S&P Global announced an agreement to acquire Visible Alpha, the financial technology provider of deep industry and segment consensus data, sell-side analyst models and analytics from high-quality, exclusive sources. The acquisition will create a premium offering of fundamental investment research capabilities on S&P Global Market Intelligence's Capital IQ Pro platform. The combination of Visible Alpha with S&P Capital IQ Pro, the flagship S&P Global platform for research and analysis across institutional and corporate markets, reflects S&P Global's continued commitment to be the foremost provider in this space. Founded in 2015, Visible Alpha is a financial technology firm that provides consensus estimates and analytics from in-depth sell-side analyst models, research reports and corporate access events and distributes the data through a variety of distribution channels including a web-based platform, APIs and Feeds. Visible Alpha enhances the investment research process by extracting meaningful value from key sell-side data and analytics, including full working models from partnerships with approximately two hundred of the world's premier investment research organizations.

Adobe introduced AI Assistant in beta, a new generative AI-powered conversational engine in Reader and Acrobat. Deeply integrated into Reader and Acrobat workflows, AI Assistant instantly generates summaries and insights from long documents, answers questions and formats information for sharing in emails, reports and presentations. AI Assistant is bringing generative AI to the masses, unlocking new value from the information inside the approximately 3 trillion PDFs in the world. AI Assistant leverages the same artificial intelligence and machine learning models behind Acrobat Liquid Mode, the award-winning technology that supports responsive reading experiences for PDFs on mobile. These proprietary models provide a deep understanding of PDF structure and content, enhancing quality and reliability in AI Assistant outputs.

RTL Group subsidiary Fremantle is acquiring Asacha Media Group, a European production group based in Paris. The sellers are the company’s founders and managers and the investment company Oaktree Capital Management. Asacha owns majority shares in a total of eight award-winning production companies in France, Italy and the U.K., which produce series, films, shows, reality formats and documentaries for a wide range of clients. Under the terms of the agreement, Fremantle has the option to acquire the outstanding shares in the eight production companies over the next few years. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024. The acquisition of Asacha Media Group follows Fremantle’s recent acquisition of an 80-percent majority stake in the Singapore-based production company Beach House Pictures, which closed on February 8. Under the agreement, Fremantle has the option to fully acquire Beach House after 2027. For both acquisitions combined, RTL Group will invest over €200 million.

Walmart and VIZIO announced they have entered into an agreement for Walmart to acquire VIZIO for $11.50 per share in cash, equating to a fully diluted equity value of approximately $2.3 billion. The acquisition of VIZIO and its SmartCast Operating System (OS) would enable Walmart to connect with and serve its customers in new ways including innovative television and in-home entertainment and media experiences. It would also create new opportunities to help advertisers connect with customers, empowering brands with differentiated and compelling opportunities to engage at scale and to realize greater impact from their advertising spend with Walmart. The combination would be expected to further accelerate Walmart’s media business in the U.S., Walmart Connect, bringing together VIZIO's advertising solutions business with Walmart’s reach and capabilities. These benefits would be further strengthened by the growth of connected TV platforms and Walmart’s industry-leading TV panel sales.

Bauer Media Group has posted its annual circulation figures for its UK Publishing business for 2023. The figures show that Bauer’s portfolio of brands retained their significant newsstand sales while continuing to expand their digital presence. Commenting on the results, Chris Duncan, Bauer Media’s CEO of UK Publishing said: “We are extremely proud to see Bauer retain its position as the UK’s biggest publisher of consumer magazines with a set of results that demonstrate the wide reach of our brand portfolio, both in print and digitally. Our continued position as the leader across many markets is a true testament to our teams’ ability to produce content that consistently attracts highly engaged and loyal audiences.” “A heartfelt thanks goes out to all our hardworking teams, retailers and advertisers, and our millions of loyal readers. Bauer remains committed to working with our partners to continue to innovate and evolve our exceptional content in 2024.”

Shoe Carnival acquired Rogan’s Shoes, the retailer announced Feb. 13. The deal was worth $45 million, it said in a statement. Shoe Carnival is No. 335 in the Top 1000. The Digital Commerce 360 database ranks North America’s leading retailers by online sales. The footwear retailer expects to see benefits from the acquisition in its 2024 fiscal year. Adding Rogan’s to Shoe Carnival’s portfolio will generate approximately $84 million in sales and $10 million in operating income in 2024, the retailer said. That doesn’t include transaction and integration costs. Rogan’s is 53 years old, with 28 locations across Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota. The acquisition makes Shoe Carnival the market leader in Wisconsin and establishes a store base in Minnesota.

Two weeklies based in Colorado Springs are set for relaunch only a couple of months after being closed. Business partners J.W. Roth and Kevin O’Neil have acquired the rights to publish the Colorado Springs Independent and Colorado Springs Business Journal. The partners have formed a for-profit business, Pikes Peak Media Company, to produce the titles.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights *Fourth quarter net sales increased 16%; Adjusted net sales increased 6% *Fourth quarter net sales were highlighted by a 12% increase in Drinkware net sales and a 44% increase in International net sales; International adjusted net sales increased 39% *Fourth quarter EPS of $0.90 compared to loss per share of $0.32 in the prior year quarter; Adjusted EPS of $0.90, growth of 15%. Fiscal Year 2023 Highlights *Full year net sales increased 4%; Adjusted net sales increased 3% *Full year EPS increased 88% to $1.94; Adjusted EPS decreased 5% to $2.25 *Cash increased 87% to $439 million compared to Fiscal 2022

Despite numerous headwinds, “we achieved our second-best year ever judged by our principal measure of profitability, falling short by 2% of the record results of 2022,” writes Steven R. Swartz, president & chief executive officer, in his annual letter. Swartz adds, “A sluggish digital advertising environment, the typical cyclical effect on television station advertising in a nonelection year and continued cord-cutting in television led to profit declines in all of our consumer media sectors: Newspapers, Magazines and Television."

In the age of digital dominance, a surprising and heartwarming trend defies the wave—millennials’ and Gen Z’s preference for physical greeting cards. Even though these generations are digital natives, recent studies and surveys reveal that many prefer the tangible charm and personalization of paper greeting cards over their e-counterparts. According to a recent poll from online card and gift giant Shutterfly1, more than half (54%) of Americans say they still mail their greeting cards versus sending via digital and social platforms. The new survey of 2,000 U.S. adults split evenly by generation revealed that two out of three prefer to receive physical cards as opposed to digital ones, including younger respondents who are millennials (62%) or are part of Gen Z (59%). Personalization was a big deal to survey respondents, preferring to include family, vacation, or pet photos with cards.

Online retail sales grew 25.47% year over year in January, according to CNBC and the National Retail Federation’s Retail Monitor. The year’s online sales started slightly better than 2023 ended, with January sales up 0.68% month over month, according to the NRF. Meanwhile, total retail sales also grew in January (2.34% year over year), according to the Retail Monitor. Month over month, January sales were nearly flat, decreasing just 0.16%, the new report showed.

Passed (in France) in 2020, the Anti-Waste Law For A Circular Economy (AGEC) dictates that receipts will be printed at the customer’s request, except in special circumstances. Since then, several “start-ups” have aligned themselves to electronic receipts. Taking advantage of the new law, which has been postponed several times, they have developed communication campaigns highlighting the environmental interest of not using paper receipts. Faced with this flood of greenwashing, Two Sides France submitted two case complaints that seemed fitting for the Advertising Ethics Jury. On January 31st 2024, the jury agreed with Two Sides on those cases. Aside from the fact that it’s hard to see how, if a consumer doesn’t need a paper ticket, giving them a digital ticket would be more virtuous, the communications from these companies frequently resort to clichés commonly employed to endorse digital “solutions.” Consequently, an excess of statements has emerged featuring generic ideas and sweeping statements praising the merits of avoiding paper, while omitting the environmental consequences of digital alternatives, claiming forest conservation, and asserting the positive aspects of an eco-friendly digital receipt allegedly in compliance with the above mentioned AGEC law.

The Company reported fourth quarter 2023 reported revenue of $3.152 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Fourth quarter GAAP net income increased 34% to $579 million and GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 38% to $1.83 driven primarily by strong Ratings growth and lower merger-related costs. Excluding the impact of Engineering Solutions (ES), revenue growth would have been 11% year over year. Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter increased 19% to $988 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 23% to $3.13. For the full year 2023, reported revenue increased 12% year over year to $12.497 billion. 2023 GAAP net income decreased 19% to $2.626 billion and GAAP diluted earnings per share decreased 19% to $8.23, driven primarily by a gain on sale of assets in 2022 and restructuring costs in 2023.

The U.S. Postal Service announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024. The net loss for the quarter totaled $2.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $1.0 billion for the same quarter last year. Results for the quarter were negatively impacted primarily by non-cash workers’ compensation expenses due to actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes, the amortization of unfunded retiree pension liabilities, and the continued effect of inflation on operating expenses. Controllable income for the quarter was $472 million, compared to controllable income of $187 million for the same quarter last year, reflecting that the positive impacts of the Delivering for America plan are beginning to be realized. Total operating revenue was $21.6 billion for the quarter, an increase of $115 million, or 0.5 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Revenue for the overall Shipping and Packages category increased $240 million, or 2.7 percent, on a volume increase of 98 million pieces, or 5.1 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. Marketing Mail revenue decreased $235 million, or 5.4 percent, on a volume decline of 2.4 billion pieces, or 13.5 percent, compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $22.08 billion for the retail month of January, the five weeks ended February 4, 2024 an increase of 4.5 percent from $21.13 billion last year. For the 22 weeks ended February 4, 2024, the Company reported net sales of $104.94 billion, an increase of 6.0 percent from $99.00 billion for the 22 weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended January 29, 2023.

Key Fourth Quarter Highlights • The Company added approximately 300,000 net digital-only subscribers compared with the end of the third quarter of 2023, fueled by bundle and multi-product subscriber additions • Total digital-only average revenue per user (“ARPU”) grew 3.5 percent year-over-year to $9.24 primarily as a result subscribers graduating from promotional to higher prices and price increases on tenured non-bundled subscribers • Higher digital subscribers and ARPU drove year-over-year growth in subscription revenues from digital products of 7.2 percent • Digital advertising revenues decreased 3.7 percent year-over-year largely as a result of the five fewer days in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to 2022 as well as declines in revenue from our podcasts and creative services • Operating costs decreased 4.8 percent year-over-year and adjusted operating costs (defined below) decreased 0.7 percent, largely as a result of lower cost of revenue, partially offset by higher salesand marketing and product development costs • Operating profit of $129.0 million, a 38.7 percent increase year-over-year, with adjusted operating profit (defined below) of $154.0 million, an 8.5 percent increase year-over-year primarily as a result of higher digital subscription and other revenues as well as lower adjusted operating costs, partially offset by lower advertising revenues

*Second quarter revenues were $2.59 billion, a 3% increase compared to $2.52 billion in the prior year, driven by growth at the Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones and Book Publishing segments *Net income in the quarter was $183 million, compared to net income of $94 million in the prior year *Second quarter Total Segment EBITDA was $473 million, compared to $409 million in the prior year

Total revenues across all categories for November 2023 were down 0.5% as compared to November 2022, coming in at $1.0 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.6%, at $11.7 billion for the first eleven months of the year. November: Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.2% in November, coming in at $858.0 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of November, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 2.0%, coming in at $368.8 million; Paperbacks were down 1.9%, with $262.5 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 53.4% to $9.1 million; and Special Bindings were up 13.8%, with $22.7 million in revenue.

Today Media, a publisher of regional lifestyle magazines, business publications and websites in several East Coast markets, has acquired Bethesda magazine and the news site MoCo360 from Z-Pop Media, the company announced on Friday. Terms were not disclosed. Bethesda and MoCo360, which cover Montgomery County in suburban Maryland, are “a great fit” for Today Media, says Rob Martinelli, CEO of Today Media. Based in Wilmington, Delaware, Today Media publishes in four East Coast markets, including New York's Westchester County and the Hudson Valley, Delaware and suburban Philadelphia.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that it has acquired Outlier.org, an edtech startup that has created a portfolio of high-quality, turnkey, online college-level courses that enable high school students to earn dual credit while never having to leave their school building. Outlier.org combines cinematic video and charismatic professors with the best in modern, evidence-based teaching techniques to virtually transport the student to a college lecture hall. Its diverse catalog of award-winning courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences are taught by hand-picked, world-class instructors from NASA, MIT, Harvard, Yale, and other top institutions.

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 26, included: *First-Class Mail: 82.7 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.2 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

Domtar now offers the Cougar® Paper Trails printing primer to help professionals and novices find the optimal paper for their project. The Cougar® brand of uncoated paper has long been known by printers, marketers and creative professionals as the ideal medium for personal exploration and storytelling. And now, the Cougar Paper Trails printing primer offers a valuable resource to anyone new to the print industry. “We are proud to offer a new generation of advertisers, printers, designers and creatives of all kinds a user-friendly primer,” says Meredith Collins, channel marketing manager at Domtar. “Cougar Paper Trails is an easy-to-understand guide to the important characteristics of paper and the printing and finishing techniques that make creative work shine.”

