative will create and distribute author and book–related content, voter registration information, and other resources in order to educate readers on civic topics and encourage potential voters to "participate in our democracy and express their voices through voting." The initiative will run in conjunction with PEN America’s Free Speech 2020 initiative, and a portion of sales from each of Out of Print's Get PoLITical apparel collection will continue to be donated to PEN America to benefit that campaign.