Gannett Co., Inc. and the USA TODAY Network today announced a multi-year agreement to become the official content partner of the Big Ten Conference, the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States As part of the agreement, syndicated content from across USA TODAY Network’s local network of more than 200 publications will be featured on BigTen.org. This includes content from The Columbus Dispatch, The Des Moines Register, Detroit Free Press and The Indianapolis Star among several others. USA TODAY will also continue to produce souvenir covers to commemorate the winners of the Big Ten Championship Games in football and men’s and women’s basketball. These covers are presented to athletes on the field or court after the final whistle. This tradition began last year with the Big Ten Football Championship Game and continued this year with the “A-MAIZE-ING” headline celebrating Michigan’s win in the conference title game.

Fourth Quarter 2023 *Net sales increased 14% to $170.0 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $149.2 billion in fourth quarter 2022. *Operating income increased to $13.2 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $2.7 billion in fourth quarter 2022. *Net income increased to $10.6 billion in the fourth quarter, or $1.00 per diluted share, compared with $0.3 billion, or $0.03 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2022. Full Year 2023 *Net sales increased 12% to $574.8 billion in 2023, compared with $514.0 billion in 2022. Excluding the $0.1 billion unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 12% compared with 2022. *Operating income increased to $36.9 billion in 2023, compared with $12.2 billion in 2022. *Net income was $30.4 billion in 2023, or $2.90 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $2.7 billion, or $0.27 per diluted share, in 2022.

Fourth Quarter 2023 Highlights *Delivered sales of $4.0 billion, up 5.1%, or 5.5% on a daily, organic constant currency basis *Achieved reported operating margin of 13.9%, down 40 basis points, or 14.6% on an adjusted basis, up 80 basis points *Announced plans to open a new 1.2 million square-foot distribution center near Houston, Texas in 2026. Full Year 2023 Highlights *Grew sales to $16.5 billion, up 8.2%, or 9.5% on a daily, organic constant currency basis *Realized reported operating margin of 15.6%, up 110 basis points, or 15.7% on an adjusted basis, up 130 basis points

Grainger announced plans to open a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center (DC) in Hockley, Texas in 2026. The new "Houston Texas Distribution Center" will provide additional capacity for the company to continue delivering best-in-class, next-day complete orders to customers. Grainger plans to break ground this spring. Grainger's Houston Texas Distribution Center is expected to house more than 250,000 industrial supply items, such as hand and power tools, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, fluid power solutions, lighting, power transmission equipment, and motors. The company anticipates the new facility will employ approximately 400 team members within a year of opening in 2026.

Postal Regulatory Commission Vice Chairman Thomas G. Day and Commissioner Ashley E. Poling recently toured two U.S. Postal Service processing facilities to witness, first-hand, ongoing network changes made by the Postal Service as part of its Delivering for America plan. Guided by a senior postal official on January 17, Vice Chairman Day and Commissioner Poling toured the Postal Service’s newly constructed Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto, GA. The tour took place from 10 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.—peak hours for some of the busiest processing intervals and a key period for incoming and outgoing transportation. As of that date, package processing was operational, but the letter and flats operations were still undergoing installation. On January 19, the two Commissioners visited the Postal Service’s first Sortation and Delivery Center in Athens, GA. During their 6 a.m. tour, they observed the Postal Service’s delivery unit package sortation operations along with the routine preparation of mail delivery carriers for their daily routes. They also viewed the new charging infrastructure for future electric postal delivery vehicles.

Walmart Inc. announced that it will conduct a split of its outstanding shares of common stock at a ratio of 3:1. The stock split is part of Walmart’s ongoing review of optimal trading and spread levels and its desire for its associates to feel that purchasing shares is easily within reach. More than 400,000 associates participate in Walmart’s Associate Stock Purchase Plan today, which allows eligible associates to buy stock conveniently through payroll deductions and provides a 15% company match on the first $1,800 each year. “Sam Walton believed it was important to keep our share price in a range where purchasing whole shares, rather than fractions, was accessible to all of our associates,” said Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart. “Given our growth and our plans for the future, we felt it was a good time to split the stock and encourage our associates to participate in the years to come. As Sam said, ‘We’re all in this together. That’s the secret.’”

The Association of American Publishers welcomed the release of the 2023 Review of Notorious Markets for Counterfeiting and Piracy by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The Notorious Markets List highlights online and physical markets around the world engaged in industrial-scale copyright infringement and counterfeiting, which adversely impacts the interests of U.S. publishers, authors, and other rights holders. “The publishing industry thanks USTR and the interagency for their work in protecting the intellectual property of publishers and authors, whose livelihoods depend on the protection and enforcement of their rights,” said Lui Simpson, Senior Vice President for Global Policy at AAP. “The Notorious Markets report remains a critical tool for exposing online sites and marketplaces that traffic in infringing copies of books and journal articles.”

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 19, included: *First-Class Mail: 84.0 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.1 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter.

Wiley, one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in research and learning, today announced a new 5-year open access agreement with the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries at Vanderbilt University, beginning on January 1, 2024. This transformative agreement will provide Vanderbilt University affiliates with access to Wiley’s complete journal portfolio and enable participating researchers to publish research in Wiley’s complete portfolio of nearly 2,000 hybrid and gold open access journals, including those published by Hindawi, starting January 1, 2024.

The Daily Iowan, a student newspaper at the University of Iowa, has acquired two community papers, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and Solon Economist, from Woodward Communications, effective with their Feb. 8 editions, the Iowan announced. The terms were not disclosed. The Daily Iowan is part of the non-profit corporation Student Publications, Inc.

The Postal Regulatory Commission issued a notice today to clarify the outcome of a recent Market Dominant Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA) approved by the Commission. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to timely review and approval of Market Dominant NSA applications that comply with the law and recognized the importance of innovation. In its request, the Postal Service stated that it intended to begin implementing the agreement “in January 2024 or shortly thereafter.” The Commission approved the Market Dominant NSA on November 22, 2023, consistent with the Postal Service’s request. On January 17, 2024, the Postal Service informed the Commission that the mailer had decided not to implement the NSA.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today introduced the new edition of myView Literacy, its leading K-5 core English Language Arts (ELA) program. Combining powerful Science of Reading-based instruction with engaging student-centered practice opportunities, myView Literacy © 2025 is designed to develop strong readers and writers, improving learning outcomes for all students. The new edition of myView Literacy comes at a time when the Science of Reading movement has gained national momentum, with many states now requiring the use of evidence-based strategies for teaching students to read. More and more school districts today are making it a priority to use high-quality instructional materials that not only demonstrate both efficacy and a positive impact on student achievement but also provide teachers the training and support they need to successfully implement the curriculum.

Two Maryland newspapers, The Dispatch and Ocean City Today, are merging after more than 30 years of rivalry. The resulting product, OC Today/Dispatch, will debut on Feb. 2. The product will be “stronger as one rather than continuing to compete against each other for the same news and sales every week, says Steve Green, editor ofThe Dispatch.

Jonathan provided an update on Two Sides’ activity, results in 2023, and focused on the tools, resources and information that your business can use. The Love Paper campaign, focussed on improving consumer perceptions of our products, reached a milestone in 2023 with over 2,000 advertisements featured in national newspapers and magazines. This initiative reaches more than 240 million consumers, communicating the sustainable narrative of magazines, newspapers, and all paper-based products. Year after year, we are reaching a growing number of consumers, making it a focus of our ongoing efforts. Across Europe, the challenge of Greenwashing persists, with companies disseminating misleading messages that portray a digital transition as inherently better for the environment. Slogans like “Go green, go paperless” not only misguide but pose a significant threat to our industry. Two Sides actively engages businesses, brands, and organizations, urging them to refrain from making such deceptive statements regarding print and paper.

The latest and exciting NEW issue of The Page, the magazine produced by Two Sides to promote the sustainability and value of print, is now available! In the latest edition of The Page, we take a look at what’s in store for 2024. After a turbulent 2023, we pick the brains of our finest industry experts about their predictions for print, paper and paper-based packaging. Getting your customers’ ATTENTION and keeping it is the Holy Grail of marketing. Now attention metrics shows that print is one of the best performers. You can read more about it in the latest edition of The Page. more at: https://twosides.info/uk/the-page-january-2024

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 12, included: *First-Class Mail: 85.8 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 81.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

Country Walking, the UK’s best-selling walking magazine has launched its annual challenge #Walk1000Miles with a dedicated 64-page supplement, available in the February issue. Founded 9 years ago by Country Walking’s Editor Guy Procter, the popular annual walking challenge encourages anyone of any age, fitness level and experience to walk 1000 miles in one year. It takes under an hour a day to reach 1000 miles in 12 months – just 2.74 miles daily – or the equivalent of Land’s End to John o’Groats the long way. Since launch, Country Walking’s #Walk1000Miles challenge has amassed more than 170k registrations and over 44,000 members to its growing Facebook community.

The Hearst Foundations announced that they have surpassed $1.5 billion in grants to over 6,400 organizations since their founding in 1946 by William Randolph Hearst. The announcement was made by Presidents of the Hearst Foundations, William R. Hearst III and Virginia Randt. Operating independently from Hearst, the Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social service. Grantmaking also includes administering two unique annual programs: the United States Senate Youth Program for high school juniors and seniors as a public service immersion in Washington D.C. and the Journalism Awards Program for undergraduates studying journalism at accredited schools of journalism.

The United States Postal Service (USPS), alongside White House officials, unveiled its first set of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at its South Atlanta Sorting and Delivery Center (S&DC). Charging stations like these will be installed at hundreds of new S&DCs across the country throughout the year and will power what will be the nation’s largest EV fleet. Electrification and modernization of the Postal Service’s delivery fleet is part of the organization’s $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve the USPS processing, transportation, and delivery networks. “The improvements we need to achieve in sustainability are an integral outgrowth of the broader modernization efforts we have undertaken through our 10-year Delivering for America plan,” said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Print media consumption rose in 2023, and this trend should continue in 2024, according to a study by Pew Research Center. MRI-Simmons reports that 80%+ of 100+ national magazines have lower readership than they did a decade ago. But, over the past two years, nearly 90% of those have maintained or actually increased readership. Catalogs are also growing apace. "Amazon’s Holiday Dash catalog which tops 100 pages, has been described as a mashup of the iconic Sears catalog and Highlights magazine," Pew writes.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today affirmed the preliminary injunction of the “Reader Act” (formerly HB 900) granted by Judge Alan D. Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division in a written opinion issued on September 18, 2023. The law would have required independent bookstores, national chain bookstores, large online book retailers, book publishers and other vendors to review and rate millions of books and other library materials according to sexual content if those books are sold to school libraries, and to do so according to vague labels dictated by the state without any process for judicial review. In affirming Judge Albright’s earlier ruling, Judge Don Willett of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that “Plaintiffs have an interest in selling books without being coerced to speak the State’s preferred message,” going on to say that he was “unpersuaded” by the State’s argument that the READER Act does not implicate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, today announced that Successmaker, its continuously-adaptive, personalized learning math and reading programs for all K-8 students, met ESSA Level 2 evidence standards by demonstrating significantly higher math proficiency and reading gains for students. ESSA, formally known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, is the federal K-12 education law requiring that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers. ESSA provides states and school districts guidance as well as flexibility in selecting evidence-based learning solutions that have demonstrated a positive effect on student performance.

The U.S. Postal Service is raising the price of stamps AGAIN on January 21. This is the fourth increase in 18 months—the most mailing rates have increased during the U.S. Postal Service’s 248-year history. These increases have harmed mail volume and have not helped the USPS achieve financial stability. In fact, the USPS posted a $6.5 billion loss for FY2023 and is predicting a $6.3 billion loss this fiscal year. And yet, the USPS appears to be on track to raise stamp prices yet again this July. These increases pose a significant threat to consumers and businesses that rely on the USPS. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Sam Graves (R-MO) have teamed up to send a letter to the USPS Board of Governors urging them to delay any further increase this year until the effects of the unprecedented twice-a-year increases on mail volume and revenue are better understood. Keep US Posted encourages everyone who supports affordable postage and quality service to contact their members of Congress to ask them to join Rep. Cleaver and Graves in sending the letter.

FY24 second quarter service performance scores covering January 1 through January 5, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 82.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

Specialty outdoor retailer REI Co-op announced expansion plans to open 10 new stores in 2024 to better serve its members and outdoor community. Locations have been finalized for summer 2024 openings in Glendale, Arizona and Rancho Mirage, California. A store in St. George, Utah will open in fall 2025. The co-op will open its doors in formerly occupied retail spaces at Arrowhead Promenade in Glendale, The River in Rancho Mirage, and St. George Place in St. George. Each location will offer a wide assortment of apparel, gear and expertise for camping, cycling, running, fitness, hiking, climbing and more. In addition, a full-service bike shop will be staffed with technicians to tune, repair and enhance the performance of all bikes. The new Utah location will also feature a ski and snowboard shop.

The 10-campus University of California system and 48 private and public academic and research institutions represented by the Statewide California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) have reached a new open access agreement with Wiley, one of the world's largest publishers. The three-year deal begins this month and will make more research eligible for open access publication than any partnership of its kind in California. “Some of the most groundbreaking research in the world is done right here in California, driving advances in medicine, environmental sustainability and society. I am excited about this opportunity for more California scholars, from UC and beyond, to make their work freely available so that people around the globe can benefit from and build on their discoveries,” said Maria De Prano, professor of Art History at UC Merced and chair of the UC faculty Academic Senate’s systemwide committee on library and scholarly communication. “I appreciate the partnership of our colleagues at SCELC and Wiley for making open access to California research possible at this scale.”

Firestorm Books, a collectively-owned radical bookstore in Asheville, N.C., has acquired 22,500 copies of 46 children's books that were banned from the Duval County Public School system in Florida. Under a campaign named "Banned Books Back!," the bookstore plans to distribute these books to children and families across the United States, starting with Florida. Last year, Duval County school administrators ordered the removal of numerous titles focused on gender issues, racism, colonialism and more. Half of the titles that were pulled focused on LGBTQIA+ topics. "When we were told that these books were at risk of being destroyed, we knew we had to act," Esmé Joy, co-owner of Firestorm Books, said.

OverDrive reps reported this week that a record 152 library systems and consortia across seven countries—including 41 states and seven Canadian provinces—surpassed the one million digital lends benchmark in 2023, which includes e-books, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines. The numbers represent a significant jump from the 129 library systems that hit the milestone in 2022. The 152 public libraries hitting the milestone are based in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Journalism is in jeopardy unless publishers are fairly compensated for use of their content by GAI companies, Roger Lynch, CEO of Condé Nast, argued in Congressional testimony on Wednesday. Speaking before the the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, Lynch said, “We urge Congress to take immediate action to clarify that the use of publisher content for both Gen AI training and their output must be licensed and compensated.”

Inspirit Capital, a UK-based investment firm, has entered into a definitive agreement with Wiley to acquire Wiley Edge (“Edge”), an early-career talent, training and placement business serving global employers. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Edge is an industry-leading provider of Hire, Train, Deploy (“HTD”) talent solutions, supporting multinational employers by sourcing, training and deploying high-potential entry-level talent on a contract-to-hire basis. Currently operating in 11 countries, the business plays an important role in addressing the enduring global skills gaps in high-demand areas of technology and business. Edge has a leading recruitment and selection operation, with access to diverse talent around the globe, and delivers bootcamp-style courses through its Academy. In addition to its core early-career HTD services, Edge also offers tailored training programs to reskill clients’ existing workforces, enhancing employee retention and helping employers address internal skill gaps in an increasingly competitive global labor market.

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for October 2023 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for October 2023 were up 1.8% as compared to October 2022, coming in at $1.2 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.7%, at $10.6 billion for the first ten months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were up 1.3% in October, coming in at $975.0 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of October, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 2.3%, coming in at $441.8 million; Paperbacks were up 5.5%, with $301.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was up 44.4% to $10.4 million; and Special Bindings were up 3.7%, with $25.8 million in revenue.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net sales for the two and eleven months ended December 31, 2023. Total Company net sales for the two months ended December 31, 2023, increased 10% compared to the two months ended December 31, 2022. Total Retail segment net sales increased 8%, with comparable Retail segment net sales increasing 6%. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 20% at Free People and 14% at Anthropologie and decreased 13% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales increased 15% driven by an increase in Free People wholesale sales primarily due to increases in sales to department stores and specialty accounts, partially offset by a decrease in Urban Outfitters wholesale sales. Nuuly segment net sales increased 71% primarily driven by a 58% increase in our subscribers versus the end of the prior year's comparable period.

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics for the thirteenth week of the first quarter for fiscal year 2024. The average time for the Postal Service to deliver a mailpiece or package across the nation was 2.7 days. FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through December 29, included: *First-Class Mail: 85.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 80.8 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 5.2 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $26.15 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended December 31, 2023 an increase of 9.9 percent from $23.80 billion last year. For the seventeen weeks ended December 31, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $82.86 billion, an increase of 5.9 percent from $78.26 billion for the seventeen weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended December 25, 2022. Net sales for the seventeen weeks were negatively impacted by approximately one-half to one percent from the shift of the fiscal calendar, as a result of the fifty-third week in fiscal year 2023.

Adobe released online shopping data for the 2023 holiday season, covering the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2023. Based on Adobe Analytics data, the report provides the most comprehensive view into U.S. e-commerce by analyzing commerce transactions online, covering over one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories. Adobe Analytics is part of Adobe Experience Cloud, relied upon by over 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the U.S.* to deliver, measure and personalize shopping experiences online. Consumers spent $222.1 billion online from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, up 4.9% year-over-year (YoY) and setting a new record for e-commerce. A total of $123.5 billion was spent online in the month of November (up 6% YoY), bolstered by a strong Cyber Week—the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday—which drove $38 billion in spend online (up 7.8% YoY). In December, consumers spent a total of $98.6 billion online (up 3.7% YoY), driven in part by discounts that lingered past Cyber Monday.

Wellington, Florida will soon be home to a luxury magazine called Lux Wellington. It will appear in February. The product is the latest glossy print edition being offered by Luxury Lifestyle publications. It will serve the Wellington-Palm Beach area. The initial digital edition will cover travel, men's/woman's fashion, dining, the local home market, VIP profiles, luxury autos, health and beauty and the equestrian lifestyle.

Academic Partnerships (AP), a company that assists primarily regional public universities in expanding access and impact by supporting their online programs, today announced that it has successfully completed its acquisition of Wiley University Services, a line of business previously owned by Wiley (NYSE: WLY). The combined company will support over 125 colleges and universities in 40 U.S. states and internationally. "AP is in the business of transforming lives through education, and the acquisition of Wiley University Services better enables us to do just that," said Fernando Bleichmar, Chief Executive Officer of AP. "This is an exciting day as we combine our talent, capabilities, and resources to more effectively meet the growing demand for high-quality, affordable online degree programs and ensure our university partners and their students thrive."

Wilmington, Delaware’s Star News is about to join the parade of Gannett publications that are delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. The change takes place on Jan. 24. Print delivery faces labor challenges, fluctuating fuel prices, increased competition for door-to-door delivery workers and the switch to digital, the paper argues. Gannett says it has made this change in multiple markets.

Hearst Connecticut Media Group (HCMG) has acquired RJ Media Group in Meriden. The Record-Journal, Cheshire Heral and other weekly newspapers, are included in the finalized deal. “Our support of journalism and the communities we serve is unwavering,” says Mike DeLuca, group publisher and president of HCMG, according to CT Insider.

In yet another legal victory for freedom to read advocates, a federal judge has blocked two key portions of SF 496, a recently passed Iowa state law that sought to ban books with sexual content from Iowa schools and to bar classroom discussion of gender identity and sexuality for students below the seventh grade. In a 49-page opinion and order, judge Stephen Locher criticized the law as “incredibly broad” and acknowledged that it has already resulted in the removal of “of hundreds of books from school libraries, including, among others, nonfiction history books, classic works of fiction, Pulitzer Prize–winning contemporary novels, books that regularly appear on Advanced Placement exams, and even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault.”

The holiday sales period ended on a high note with unit sales of print books increasing 5.8% over the week ended December 24, 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan.

The new year brought with it minimum wage increases in more than 20 states — with more to come later in the year. Higher minimum wages took effect on Jan. 1 in 22 states (see list at end of article). The hikes come as the federal minimum wage remains unchanged since 2009, at $7.25 an hour. With the new wage hikes, employees in seven states — California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Washington — along with Washington, D.C. and 41 cities and counties will be guaranteed baseline pay of $15.00 or more an hour. (Some cities and counties set their own minimum wages.) At the same time, 20 states — primary located in the South and parts of the Midwest — will continue to have a legal minimum wage of $7.25 in 2024.

Authorities in the Buffalo, New York area are warning residents about scammers who pretend to be from the iconic Publishers Clearing House. The scam artists inform victims that they have won the famous sweepstakes, but have to pay processing fees upfront, WKBW reports. Payment is accepted online or in person. Publishers Clearing House informed WKBW that there are no such fees connected with its legendary prizes.

As part of its commitment to enhance capital returns to stockholders, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) today announced that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase ("ASR") agreement with Mizuho Markets Americas LLC (“Mizuho”) to repurchase $1.0 billion of FedEx’s common stock as part of the company’s previously announced share repurchase program. Under the terms of the ASR agreement, FedEx will pay $1.0 billion to Mizuho and receive an initial share delivery of approximately 3.2 million shares on December 28, 2023, with the remainder of the shares, if any, to be delivered no later than February 29, 2024. The total number of shares purchased by FedEx pursuant to the ASR agreement will be based on an average of the volume-weighted average prices of FedEx’s common stock during the term of the ASR agreement, less a discount.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering Oct. 1 through Dec. 15, included: *First-Class Mail: 86.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 4.9 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 81.7 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 4.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

When e-readers like the Amazon Kindle burst onto the scene, showing up next to menorahs and under Christmas trees in the early 2000s, they were predicted to bring about the death of the print book — and maybe the independent bookstore too. But publishing sales data and on the ground observations from booksellers indicate that neither prediction has come true — in fact, sales of print books appear to be enjoying a bit of a lift driven by strong performance in genre fiction and interest from younger readers. Print book sales are up 10‒14 per cent over three years in most major English-speaking markets, says Duncan Stewart, a consumer forecasting analyst for Deloitte who lives in Toronto and specializes in media and technology. He says those are quite nice numbers "for an industry that many people thought was dying."

Savvas Learning Company announced that educators in the Middle East will for the first time be able to benefit from SIOP® Professional Learning, a research-based instructional framework for teaching both English language skills and academic content. SIOP® Professional Learning is based on the SIOP® Model that is highly valued by teachers for integrating language learning into everyday instruction while also making grade-level content accessible to all students. Through its SIOP® training partner in the Middle East, SAMA Knowledge Training Institute, Savvas is now offering Middle East educators who work with English learners (ELs) the Savvas SIOP® Training for Teachers Workshop. This in-depth, in-person training provides the professional development necessary to effectively implement the SIOP® Model in schools and classrooms. The introduction of SIOP® to the Middle East comes at a time when several countries in that region have set specific goals to ensure that their students develop English language proficiency in order to successfully compete in the global economy.

The Daily Gazette Co. will close its purchase of The Daily Mail and The Register-Star from Johnson Newspapers by the end of January. The Register-Star serves Columbia County and The Daily Mail Greene County. These areas encompass the Hudson and Catskill areas of New York State, the Times Union reports.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through December 8, included: *First-Class Mail: 86.7 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 4.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 93.9 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 82.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.6 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) has announced a new hub to support the expansion of sustainability efforts within retail. The NRF Center for Retail Sustainability aims to “generate economic value while creating net positive environmental, social and community benefits.” NRF said the center’s initial areas of focus include utilizing consumer insights around sustainability products and practices, facilitating the emergence of the circular economy (sponsored by Deloitte), and improving supply chain traceability within the retail industry.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the first quarter (twelve weeks) of fiscal 2024, ended November 26, 2023. For the first quarter the Company reported net sales of $56.72 billion, an increase of 6.1 percent from $53.44 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, ended November 20, 2022. Net sales were benefited by approximately one-half to one percent in the U.S. and worldwide from the shift of the fiscal calendar, as a result of the fifty-third week in fiscal year 2023.

The ACMA has won a hard-earned victory in its litigation against the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB). Siding with the ACMA, the California Superior Court ruled that the FTB went too far in dressing up substantive regulations as mere “guidance.” On December 13th, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman issued a carefully reasoned order granting the ACMA’s motion for summary adjudication, concluding that two guidance documents published by the FTB in 2022, Technical Advice Memorandum 2022–01 and FTB Publication 1050, are void as invalid “underground regulations.”

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is pleased to announce that its full line of evidence-based, standards-aligned Texas Experience Science K-12 learning solutions has been approved by the Texas State Board of Education. “Designed to inspire scientific discovery and real-world, experiential learning, our Texas Experience Science K-12 solutions use hands-on activities, combined with the exploration of phenomena, to engage and excite students,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Texas district and school leaders can have confidence that our science instructional materials are of the highest quality, giving educators the resources to encourage students to not only learn about science but to do science.”

Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Highlights: *Adobe achieved revenue of $5.05 billion in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023, which represents 12 percent year-over-year growth or 13 percent in constant currency. Diluted earnings per share was $3.23 on a GAAP basis and $4.27 on a non-GAAP basis. *GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter was $1.74 billion and non-GAAP operating income was $2.34 billion. GAAP net income was $1.48 billion and non-GAAP net income was $1.96 billion. *Cash flows from operations were $1.60 billion. *Remaining Performance Obligations (“RPO”) exiting the quarter were $17.22 billion. *Adobe repurchased approximately 1.8 million shares during the quarter.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is excited to announce that for the third year in a row it has been recognized as a top workplace in Chicago. Savvas was named to the 2023 Chicago Top Workplaces list that is published by The Chicago Tribune and produced in partnership with Energage, an employee engagement technology company. Chicago’s Top Workplaces list showcases strong workplace environments and highlights companies for their commitment to their employees, customers, and corporate mission.

In response to the recently published results of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) by the OECD, Intergraf released a statement calling for a balanced approach to education, emphasizing the importance of retaining print materials in the learning process. The PISA 2022 results show a significant decline in student performance in reading, falling by 10 points in OECD countries. This is a substantial drop, equivalent to half a year’s worth of learning in reading. This decline is unprecedented in the history of PISA, as the OECD average score has never changed by more than five points in reading between consecutive assessments. While the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be a factor contributing to this decline, trend analysis reveals pre-pandemic declines in reading performance, thus indicating a long-term problem.

Grainger announced the sale of E&R Industrial Sales, Inc. to Paradigm Equity Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. E&R Industrial became a subsidiary of W.W. Grainger, Inc. in 2013. "We are excited about this next stage of growth with Paradigm Equity Partners," said Jason D'Souza, President, E&R Industrial Sales, Inc. "E&R Industrial is firmly committed to a smooth transition for our customers, suppliers and team members." Grainger will continue to serve customers with maintenance metalworking products, services and expertise while focusing on its core business of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products and services. Customers will continue to have access to E&R's assortment when purchasing through Grainger, while E&R customers will have access to Grainger's MRO-leading assortment when purchasing through E&R. Details of the agreement were not publicly disclosed.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for September 2023 reflecting reported revenue for Trade (Consumer Books), Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for September 2023 were flat as compared to September 2022, coming in at $1.4 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.8%, at $9.4 billion for the first nine months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 0.4% in September, coming in at $905.9 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of September, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 7.2%, coming in at $379.2 million; Paperbacks were down 4.9%, with $299.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 39.5% to $11.3 million; and Special Bindings were up 11.8%, with $27.1 million in revenue.

Penguin Random House has acquired Hay House, the self-help and health and wellness publisher founded by bestselling You Can Heal Your Life author Louise Hay in 1984. Terms of the transaction, which was brokered by Oaklins DeSilva+Philips, were not disclosed. Reid Tracy, CEO of Hay House, will continue to run the publisher, which will "retain its editorial and publishing independence," after the deal closes, the companies said in a statement. In addition, "no changes are planned" for Hay House's employees, management, or offices in Carlsbad, Calif., New York, and London.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through December 1, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.9 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.0 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.8 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

The Nation, which now appears every other week, is switch to monthly frequency in January. The leftist magazine is promising 84 “bigger, richer” pages instead of the 48 it is serving now, according to the New York Times. This is being done in response to reader preferences, says D.D. Guttenplan, editor, • “Unlike almost all of our competitors, The Nation has never made a lot of money from advertising,” Mr. Guttenplan points out, according to the Times. The Nation is resolutely not going to an all-digital model.

Global logistics service provider UPS (NYSE: UPS) and the Hong Kong Airport Authority have entered into an agreement that improves UPS service to customers and enhances the company’s operations in Asia with a new hub at the Hong Kong International Airport and near the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. The new hub will serve as UPS Hong Kong’s main facility for processing and sorting imports, exports, and transshipments, to and from Europe, the U.S., and other parts of Asia. The hub is expected to be completed by 2028 and will be built on a land parcel of 20,000 square metres with direct access to aircraft. The facility is being designed to handle close to 1 million tons of annual capacity, giving UPS and its customers around the world better and more reliable connectivity to Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area1, and the growing Asia Pacific consumer market.

The United States Postal Service today announced that all branches will be closed in observance of Christmas and New Year’s Day. This closure affects all postal services, including retail services, mail delivery and blue collection boxes. This year, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve each fall on Sunday, when normal closures apply. There are currently no plans for limited hours on Saturday, Dec. 23 or Saturday, Dec. 30. Customers are always encouraged to check with their local Post Office for hours of operation.

GAAP Results: Revenue of $493 million (-4%), Operating income of $46 million (-19%), and EPS loss of -$0.35 (-$1.03). GAAP earnings impacted by impairment charges of $52 million related to our held for sale or sold assets and restructuring charges totalling $25 million related to our value creation plan. “Our second quarter and year-to-date overall performance was in line with our expectations as we execute on our value creation plan to make Wiley a stronger, leaner, and more profitable company focused on driving consistent growth in our core,” said Matthew Kissner, Interim President and CEO. “We expect year-over-year revenue improvement in the second half and expect to exit the year with a stronger margin profile. Fiscal 2025 and 2026 is where we will realize the full benefits of our current actions.”

The Association of American Publishers today filed reply comments in the U.S. Copyright Office inquiry into the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence (AI) in response to flawed and inaccurate assertions submitted by some tech companies and/or their investors in the first comment round including tired assertions that the rights of authors and publishers are an obstacle to innovation. AAP filed a lengthy submission that includes a multitude of points, including: *Big tech petitions the government “for cover from liability for their calculated disregard of authorship, also ignoring that rights holders today already routinely license their works for all kinds of digital uses.” *“Rather than working with copyright owners, these companies seek to appropriate literature and other invaluable intellectual property for their own commercial gain, and to bend the law to their will."

EDDM (every door direct mail) has gained popularity. EDDM as defined by the USPS is designed to help you reach every home, every address, every time. You can map out a target area, use demographic data (e.g. age, household income, and size) to select a delivery route, choose a mailing drop-off date, and pay online — all from your computer. You can create your mailings up to 30 days before you plan to mail them. Simply enter an address, ZIP code, or city and state for your target area to get started. Sounds great right? So how do you know if EDDM is right for you?

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through November 24, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.6 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 84.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.8 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Hearst Newspapers announced the acquisition of Puzzmo, a new collaborative puzzle games platform. The announcement was made by Hearst Newspapers President Jeffrey Johnson. Developed over the last three years by founders Zach Gage and Orta Therox, Puzzmo.com is the new place for thoughtful puzzles. The site will be the home of web-based versions of Gage’s award-winning puzzle games catalog, including Apple Arcade mainstays like SpellTower and new and exclusive releases beginning with FlipArt and Wordbind. Puzzmo will connect each game and every player with a unified system of points, achievements, social connections and multi-player modes never before seen in the puzzle games category, creating a sense of community. Gage and Therox will lead game development and technology for the platform at Hearst.

Enthusiast media company Active Interest Media (AIM) has acquired Taunton Press, a consumer media and book business. Terms were not disclosed. The purchase of Newtown, CT-based Taunton doubles AIM’s reach in the gardening, woodworking and homebuilding sectors, the company states. “While the symmetry of many of our core markets is obvious; woodworking, gardening, and homebuilding; there are many other similarities,” notes Andrew Clurman, president and CEO of AIM. For one, both firms have been “aggressively pursuing the creation of new digital products, memberships, and online learning to better serve their audiences," Clurman adds. For another, the two companies share “a dedication to producing high-quality information, and inspiring enthusiasts for hands-on living,” says Andrea Roman, board chair of Taunton Press.

Third Quarter of Fiscal 2023 Compared to Third Quarter of Fiscal 2022 *Net sales increased 6.4% to $2.5 billion compared to $2.3 billion, primarily due to increased comparable sales, strong new store performance, and strong growth in other revenue. *Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months and e-commerce sales) increased 4.5% compared to an increase of 14.6%, driven by a 5.9% increase in transactions and a 1.4% decrease in average ticket. *Gross profit increased 3.0% to $992.1 million compared to $962.8 million. As a percentage of net sales, gross profit decreased to 39.9% compared to 41.2%, primarily due to lower merchandise margin, higher inventory shrink, and higher supply chain costs, partially offset by strong growth in other revenue. *Operating income was $327.2 million, or 13.1% of net sales, compared to $361.9 million, or 15.5% of net sales. *Net income was $249.5 million compared to $274.6 million.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy recently delivered remarks at the 2023 Concordia United States Summit in Cary, NC. DeJoy highlighted how he has leveraged his private sector background to reshape and strengthen the U.S. Postal Service, the nation’s most trusted agency. Following his remarks, DeJoy was interviewed by Michelle Giuda, CEO of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University. “It’s about innovation. It’s about a commitment to work and precision. It’s about competing in a marketplace ... and getting a competitive advantage on everything around you,” DeJoy said in response to a question from Giuda about his approach to leading USPS. DeJoy’s remarks focused on how the Postal Service is continuing to transform and improve operating practices across the organization.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $20.14 billion for the retail month of November, the four weeks ended November 26, 2023, an increase of 5.1 percent from $19.17 billion last year. For the twelve weeks ended November 26, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $56.71 billion, an increase of 6.1 percent from $53.44 billion for the twelve weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended November 20, 2022. Net sales for the twelve weeks were benefitted by approximately one-half to one percent in the U.S. and worldwide from the shift of the fiscal calendar, as a result of the fifty-third week in fiscal year 2023.

A growing number of leading companies are investing in "nature-based solutions" which are actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural ecosystems that benefit both biodiversity and human well-being. These actions target major challenges like climate change, disaster risk reduction, food and water security, biodiversity loss and human health, and are critical to sustainable economic development. To date, print and paper buyers have significantly contributed to forest conservation, biodiversity and climate change mitigation via the Carbon Balanced Paper and Print program and its partnership with the World Land Trust. The program has funded the long-term protection and management of 71,000 acres of highly biodiverse and threatened habitats in Vietnam, Mexico, Ecuador and Guatemala. In total, over 380,000 metric tons of CO2 have been sequestered.

The DEAL Consortium and scholarly publisher Wiley today announced the signing of a new five-year agreement which will allow scientists from German academic institutions to publish their research open access (OA) within Wiley’s portfolio of scientific journals. The new agreement continues the successful collaboration that started in 2019 and through which by now over 38,000 articles have been published open access. It will provide authors at participating German institutions with open access publishing options across Wiley’s portfolio alongside read access to all Wiley journal content. The new agreement will also: *Support institutions in the transition to OA, honoring the immense value learned societies bring to the scholarly community. *Enhance infrastructure, including robust workflows to support authors, librarians and open access administrators. *Support participating institutions with bespoke training and continuing collaboration with the Wiley DEAL Advisory Board to monitor success.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through November 17, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.7 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.3 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 84.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Bauer Media, one of the world’s leading media groups, is now using the Love Paper logo to highlight the sustainability of its printed magazines. The initiative signifies the company’s proactive stance in promoting the sustainable aspects of their print production and its commitment to behaving in an environmentally responsible way. The Love Paper campaign aims to improve perceptions and raise awareness of the sustainability and attractiveness of print, paper, and paper-based packaging. The campaign echoes Bauer’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship as outlined in its most recent Sustainability Report, which stated a commitment to source paper from sustainable partners.

Total Company net sales for the three months ended October 31, 2023, increased 9.0% to a record $1.28 billion. Total Retail segment net sales increased 7.3%, with comparable Retail segment net sales increasing 5.6%. The increase in Retail segment comparable net sales was driven by high single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales and mid single-digit positive growth in retail store sales. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 22.5% at Free People and 13.2% at Anthropologie and decreased 14.2% at Urban Outfitters. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 3.6% driven by a 3.5% decrease in Free People wholesale sales due to a decrease in sales to department stores and close out account partners. Nuuly segment net sales increased by $30.2 million primarily driven by a 68% increase in our subscribers versus the end of the prior year’s comparable quarter.

For the third quarter ended October 28, 2023, net sales decreased 6.8 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2022. Gross merchandise value ("GMV") decreased 7.1 percent. Third quarter net sales include a 270 basis point negative impact from the wind-down of Canadian operations. Anniversary Sale timing, with one week shifting from the second quarter to the third quarter, had a positive impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with 2022. Excluding the impacts of the Canadian wind-down and Anniversary Sale timing shift, net sales would have been down approximately 6 percent. During the quarter, Nordstrom banner net sales decreased 9.4 percent and GMV decreased 9.8 percent. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack decreased 1.8 percent. During the third quarter, active grew by double-digits, and beauty and accessories were up by low single-digits, versus 2022.

“Our commitment is unwavering, and our preparation is thorough. We have been strategically planning early and leveraging significant investments in our people, infrastructure, delivery network, and technology,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “Thanks to the Delivering for America plan, we will be the most affordable way to ship and mail holiday cheer this year.” USPS is built for the holidays with affordable, reliable shipping services to help its customers send more joy this season. The ongoing transformation of the Postal Service includes efficient new facilities and a modernized delivery network to better serve its customers this holiday season, and year-round. To help customers experience seamless shipping and mailing during the holidays and beyond, USPS offers the following tips:

Comparisons refer to the 13-week period ended October 28, 2023 versus the 13-week period ended October 29, 2022 * Net sales decreased 5.2% year-over-year, to $3.8 billion, with comparable sales down 5.5%. *Gross margin as a percentage of net sales was 38.9%, an increase of 158 basis points. *Operating income was $157 million *Net income was $59 million *Inventory was $4.2 billion, a decrease of 13% year-over-year. *Operating cash flow was $151 million.

Are you interested in sending children and families some holiday magic this season? You can now adopt a letter written to Santa by going to USPSOperationSanta.com. In response to customer requests, this is the first time the U.S. Postal Service has opened the program before Black Friday. USPS Operation Santa turns 111 years old this year. The program relies solely on random acts of kindness and the generosity of strangers. It allows people to help children and families have a magical holiday when they otherwise might not — safely and securely. USPS Operation Santa is not a guaranteed gift-giving program. Since Sept. 18, the Postal Service has received letters from across the country and has been delivering them to Santa’s U.S. workshop at 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888. Letters sent with First-Class Mail postage and complete, accurate and legible return addresses have been opened, reviewed and posted on USPSOperationSanta.com. People can begin reading and adopting letters today.

With oral arguments set for November 29, some 17 organizations and individuals have teamed up to file six separate amicus briefs urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold a lower court decision striking key provisions of HB 900, Texas’s controversial book rating law. Among the briefs and arguments filed on November 17: The Freedom to Read Foundation and the American Association of School Librarians: "Appellants argue that HB 900 is simply an innocuous mechanism to protect school children from 'sexually explicit materials.' The Association of University Presses; Barnes & Noble; the Educational Book and Media Association; Freedom to Learn Advocates; Half Price Books, Records, Magazines; the Independent Book Publishers Association; Penguin Random House; and Sourcebooks: "First, the mandatory ratings are classic 'compelled speech' in violation of the First Amendment. As the District Court held, [HB 900] impermissibly compels Amici to 'create speech that [we do] not wish to make, and in addition, in which [we do] not agree with,' in violation of the First Amendment.

Holiday spending is expected to increase as much as 4 percent this year. That may not sound like much, but Americans are on track to spend a record $960 billion celebrating the December holidays. For retailers and consumers alike, printed receipts can help make the season brighter. Traditionally, Black Friday heralds the start of the holiday season, but for many, holiday spending is already in full swing, and it won’t stop until January, after the last gifts have been opened and any returns have been made. And despite what some anti-receipt advocates say, consumers overwhelmingly prefer to receive printed receipts with their purchases instead of digital receipts. “In our recent consumer survey, we found that 76 percent of folks want some form of a printed receipt, or at least the option to choose a printed receipt,” says Andrea Forehand, Domtar’s director of sales for thermal POS. “Skip the Slip legislation has come up twice in California, and we’ve been successful in lobbying to prevent that legislation from becoming law because people do want the choice.”

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through November 10, included: *First-Class Mail: 87.8 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.5 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 85.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.

The Guardian Long Read Magazine will collect some of the publication’s best long stories into a print product that is sold on UK newsstands, NiemanLab reports. The first issue appeared on Nov. 11. It wasn’t known at deadline if the format will be extended to the U.S. The first issue’s cover headlines include: *A funeral for fish and chips shops *The war on knotweed *Three abandoned kids, 40 years on *My lament for a lost Khartoum

Saveur magazine is back—in print. It will appear again in March 2024, and pre-orders are being taken right now, writes Kat Craddock, editor and CEO of Saveur. There will be two issues per year to start. The title’s previous owners stopped publishing print issues during the pandemic. Craddock says the loss was heartbreaking. The March drop will be “just in time for Saveur’s 30th anniversary,” Craddock adds.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced it will repurchase $14.0 million of 6.00% first lien notes due November 1, 2026 for approximately $12.0 million, representing a discount to par value. The transaction is expected to close on November 17, 2023. In connection with the repurchase of the 2026 Senior Notes, the Company will receive a waiver from certain lenders under its five-year senior secured term loan facility that will reduce the scheduled amortization payment for the fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2023 payable to those lenders by the amount spent by the Company to repurchase the 2026 Senior Notes. "We continue to opportunistically take out additional senior notes below par value by working with our lenders, and this repurchase mirrors the executed agreement announced in mid-September," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "With the closing of this transaction, and subsequent to the third quarter, we will have repaid $20.2 million of debt, which will bring our year-to-date total to approximately $138.0 million, which exceeds our initial projections outlined at the beginning of the year.

BMI has launched its new member community, BMI Connect. You can see a brief overview by watching the video below. Besides a member's only group, there is an open forum for publishers and others to engage with BMI Members. Feel free to share the community with everyone. Learn more at: https://www.bmibook.com/news/bmi-launches-member-community

Keep US Posted — a nonprofit advocacy group of consumers, nonprofits, newspapers, greeting card publishers, magazines, catalogs, and small businesses — warned that postage rate hikes are contributing to the U.S. Postal Service’s mounting losses, after the USPS announced a loss of $6.5 billion for the fiscal year 2023 — the same year it was projected to break even under Postmaster General DeJoy’s Delivering for America plan. During yesterday’s open session, the USPS Board of Governors announced the staggering $6.5 billion loss for the year, driven by mail volume declines of more than 9 percent and an over 2 percent drop in package volumes. The Board of Governors also announced that it anticipates a $6.3 billion loss next year, and noted that the 10-year Delivering for America plan—which depended on package growth that has not materialized — could face changes.

The U.S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price changes for Shipping Services to take effect Jan. 21, 2024. These proposed prices were approved by the Postal Service governors earlier this week. USPS Ground Advantage prices would increase by 5.4 percent, Priority Mail service prices would increase by 5.7 percent, and Priority Mail Express service prices would increase by 5.9 percent. The Postal Service is also seeking price adjustments for Special Services products including Post Office Box rental fees and some international mail services that includes Registered Mail and International Mail insurance. The PRC will review the prices before they are scheduled to take effect.

*Net sales of $5 billion, down 7% versus the third quarter of 2022. Brick-and-mortar sales decreased 7% versus the third quarter of 2022. Digital sales decreased 7% versus the third quarter of 2022. *Comparable sales down 7.0% on an owned basis and down 6.3% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. - Macy’s comparable sales were down 7.6% on an owned basis and down 6.7% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. - Bloomingdale’s comparable sales on an owned basis were down 3.2% and on an owned-plus-licensed basis were down 4.4%. - Bluemercury comparable sales were up 2.5% on an owned basis. * Gross margin rate for the quarter was 40.3%, up from 38.7% in the third quarter of 2022.

*Strong revenue growth of 5.2% with strength across segments *eCommerce up 15% globally *GAAP EPS of $0.17; Adjusted EPS of $1.531 *Consolidated revenue of $160.8 billion, up 5.2%, or 4.3% in constant currency1. *Consolidated operating income was up $3.5 billion, or 130.1%, adjusted operating income up 3.0%1.

The U.S. Postal Service today announced its financial results for the 2023 fiscal year ended September 30. The net loss totaled $6.5 billion, compared to net income of $56.0 billion for the prior year. The net income last year was due primarily to the one-time non-cash impact of the Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA) in April 2022 and the results this year were significantly affected by the impact of inflation on operating expenses. Results under GAAP include retiree benefits expense for the amortization of underfunded Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) plans, and workers’ compensation expenses caused by actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes, as well as the impact of the PSRA for the same period last year. The Postal Service reports its adjusted results excluding these costs. Total operating revenue was $78.2 billion for the year, a decrease of $321 million, or 0.4 percent, compared to the same period last year, as package revenue increases were offset by mail revenue declines. Revenue for the overall Shipping and Packages category increased $324 million, or 1.0 percent, on a volume decline of 175 million pieces, or 2.4 percent, compared to the same period last year. Marketing Mail revenue decreased $920 million, or 5.8 percent, on a volume decline of 7.7 billion pieces, or 11.4 percent, compared to the same period last year. Total operating expenses were $85.4 billion for the year, an increase of $5.8 billion, or 7.3 percent, compared to the same period last year.

"As our CFO Joe Corbett will explain later in our financial presentation, the Postal Service finished the fiscal year 2023 with a $6.5 billion dollar net loss. When looking back to our DFA projections published in March of 2021, we forecasted that we would break even this year. Our efforts to grow revenue and reduce labor and transportation costs were simply not enough to overcome our costs to stabilize our organization, the historical inflationary environment we encountered, and our inability to obtain the CSRS reform we sought, none of which were accounted for in our forecasts. While we are not happy with this result, we cannot lose sight of the downward trajectory the Postal Service faced in the fall of 2020 after years of neglect and willful indifference by its stakeholders and custodians prior, and of the substantial progress we have made in correcting our condition and our trajectory."

Academic Partnerships (“AP”), a company that assists primarily regional public universities in expanding access and impact by supporting their online programs, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Wiley University Services, a line of business owned by Wiley (NYSE: WLY). The combined company will support over 125 colleges and universities in 40 U.S. states and internationally. AP primarily assists regional public universities with launching and maintaining their online programs. It is committed to expanding access to high-quality, high-return on investment, affordable, and workforce-relevant online education, especially for working and adult students. Wiley University Services works with institutions to deliver career-connected education programs aimed at helping students achieve their goals. Following the closing of the transaction, the combined company will provide universities with a best-in-class partner to support them in delivering programs online so more students can access affordable education, improve their careers, and meet employer and community needs.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through November 3, included: *First-Class Mail: 88.0 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.0 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.6 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 85.7 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Monday a broad coalition including Texas bookstores, national booksellers, authors and publishers filed an appellate brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, requesting that it affirm the preliminary injunction of the “Reader Act” (formerly HB 900) granted by Judge Alan D. Albright of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division. The Reader Act would require independent bookstores, national chain bookstores, large online book retailers, book publishers and other vendors to review and rate millions of books and other library materials according to sexual content if those books are sold to school libraries, and to do so according to vague labels dictated by the state without any process for judicial review. On September 18th of this year, Judge Albright issued a written opinion granting a preliminary injunction, ruling that the Act “likely violates the First Amendment by containing an unconstitutional prior restraint, compelled speech, and unconstitutional vagueness.” The State defendants filed an appeal later that day. Oral argument is scheduled for Wednesday, November 29th.

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) has announced recipients of Signature Award, as well as four new members to the Cased-in Club. The honors, which were presented Monday evening November 6th at the Awards Banquet at the Fall Annual Conference in Palm Beach Gardnes, Florida, recognize BMI members who not only contribute to the success of their organization, but also to the continued success of the book manufacturing industry.

Google is discontinuing support for magazine content in Google News starting on Dec. 18, the company announced on Monday. On behalf of the Google News team, Ashwarya tells readers that if “you previously purchased or subscribed to magazines, access from Google News apps or news.google.com to your library of magazines will be removed.”

*First quarter revenues were $2.50 billion, a 1% increase compared to $2.48 billion in the prior year, driven by growth at the Book Publishing and Dow Jones segments *Net income in the quarter was $58 million, compared to net income of $66 million in the prior year *First quarter Total Segment EBITDA was $364 million, compared to $350 million in the prior year *In the quarter, reported EPS were $0.05 as compared to $0.07 in the prior year. *Within the Dow Jones segment, professional information business revenues rose 14% and helped to underpin 10% Segment EBITDA growth and the highest first quarter profit margins since News Corp’s acquisition in 2007 *REA Group posted strong revenue growth driven by the residential business, which benefited from a double digit yield increase and improving listing volumes in Australia *Book Publishing revenues grew 8%, while Segment EBITDA increased 67%, driven by higher book sales combined with improved returns

Sales were flat at $433.6 million compared to the same period last year. Sales and adjusted sales for the third quarter of 2023 include $6.3 million of sales related to gift card redemptions in connection with recall remedies. Our 2023 results have been materially adversely impacted by the stop sale of the soft coolers included in the recalls initiated during the first quarter of 2023. Gross profit increased 13% to $251.3 million, or 58.0% of sales, compared to $222.4 million, or 51.3% of sales, in the third quarter of 2022. Gross profit included a $0.8 million, or 20 basis points, favorable impact related to lower than anticipated recall-related costs. The increase in gross margin was primarily due to lower inbound freight costs and lower product costs. Operating income decreased 10% to $61.9 million, or 14.3% of sales, compared to $68.5 million, or 15.8% of sales during the prior year quarter. Net income decreased 6% to $42.7 million, or 9.8% of sales, compared to $45.5 million, or 10.5% of sales in the prior year quarter; Net income per diluted share decreased 6% to $0.49, compared to $0.52 in the prior year quarter.

• The Company added approximately 210,000 net digital-only subscribers compared with the end of the second quarter of 2023, fueled by bundle and multi-product subscriber additions, bringing the Company’s total subscribers over the 10 million mark • Total digital-only average revenue per user (“ARPU”) grew quarter-over-quarter for the fifth consecutive quarter to $9.28 as a result of subscribers graduating from promotional to higher prices and from price increases on tenured non-bundle subscribers • Higher digital subscribers and ARPU drove strong year-over-year growth in subscription revenues from digital products of 15.7 percent • Advertising revenues increased 6.0 percent year-over-year, driven by digital advertising revenues, which grew 6.7 percent year-over-year due to continued strength in core premium display advertising products • Operating costs increased 7.7 percent year-over-year and adjusted operating costs (defined below) increased 6.2 percent, largely as a result of continued investments into journalism and product development, which are core growth drivers of the business • Operating profit of $63.6 million, a 24.6 percent increase year-over-year, with adjusted operating profit (defined below) of $89.8 million, a 30.1 percent increase year-over-year, driven by revenue growth as well as cost management

The Wall Street Journal will no longer publish weekly book bestseller lists. The paper will not renew its contract with Circana BookScan, which powered the listings, according to Publishers Weekly. The last listings, including six fiction and nonfiction lists and a hardcover business list, appeared in last weekend’s edition, PR continues.

The Envelope Manufacturers Association (EMA) Foundation’s Institute for Postal Studies is releasing its 2023 U.S. Mailing Industry Economic Job Study, which reveals overall industry impact remains strong thanks to growth in e-commerce driven parcel delivery. In 2022, the industry accounted for approximately 7.9 million jobs and $1.9 trillion in sales revenue. This includes employment at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), private delivery companies, printers, publishers, packaging manufacturers, and paper manufacturers that rely on the Postal Service as a supply chain partner.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through October 27, included: *First-Class Mail: 88.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.9 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.5 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 85.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.

• Reported revenue increased 8%; Adjusted revenue, excluding Engineering Solutions (ES), increased 11%. • GAAP diluted EPS increased 27%, and adjusted diluted EPS increased 10% year over year. • Revenue from Sustainability and Energy Transition products accelerated to 36% year-over-year growth excluding ES. Vitality revenue, which is revenue from new or enhanced products, increased 22% (ex-ES) and contributed 12% of reported revenue in Q3. • Previously announced $500 million ASR has been completed and an additional $1.3 billion ASR to be launched in the coming weeks.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $18.53 billion for the retail month of October, the four weeks ended October 29, 2023, an increase of 4.5 percent from $17.73 billion last year. For the first eight weeks of the fiscal year ended October 29, 2023, the Company reported net sales of $36.57 billion, an increase of 5.3 percent from $34.74 billion for the first eight weeks of fiscal year 2023 ended October 23, 2022.

• Operating Income of $34.9 million; Net Loss Attributable to Gannett of $2.6 million • Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $20.6 million; Free Cash Flow(1) of $7.4 million • Repaid $65.3 million in Debt; First Lien Net Leverage Below 2.0x

Two Northern Rhode Island dailies, The Call of Woonsocket and The Times of Pawtucket, are merging into a single paper. The new paper will be published six days a week, including a weekend edition on Saturdays, The Public’s Radio, NPR’s Rhode Island member network, reported. The Sunday edition of The Call is being shuttered. The combined staffs include two news reporters, two sports reporters and one photographer. Seth Bromley is editor of both, The Public’s Radio continues.

Time has debuted “Time CO2 Futures,” a program of news reporting in response to global warming, wildfires and extreme weather events. It was launched in partnership with Time’s climate action platform, Time CO2. "Time CO2 Futures" will feature reporting on how a variety of business sectors approach sustainability, including: fashion, apparel, and beauty; mobility and manufacturing; healthcare and diagnostics; food and farming.

Two Sides North America (TSNA) President Kathi Rowzie announced that Jules Van Sant and Jill Crossley have joined the TSNA leadership team as Executive Director and Director of Operations, respectively. “I am thrilled to welcome these two outstanding professionals to help lead Two Sides North America into the future,” Rowzie said. “As we continue to grow, Jules and Jill bring a wealth of sustainability knowledge and industry experience that will add value to everything we do for our members and will make us even more effective in eliminating anti-paper greenwashing and telling the great sustainability story of print, paper and paper-based packaging.”

Investment firm KKR has completed its $1.62.billion acquisition of publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global. KKR is supporting Simon & Schuster’s employee ownership program. KKR has awarded billions of dollars of total equity value to over 60,000 non-senior management employees since 2011.

Given the ubiquitous nature of digital devices and digital service promotion, some businesses may be tempted to transition to paperless record keeping systems based on preconceived notions that going digital is somehow more sustainable. That assumption could not be further from the truth. Paper continues to play a significant role in the digital era, especially when it comes to sustainability, accessibility, and security for businesses. Businesses must recognize the enduring value and broad benefits of paper documents. Even with advancements in electronic files, paper remains a critical component for organizations of all types. First, let's address the sustainability of paper. Trees are one of our most abundant renewable resources in America, and a healthy paper industry is critical to maintaining healthy forests. More than a billion trees are planted in the U.S. each year, and almost all the wood used to produce paper products is sourced from private, sustainably managed forests. Sustainable practices are the root of the paper industry, and we continue to advance sustainability through investment and innovation.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through October 20, included: *First-Class Mail: 89.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.0 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.3 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 84.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal fourth quarter.

UPS announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Happy Returns from PayPal. Happy Returns is a U.S.-based software and reverse logistics company that enables frictionless, no-box, no-label returns for merchants and consumers. “We know that returns have long frustrated shoppers and retailers looking for quick and easy solutions,” UPS CEO Carol B. Tomé said. “By combining Happy Returns’ easy digital experience and established drop-off points with UPS’s small package network and footprint of close to 5,200 The UPS Store locations, box-free, label-free returns will soon be available at more than 12,000 convenient locations in the U.S.” “Joining the UPS team is a win for both our employees and our customers,” said Happy Returns CEO and co-founder David Sobie, who will continue to lead the business for UPS after the deal closes. “In recent years, the growth of Happy Returns has accelerated, and we’ve built an enterprise-grade solution. This new chapter is a natural next step for Happy Returns and allows us to harness the power of the UPS network to transform the returns industry.”

*Net sales increased 13% to $143.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $127.1 billion in third quarter 2022. Excluding the $1.4 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 11% compared with third quarter 2022. *Operating income increased to $11.2 billion in the third quarter, compared with $2.5 billion in third quarter 2022. *Net income increased to $9.9 billion in the third quarter, or $0.94 per diluted share, compared with $2.9 billion, or $0.28 per diluted share, in third quarter 2022.

The U.S Postal Service (USPS) and U.S. Postal Inspection Service (Inspection Service) provided an update on their Project Safe Delivery campaign to crack down on postal crimes, including attacks against postal employees. Announced in May 2023, Project Safe Delivery is a USPS initiative to combat the recent rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail theft incidents by protecting Postal employees and the security of the nation’s mail and packages. Multiple departments within USPS, including the Inspection Service, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, and the Office of the Chief Retail and Delivery Officer are working together to support the ongoing campaign. To help strengthen this effort, the Inspection Service has also significantly increased monetary rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of a perpetrator of postal crimes. “As our nation continues to address a sustained crime wave, our targeted focus to crack down on postal crime is progressing,” said Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Louis DeJoy. “The safety of our letter carriers — and all postal employees — is our top priority. We will continue to work steadfastly with our law enforcement partners to increase the safety of our employees and protect the sanctity of the nation’s mail.”

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, announced today that it is partnering with Brainingcamp to provide easy-to-use digital manipulatives that make math learning even more visual and interactive, enabling students to build deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Savvas will offer Brainingcamp’s high-quality, digital math manipulatives with its newest K-8 math programs: the award-winning enVision Mathematics © 2024 and the brand-new, student-centered Experience Math © 2025. Manipulatives, traditionally physical objects used in classrooms, provide an active, hands-on approach to learning that have been proven to help promote students’ engagement and increase their conceptual understanding of math. Complementing physical manipulatives, digital manipulatives make use of expanding technology in classrooms, allowing students to explore concepts more deeply through additional functionality and animation as well as more readily collaborate through screen sharing, onscreen writing, and text tools.

*Delivered sales of $4.2 billion, up 6.7%, or 8.7% on a daily, constant currency basis *Generated operating earnings of $667 million, up 10.7%, with operating margin of 15.9%, up 60 basis points *Achieved diluted EPS of $9.43, an increase of 14.1% *Produced $523 million in operating cash flow and returned $287 million to Grainger shareholders through dividends and share repurchases *Narrowing full-year 2023 total Company guidance, including an updated outlook for daily sales growth between 8.5% to 9.5% and diluted EPS of $36.00 to $36.60

Bonnier USA has sold its marine media division to Craig Fuller’s Flying Media Group. The transaction was announced at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. Bonnier’s media division publishes the nation’s leading portfolio of iconic marine brands with Yachting, Boating, Sailing World, Cruising World, and Salt Water Sportsman, produces the award-winning SFTV television series, and hosts the Sailing World Regatta Series. “The sale of our marine media division marks our fifth transaction in shaping a group with full focus on experiential outdoor adventure,” said Jens Mueffelmann, Executive Chairman of Bonnier LLC. “Craig Fuller has vigorously transformed aviation media. He is the perfect new owner of our marine media division.”

A number of iconic magazines, catalogues and even local newspapers are reviving their print versions to reach their audiences in more relevant and exciting ways. Whether it’s global fashion titles, luxury retail catalogues or community-driven newspapers, people are rediscovering the power of print to make a deep connection with people. Elle Magazine - Four years after it was last printed, the global fashion media brand has made a return to print in Australia, following a resurgence in print magazine sales and associated advertising revenue. NME Magazine - After halting its print version five years ago in favour of an online-only approach, legendary music publication, the NME has returned to print. Neiman Marcus Catalogue - Following the news that Boden has admitted that reducing the scale of their catalogue contributed to a downturn in the company’s fortunes and that they would bring back the widely loved publication, a number of other retail brands are rethinking their attitude to catalogues. Local Newspapers - Print is also making a return at a local level, with publishers and readers rediscovering its ability to forge solid bonds with local communities and feature content that’s highly relevant to its readership.

Resale ticket prices are predictably high for the Hawks’ home opener Saturday against the Golden Knights, but they also look healthy for future home games. That’s because brokers are no longer dumping tickets, which should help season-ticket members recoup more value. This season, those physical, printed tickets will finally be available again. After any game they attended, fans can order physical tickets for $10 each. On the front, the ticket looks like an old-school ticket with matchup and seat info, but on the back, there will be stats from the game.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering October 1 through October 13, included: *First-Class Mail: 90.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 94.3 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 86.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Outdoor retailer REI Co-op is closing on Thanksgiving and Black Friday again this year as part of its annual Opt Outside tradition. Rather than focusing on profits and sales, the co-op is paying its 16,000 employees to spend the day outside, while calling on the broader community to join and help others to do the same. Today, over 100 million people in the U.S. lack access to quality outdoor space. To help close this gap, REI launched its Outside in 5 initiative earlier this year—bringing together its 23-million member community to partner with nonprofits and support legislation to help everyone in America get outside in five minutes, no matter where they live.

Wiley announced its intent to enter a new five-year agreement with the DEAL Consortium, a countrywide consortium representative of more than 1,000 academic institutions in Germany, commencing January 2024. Wiley and DEAL are creating a blueprint for the next phase of open access publishing to better meet the evolving needs of the scholarly community. Their new agreement will continue to provide authors at German institutions with open access publishing options across Wiley’s portfolio. This includes read access to all Wiley journal content. Importantly, the new agreement will deliver ever-more benefits for the German research system by: *Supporting institutions in the transition to OA and honoring the immense value learned societies bring to the scholarly community. *Recognizing the unique investment needs of journals that deliver multiple forms of impact to their researcher communities. *Enhancing infrastructure, including robust workflows to support authors, readers, and librarians, as well as approval and oversight for administrators for OA articles. *Supporting participating institutions with bespoke training and deepening collaboration with the well-established Wiley DEAL Advisory Board to monitor success.

Bereft of reporters who want to do the job, Vermont’s White River Valley Herald is using ChatGPT to cover local meetings. Editor and Publisher Tim Calabro asked ChatGPT to create a summary of a local selectboard meeting, according the Vermont site Seven Days, and compared the result against a transcript of the event. His verdict: “It wasn’t awful.”

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced that Craig Jelinek has confirmed his intention to step down as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2024. The Board of Directors has elected Ron Vachris, President and Chief Operating Officer since February 2022, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2024. Craig and Ron have worked hand in hand over the last twenty-one months in Ron's role as president and for many years before that. This is the culmination of the long-standing succession plan that Craig has discussed with the Board. Ron is a Costco veteran, with over forty years of service to the Company, starting as a forklift driver, and subsequently serving in every major role related to Costco's business operations and merchandising activities. "Costco has a very strong culture and a deep bench of management talent," said Craig Jelinek. "I have total confidence in Ron and feel that we are fortunate as a Company to have an executive of his caliber to succeed me."

Total revenues across all categories for August 2023 were up 8.5% as compared to August 2022, coming in at $1.5 billion. Year-to-date revenues were up 0.6%, at $8.0 billion for the first eight months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were up 8.9% in August, coming in at $785.0 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of August, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were up 17.4%, coming in at $277.8 million; Paperbacks were up 8.9%, with $295.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 19.1% to $12.2 million; and Special Bindings were up 15.0%, with $19.6 million in revenue. eBook revenues were down 3.7% for the month as compared to August 2022 for a total of $87.1 million, and the Digital Audio format remained up at 5.7% for August, coming in at $68.2 million in revenue. Physical Audio was up 21.1% coming in at $1.3 million.

With a recent poll concluding that the majority of Americans would prefer to return to pre-internet days, are we just seeing a nostalgic yearning for simpler times or is there something deeper and more complex going on? The poll1 revealed that the desire to return to an unplugged era is surprisingly strong among the younger generation and is not strikingly different from those who are old enough to remember not having smartphones and easy internet access. While 77% of Americans aged 35 to 54 said they would prefer a return to their analog roots – the highest of any group in the survey – an eyebrow-raising 63% of 18- to 34-year-olds also agreed with this sentiment. The survey also revealed that 57% of people under 35 agreed with the statement that “technology is more likely to divide people than unite them”– an indication that the social media generation may be growing weary – and wary – of the world of feuding tech billionaires, Chat GPT and Deepfake.

Amazon, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Glassdoor, Tripadvisor, and Trustpilot announced they have teamed up to launch the global Coalition for Trusted Reviews, a cross-industry collaboration committed to protecting access to trustworthy consumer reviews worldwide. Together, members will define best practices for hosting online reviews and sharing methods of fake review detection, aiming to stop fake reviews at the source. Companies met in October 2022 in San Francisco at the first ever Fake Reviews Conference, organized by Tripadvisor. Attendees heard from experts in government, academia and the industry at large on common challenges and potential mitigation approaches related to the issue of fake reviews. This resulted in the establishment of a formal coalition to collaborate on public education and ongoing information sharing between members, in an effort to decrease review fraud.

Amazon is making a key tool in its fight against counterfeit products more readily usable by brands selling on its platform. The e-tail giant is making Amazon Transparency, its product serialization solution designed to prevent counterfeits from being sold on its site, interoperable with brands’ own product serialization systems. Interoperability will enable brands that already have their own product serialization on their products or packaging to have access to Transparency’s protections without requiring any changes to their existing manufacturing and packaging processes.

Ski publication Powder magazine is back in print with its Powder 23/24 Photo Annual. Powder provides daily online content, but “one question was seemingly on the mind of nearly every skier: 'When is Powder coming back to print?' writes Matt Lorelli, the lead trending news writer for Powder, on the magazine’s site. The Powder team is “ecstatic to say that Powder, The Skier’s Magazine since 1972, is officially back and ready to be enjoyed once again as founders Jake and Dave Moe intended -- in print,” Lorelli adds.

FY24 first quarter service performance scores covering Sept. 30 through October 6, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.0 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 85.7 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal fourth quarter.

Amazon Prime members saved more than $1 billion across millions of deals during Prime Big Deal Days on October 10 and 11. For the second year, Amazon kicked off the holiday shopping season with a two-day exclusive shopping event for Prime members, helping members get everything they want and need, quickly and reliably across hundreds of millions of items worldwide. “Prime Big Deal Days was a strong start to the holiday shopping season, offering Prime members an exclusive early opportunity to save and surpassing our expectations. This event outpaced last year’s holiday kick-off event, with more Prime members shopping this year,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores. “Millions of Prime packages in the U.S. have already been delivered, and we’ll continue to offer fast, free delivery across our wide selection throughout the holidays. Thank you to our employees and selling partners around the world for their continued commitment to our customers as we head into this busy shopping season.”

An increase of U.S. tariffs on Chinese made goods could have a major impact on American consumers’ spending power. That's according to the National Retail Federation’s latest study, “Estimated Impacts of Changes to China’s Tariff Status,” which finds that consumers could lose $31 billion in spending power if U.S. tariffs are raised on common household products like microwaves, t-shirts, toys, footwear and more imported from China. This figure comes out to $240 per household in higher prices for widely-used items. “Many elected officials and others have expressed a growing interest in a number of trade policy and practice changes that would affect U.S. trade with China,” said NRF. “Chief among them is a proposal to terminate China’s ‘permanent normal trade relations’ (PNTR) trade status, subjecting imports from China to ‘Column 2’ tariff rates, which can be much higher than ‘normal trade relations’ rates. Some have even suggested raising the rates higher than ‘Column 2’ rates.”

Thomas G. Day was officially sworn in as a commissioner of the Postal Regulatory Commission and named vice chairman of the agency by a unanimous vote of commissioners; while Commissioner Robert G. Taub begins his third term with the agency after being confirmed by the United States Senate on September 28, 2023. PRC Chairman Michael Kubayanda said “I am pleased to continue serving alongside Commissioner Taub and to serve with Commissioner Day. They are experienced and highly skilled public servants who have contributed significantly to the nation and our postal system, and will continue to do so.”

A host of new titles and a solid performance by the adult segments led to a 4.7% increase in unit sales of print books last week over the week ended October 8, 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Adult fiction returned to its winning ways with sales up 7.1%. There was no single blockbuster driving sales, but five new releases were among the category’s top 10 bestsellers. Hannah Grace’s Wildfire took the #1 spot, selling nearly 60,000 copies. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man, Vol. 12 was in third place, selling over 33,000 copies, followed by Judgment Prey by John Sandford, which sold more than 28,000 copies.

Walmart is committed to delivering high-quality milk to meet the growing demand of our customers. Today, we’re excited to share we are furthering that commitment with the opening of an owned and operated milk processing facility in Valdosta, Georgia. The new facility, which will break ground later this year and create nearly 400 Walmart jobs in the Valdosta community, has innovation at its core. It will bolster our capacity to meet the demand for high-quality milk, while making our supply chain more resilient, and building even more transparency around sourcing. Using ingredients sourced from local farmers, the new facility will process and bottle a variety of milk options including gallon, half gallon, whole, 2%, 1%, skim and 1% chocolate milk for Walmart’s Great Value and Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark brands. The products from the facility will serve more than 750 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs in the Southeast.

Learning technology company HMH today announced that its leadership consulting organization, the Center for Model Schools, and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, are partnering to support superintendents and school system leaders as they work to transform their communities, improve teaching and learning and advance equity. The Center and AASA will provide opportunities for ongoing leadership collaboration throughout the year to deepen connections and support student success. Through the new Superintendents Teaching and Learning Network supported by both organizations, district leaders will engage in a multi-year effort to develop and refine their transformation strategies with experts and peers and apply their learning within their communities. Additionally, the Center’s Model Schools Conference, which brings together 5,000 educators annually, will become a milestone event for AASA’s educational leadership initiative, AASA Learning 2025.

Savvas Learning Company, a next-generation K-12 learning solutions leader, is proud to introduce Experience Math, a brand-new, K-8 student-centered program that engages students through exploration and a hands-on learning approach while also supporting teachers with high-value, in-the-moment professional learning to create collaborative classrooms. Developed by Marian Small, Ed.D., an internationally renowned mathematics educator and author, Experience Math provides teachers with resources for intentional teaching and informed decision-making to help them become better practitioners. The new program also focuses on deepening students’ understanding of math concepts by encouraging them to be active mathematical thinkers and problem-solvers.

WBA fourth quarter sales increased 9.2 percent from the year-ago quarter to $35.4 billion, an increase of 8.3 percent on a constant currency basis, reflecting sales growth in the U.S. Retail Pharmacy and International segments, and sales contribution from the U.S. Healthcare segment. Fourth quarter operating loss was $450 million compared to an operating loss of $822 million in the year-ago quarter. Net loss in the fourth quarter was $180 million compared to a net loss of $415 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily driven by a lower operating loss.

To assist customers with their preparations for the upcoming busy holiday shopping and shipping season, the U.S. Postal Service is providing 2023 holiday shipping and mailing deadlines. The information below covers domestic, international and military shipping destinations to allow for the timely delivery of cards, letters and packages by Dec. 25th. The Postal Service has announced it will not have a peak, or demand, surcharge this holiday season, offering increased predictability in pricing for customers. As always, the Postal Service offers simple, upfront pricing year-round with no additional fees for residential area delivery, for Saturday delivery, no fuel surcharges and no volume minimums. The Postal Service continues to be the most affordable way to mail and ship this holiday season.

Wiley announced the departure of Brian Napack as President and Chief Executive Officer and the appointment of Matthew Kissner as Interim CEO, effective immediately. Mr. Kissner previously served as Wiley’s Group Executive and Board Chair, as well as Interim CEO from May to December 2017. Wiley will be rescheduling its planned October 12 Investor Day for a later date to be determined. In June, Mr. Napack and Wiley’s executive leadership announced a value creation plan that includes intensifying focus on Wiley’s strongest and most profitable businesses, divesting non-core assets, and rightsizing and streamlining the Company. Mr. Kissner will leverage his in-depth knowledge of Wiley’s operations and his professional experience to execute this plan and ensure a smooth transition. As previously disclosed, Fiscal 2024 is a transition year for the Company with the benefits of the value creation plan expected to be realized in fiscal year 2025 and 2026.

The United States Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) of mailing services price changes to take effect Jan. 21, 2024. The new rates include a 2-cent increase in the price of a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, from 66 cents to 68 cents. The proposed adjustments, approved by the governors of the Postal Service, would raise mailing services product prices approximately 2 percent. As inflationary pressures on operating expenses continue and the effects of a previously defective pricing model are still being felt, these price adjustments are needed to provide the Postal Service with much needed revenue to achieve the financial stability sought by its Delivering for America 10-year plan. The prices of the Postal Service remain among the most affordable in the world.

Unit sales of print books fell 4.1% in the first nine months of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. A weak third quarter, in which sales dropped 6.7%, accelerated the decline; for the first half of 2023, sales were down 2.7%. Sales in every major category fell, with the most notable development being the third-quarter swoon in adult fiction, where sales dropped 7.6%, leaving it 0.2% below the first nine months of 2022. (To be fair, adult fiction sales in last year’s third quarter had jumped 38.5% over the third quarter of 2021.) Graphic novels, which posted huge gains in 2021 and 2022, continued to see sales slide in 2023, with units down 24.3% in the nine-month period. Even with the big decline, graphic novels was the third-biggest adult fiction subcategory, trailing only general fiction and romance. Despite cooling in the summer, the romance genre was up 16.5% over the first nine months of 2022.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 29, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 86.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

Adobe released its online shopping forecast for the 2023 holiday season, covering the period from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2023. Based on Adobe Analytics data, the analysis provides the most comprehensive view into U.S. e-commerce by analyzing commerce transactions online, covering over 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, 100 million SKUs and 18 product categories. Adobe Analytics is part of Adobe Experience Cloud, relied upon by over 85% of the top 100 internet retailers in the U.S.* to deliver, measure and personalize shopping experiences online. Adobe expects U.S. online holiday sales to hit $221.8 billion this holiday shopping season (Nov. 1 to Dec. 31), representing 4.8% growth year-over-year (YoY). In the 2022 season, shoppers spent $211.7 billion online, and saw 3.5% YoY growth.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $22.75 billion for the retail month of September, the five weeks ended October 1, 2023, an increase of 6.0 percent from $21.46 billion last year. The five-week period this year included the last week of the 53-week fiscal year 2023 ended September 3, 2023.

The economy is top of mind for most people right now, with new numbers flashing in front of our eyes every day, with differing opinions on what they mean and how they will impact us. Even more important — how will these numbers impact your printing business, specifically? It’s not enough to look at the broad economic picture, you need to know how it affects our industry. According to the PRINTING United Alliance annual State of the Industry Report, sponsored by Canon U.S.A. Inc., published in June 2023, the picture isn’t fantastic, but it’s not quite as bad an outlook at it could be.

Learning technology company HMH today announced its successful achievement of ISO 27001 certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS). This certification underscores HMH’s unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of information security and safeguarding the confidential data of its customers and stakeholders. ISO 27001 is an internationally recognized standard that sets forth requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an ISMS within the context of an organization's overall business risks. This certification demonstrates HMH’s dedication to mitigating risks and protecting sensitive information.

Macy's, Inc. announced an accelerated expansion of its small-format store strategy, potentially tripling the total number of its small-format stores through fall 2025. Beginning in 2024, up to 30 new Macy’s small-format locations will open across the country. This expansion is in addition to the nearly 15 small-format Macy’s and Bloomie’s locations that Macy’s, Inc. currently operates. Paired with a premier digital experience, these small-format stores enhance the company’s store portfolio with a mix of the best on- and off-mall locations, to deliver a seamless shopping experience across channels.

Faced a growing number of different state privacy laws, the Association of National Advertisers and 4A's on Monday launched a new initiative that aims to persuade federal lawmakers to pass a national data law that would override state laws. “We have spent years waiting for the federal government to do something,” Marla Kaplowitz, president and CEO of the 4A’s told MediaPost Monday. “We worry that that if we don't get to federal data privacy legislation, we're in big trouble,” she added. The new Responsible Privacy in Advertising Initiative expects to also update an industry self-regulatory code by the first quarter of 2024. The ad groups plan to then seek widespread compliance with the new code, and will likely argue to Congress that a federal privacy law should allow advertisers to harness data in ways permitted by the updated code.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 22, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 86.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

Remember when Banned Books Week used to be billed as a “celebration” of the freedom to read? This year, Banned Books Week (running October 1–7) will once again be more like a call to arms, as new surveys and reports show that a well-organized political movement is continuing to drive record numbers of book bans across the nation. For more than 40 years, the ALA’s Banned Books Week has spotlighted attempts to censor books in libraries and schools, uniting librarians, booksellers, publishers, and readers in support of free expression. Reading advocate, writer, and actor LeVar Burton is leading this year’s Banned Books Week as honorary chair.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the 17-week fourth quarter and the 53-week fiscal year ended September 3, 2023. Net sales for the 17-week fourth quarter were $77.43 billion, an increase of 9.4 percent from $70.76 billion in the 16-week fourth quarter last year. Net sales for the 53-week fiscal year were $237.71 billion, an increase of 6.7 percent from $222.73 billion in the 52-week fiscal year of 2022. Net income for the 17-week fourth quarter was $2.160 billion, $4.86 per diluted share, compared to $1.868 billion, $4.20 per diluted share, in the 16-week fourth quarter last year. Net income for the 53-week fiscal year was $6.292 billion, $14.16 per diluted share, compared to $5.844 billion, $13.14 per diluted share, in the 52-week prior year.

The Federal Trade Commission, supported by 17 state attorneys general, finally filed its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Amazon yesterday. In a 172-page complaint, the government alleged that the e-tailer “uses a set of interlocking anticompetitive and unfair strategies to illegally maintain its monopoly power.” The use of that power, the government continued, allows Amazon “to stop rivals and sellers from lowering prices, degrade quality for shoppers, overcharge sellers, stifle innovation, and prevent rivals from fairly competing against Amazon.” The immediate industry reaction to the news of the suit was uniform: “What took so long?” Or, in the words of Melville House publisher Dennis Johnson, that it was “about fucking time.” An industry lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous, gave a more nuanced view in wondering why it took the government so long to act, pointing to the infamous buy button case in 2010, when Amazon pulled Macmillan’s buy buttons in a dispute over e-book terms.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 15, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 86.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

A new report from Wiley (NYSE: WLY) suggests that generative artificial intelligence (AI) is already being used in the majority of college classrooms—and that number could climb quickly. The majority (58%) of college instructors who responded to Wiley’s recent survey say they or their students are already using generative AI in their classrooms, according to the company’s new report, Higher Ed’s Next Chapter, 2023-2024. And another third of those who aren’t say they’d consider using it in the future. More than 60% of instructors are somewhat or very familiar with generative AI tools. “The whirlwind that is generative AI has swept across our college campuses with remarkable speed, and there’s no going back,” said Smita Bakshi, senior vice president of academic learning at Wiley. “It’s important for college instructors to educate themselves and their students on effective and appropriate use of this new technology in the classroom.”

In a new report released this week, PEN America found 3,362 instances of books banned in public schools in the 2022-23 school year, marking a 33% increase over last year. And in an eyeopening finding, PEN officials found more than 40% percent of all book bans tracked by PEN America occurred in school districts in Florida—1,406 across 33 school districts across the state—with Texas a distant second (625), followed by Missouri (333), Utah (281), and Pennsylvania (186). "Amid a growing climate of censorship, school book bans continue to spread through coordinated campaigns by a vocal minority of groups and individual actors and, increasingly, as a result of pressure from state legislation," the report, Banned in the USA: The Mounting Pressure to Censor, finds.

The Book Manufacturers’ Institute (BMI) hosted its industry event, Book Manufacturing Mastered, on Thursday September 14, 2023 at the Penguin Random House offices in New York City. The 2022 version was held in Chicago, with the first iteration being held in February 2020 in New York City just prior to the pandemic. Book Manufacturing Mastered 2023 was the largest yet, with over 155 registrants, almost half being publishers. The day was kicked off with an industry overview given by Marco Boer of I.T. Strategies. The morning also featured two panels, one of publishers and one of book manufacturers, that each gave their perspectives on what has changed in the industry of late, and what still needs to change for everyone to be successful. After a networking lunch, attendees participated in roundtable discussions about what their biggest challenges currently are, while brainstorming possible solutions. The day was wrapped up with a keynote by Jaime Marco of Evolve the Business and a closing reception featuring tabletop displays by BMI member printers and suppliers.

"Our 2022 peak season was a tremendous success," said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “We are ready to deliver for the holidays in a superior and routine manner. We have been planning early and leveraging investments in our people, infrastructure, transportation and technology made possible by the Delivering for America plan. And with no holiday surcharges, we are strongly positioned to be America’s most affordable delivery provider this holiday season.” In 2022, the Postal Service processed more than 11.7 billion mailpieces and packages during the holiday season. On average, it took just 2.5 days to deliver a mailpiece or package to its intended destination. The Postal Service also announced it will not levy any additional surcharges for customers this holiday season, offering increased predictability in pricing for customers.

Total revenues across all categories for July 2023 were down 10.9% as compared to July 2022, coming in at $902.6 million. Year-to-date revenues were down 0.9%, at $6.5 billion for the first seven months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) revenues were down 5.9% in July, coming in at $599.1 million. In terms of physical paper format revenues during the month of July, in the Trade (Consumer Books) category, Hardback revenues were down 1.6%, coming in at $165.8 million; Paperbacks were down 11.9%, with $232.1 million in revenue; Mass Market was down 31.3% to $10.2 million; and Special Bindings were down 3.5%, with $16.0 million in revenue.

Judge Alan D. Albright of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, issued a written order granting a Preliminary Injunction barring the implementation of a vast and burdensome book ratings regime known as the “Reader Act,” ruling “that this law violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.” The law would have required independent bookstores, national chain bookstores, large online book retailers, book publishers and other vendors to review and rate millions of books and other library materials according to sexual content if those books are sold to school libraries, and to do so according to vague labels dictated by the state without any process for judicial review.

Duluth Trading Company has implemented the Manhattan Active Warehouse Management platform at its new distribution and fulfillment facility in Adairsville, Ga. Officially open as of Monday Sept. 18, 2023, the retailer plans to use this automated supply chain hub to serve its 65 retail stores and e-commerce business. The retailer invested $53 million to build the facility and selected Manhattan Active Warehouse Management to drive, optimize and modernize its distribution operations. Duluth Trading Company seeks to enhance the efficiency of its fulfillment operations and handle increased order volumes while reducing turnaround times.

Dear Industry Member: It's not too late to sign up and take part in ACMA's upcoming series of legislative meetings with Members of Congress on Capitol Hill on Oct. 4-5, 2023. Our industry is facing multiple threats across postal, tax, consumer privacy, and trade policy matters. ACMA has an aggressive plan to push back on this but it requires companies to engage with Congressional offices to educate and build support for our positions. Otherwise, the excessive cost and regulatory burdens will only continue. Given the current appetite for bill passage in Congress and in light of an election year on the horizon, our goal is to get these voted out of committee with a large number of cosponsors, then for several large pieces of moving legislation to serve as vehicles to secure passage. Specifically, from now through the end of the year, Congress will be working on such must-pass legislation, including bills to provide government funding, appropriations, and most likely a tax-extenders package. Pulling together a sizable group to meet with Members of Congress in early October will impact the outcome for our collective advantage. Your time out of the office will be minimal. Non-member companies are welcome and encouraged to participate. Click read more below for the agenda and more.

The Paper Receipts Converting Association (PRCA) is pleased to announce that California Bill AB 1347, which proposed stringent regulations on the use of paper receipts in the state, failed to move past Senate Appropriations last week. A victory for consumers and industry alike, the bill will not move forward in the state’s 2023-24 legislative session. Upon AB 1347’s introduction earlier this year, PRCA quickly began to communicate the value of paper receipts to lawmakers in California, working closely with other groups such as the American Forest and Paper Association, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Retail Council, and local community groups like the Imperial Valley Food Bank and Long Beach’s Su Casa. As the bill aimed to limit the use of paper receipts in the state, PRCA championed not only the consumers who prefer tangible paper records, but also those who depend on them.

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 8, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 86.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Highlights *Adobe achieved revenue of $4.89 billion in its third quarter of fiscal year 2023, which represents 10 percent year-over-year growth or 13 percent in constant currency. *GAAP operating income in the third quarter was $1.70 billion. GAAP net income was $1.40 billion. *Cash flows from operations were $1.87 billion. *Remaining Performance Obligations (“RPO”) exiting the quarter were $15.72 billion. *Adobe repurchased approximately 2.1 million shares during the quarter.

HarperCollins Publishers announced several executive-level personnel changes. Suzanne Murphy, President and Publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, will be leaving the company to pursue other interests. Liate Stehlik has been promoted to President and Publisher, Morrow Group and HarperCollins Children’s Books, adding the Children’s division to her purview. Dan Schwartz has been promoted to EVP, CFO and Head of North American Operations. Matt Bennett, Global Chief Information Officer, has been appointed to the company’s global executive committee, now reporting to Schwartz. Zandra Magariño, SVP, Chief People Officer, will expand her role to include oversight of real estate, as well as employee health, safety, and security. Brian Murray, President and CEO, HarperCollins Publishers, said, “Earlier this year, we launched a transformation effort to identify new ways to work smarter and more efficiently across North America and globally. To that end, we are clarifying and consolidating our executive leadership team. This new structure will allow us to implement key publishing, systems, and operational changes to confront current challenges and seize existing opportunities in our rapidly evolving industry.”

I appreciate the Governors’ approval of a budget but am disappointed that they declined to fund the Commission’s modest request of $22.6 million, less than .03 percent of Postal Service revenues. Most importantly, this process raised red flags about potential risks to the Commission’s independence. The Governors did acknowledge that the Commission’s total FY 2024 costs are $27.2 million. I thank the Governors for recognizing this, as it is important for the Commission’s trajectory. While the $27.2 million cited by the Governors is $1.5 million less than the Commission’s projected costs, this amount must serve as a baseline for FY 2025 and longer-term budgets funded by the Postal Service to avoid degrading the Commission’s capacity, eliminating positions in the understaffed agency, and stopping long overdue technology upgrades.

Savvas Learning Company is excited to announce new and enhanced math and reading solutions that engage and inspire students to learn, while giving educators the evidence-based instructional resources they need to accelerate learning and help all students achieve. “At Savvas, we are committed to empowering educators with the highest-quality instructional materials and effective teaching strategies to increase student achievement,” said Bethlam Forsa, CEO of Savvas Learning Company. “Long committed to developing evidence-based, student-centered learning solutions, Savvas this year is delivering new math and reading programs that continue to give educators what they need to help all students succeed.” Savvas solutions focus on putting the student at the center of learning. The company’s award-winning blended programs — delivered digitally on its innovative Savvas Realize platform and visually through engaging print resources — feature real-world learning experiences designed to increase student engagement along with high-quality instructional materials to accelerate academic outcomes.

The United States Postal Service Board of Governors today announced its unanimous approval of an adjusted Fiscal Year 2024 budget for the Postal Regulatory Commission. The approved budget of $21.124 million, when combined with the PRC’s other resources, results in a spending plan for FY 2024 totaling $27.202 million. While less than PRC’s FY 2024 budget request, the approved spending plan is a 28.2 percent increase over the PRC’s estimated spending in FY2023, and a 47.4 percent increase over the PRC’s actual expenses in FY 2022. “The Governors of the United States Postal Service recognize and respect that Congress has created the PRC as an independent entity with specific regulatory responsibilities over the Postal Service, and that it needs to have the resources to effectively perform those responsibilities,” said Roman Martinez IV, Chair of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service.

Adobe announced the latest online inflation data from the Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI), powered by Adobe Analytics. Online prices in August 2023 fell 3.2% year-over-year (YoY), hitting a 40-month low—and marking a full year (12 consecutive months) of YoY price decreases. Online prices fell for over half of Adobe’s tracked categories (11 of 18) on an annual basis. On a month-over-month (MoM) basis, online prices rose 0.4% in August following the Prime Day event in July, now an industrywide e-commerce moment with heavy discounting across different retailers. August’s YoY price decline was driven by notable drops in categories such as sporting goods (down 7% YoY, down 1.4% MoM), appliances (down 7.3% YoY, up 1.3% MoM) and home/garden (down 6.8% YoY, up 0.2% MoM). Electronics saw a steeper decline, falling 11.6% YoY (down 0.8% MoM), as well as computers which fell 14.2% YoY (down 1% MoM).

FY23 fourth quarter service performance scores covering July 1 through September 1, included: *First-Class Mail: 91.5 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.1 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter. *Marketing Mail: 95.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fiscal third quarter. *Periodicals: 86.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the fiscal third quarter.

Country Media, Inc., an Oregon-based publisher, has acquired three Oregon properties from News Media Corp., of Rochelle, Illinois: the Newport News Times, the Cottage Grove Sentinel and the Siuslaw News, along with their websites, digital products, and specialty publications, The Cottage Grove Sentinel reports. The sale, terms of which were not disclosed, was effective Sept. 1. News Media Corp. is the family run publishing company founded by John C. Tompkins in 1975. It has owned up to 75 newspapers and digital companies in nine states, The Cottage Grove Sentinel adds.

Schools minister Lotta Edholm moves students off digital devices and on to books and handwriting, with teachers and experts debating the pros and cons. Since young children went back to school across Sweden recently, many of their teachers have been putting a new emphasis on printed books, quiet reading time and handwriting practice, and devoting less time to tablets, independent online research and keyboarding skills. The return to more traditional ways of learning is a response to politicians and experts questioning whether Sweden’s hyper-digitalised approach to education, including the introduction of tablets in nursery schools, had led to a decline in basic skills.

Times Media Group has continued on its acquisition track, taking over Acorn Newspapers, a publisher of five brands serving more than 340,000 readers in Western Los Angeles and Eastern Ventura Counties. Terms were not disclosed. Included in the purchase are the weeklies The Acorn serving Agoura Hills, Moorpark Acorn, Simi Valley Acorn, Camarillo Acorn and Thousand Oaks Acorn, along with companion publications and websites. Last month, Times Media Group acquired Picket Fence Media, publisher of San Clemente Times and other Southern California titles. The company has more than 40 publications in Arizona and Southern California.

*GAAP Results: Revenue of $451 million (-7%), Operating loss of -$16 million (+4%), and EPS loss of -$1.67 (-$1.35). GAAP earnings impacted by impairment charges totalling $103 million, including non-cash goodwill and assets held-for-sale impairment and loss on sale of a business. “Our Q1 performance was as expected as we continue to execute on our plans and position Wiley for the future,” said Brian Napack, President and CEO. “While Research was down due to an unusual publishing pause in the second half of last year, we are seeing underlying strength and momentum returning, including growing article volumes, higher journal impact scores, and new partner signings. We are making steady progress on our transition and recently streamlined Wiley into one focused, market-facing team to better leverage our collective strength and drive operating leverage.”