S&P Global Ratings has suspended commercial operations in Russia. The safety and well-being of our people come first, and we continue to support them. We will also maintain analytical coverage for existing ratings from outside Russia. We have in place a comprehensive business continuity plan to ensure our ongoing ability to deliver our data and opinions to market participants while maintaining our adherence to our legal and regulatory obligations. This report does not constitute a rating action.

Our hearts are with all those directly and indirectly impacted by the tragic events in Ukraine. With a reported 2 million people fleeing the violence and suffering in the region—most of whom are women and children with little more than the clothes on their backs—Gap Inc.’s brands will make a collective in-kind donation of more than $1 million worth of women and children's clothes to the UNHCR for communities in need. We are also encouraging employees to contribute company-matched donations to USA for UNHCR, CARE and the International Rescue Committee. As a values-led company, one that is proud to do the right thing over the past 53 years in business, at this time, we have also suspended deliveries to Russia, where we have a small franchise presence. We also have a handful of franchise locations in the Ukraine, which are currently closed, and we are working through our partner to account for the safety of those employees.

I'm excited to report the Senate passed the Postal Service Reform Act tonight, with a strong bipartisan vote of 79-19. The legislation marks the most significant overhaul to the USPS' operations since the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), signed in 2006. The Postal Service Reform Act now heads to the desk of President Biden, who has previously indicated he will sign it. On behalf of ACMA, I would like to thank our members and others for your continuous advocacy and engagement efforts both in the House and Senate. At this critical juncture in Washington, the legislation would not have passed but for engagement from the industry and stakeholders. We worked diligently with other industry groups to engage you and others in the mailing community and you stepped up. Here are some highlights of the bill: • ends the requirement (from PAEA) that the Postal Service prefund retiree health care expenses and requires postal retirees to enroll in Medicare; • retains six-day delivery for mail and packages; and • requires the Postal Service to develop a service performance dashboard

The U.S. Postal Service congratulated the leadership and members of the U.S. Senate for its bipartisan approval of the Postal Service Reform Act. The bill, which was approved by the House on Feb. 8, now goes to the White House to be signed into law by President Biden. “With the legislative financial reforms achieved today, combined with our own self-led operational reforms, we will be able to self-fund our operations and continue to deliver to 161 million addresses six days per-week for many decades to come,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “I thank the Senate and our Committee leadership that broke the 10-year logjam which has long constrained the finances of the Postal Service. The Postal Service serves every American every day and so it’s only right that our future is now collectively assured by members of all political parties.” As passed by the House and Senate, the key elements of the Postal Service Reform Act are that it eliminates the unfair, outdated, and burdensome retiree health benefit prefunding requirement, and it integrates our retiree health benefit program with Medicare in a manner that is fully consistent with private sector best practices. The bill also formalizes our obligation to deliver mail and packages six days per-week through an integrated delivery network, and includes accountability, transparency and reporting requirements.

The Postal Regulatory Commission is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding and support through the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) to invest in mission-critical information technology infrastructure optimization initiatives. The Commission will use the TMF award to adopt a cloud-based applications system and develop three critical platforms that are essential to its role as the regulator of the U.S Postal Service. Specifically, the Commission will invest in 1) a new user-friendly public-facing website, 2) a replacement of its legacy docketing system, and 3) the development and deployment of a comprehensive data management system. Complementing these initiatives, the Commission recently hired its first chief data officer to lead data governance and open data efforts. The TMF investment will accelerate the agency’s ability to deploy and scale these important projects to meet its mission of ensuring the transparency and accountability of the Postal Service to the American public.

The Great Lakes Graphics urges all industry members to read this message, act, and share with your industry network. These programs are critical to the future of the printing industry. The undergraduate Graphic Communications (GCOM) program at the University of Wisconsin-Stout prepares students for careers in the graphic communications industry. The hands-on major and minor cover the fundamentals of print production, including pre-press/premedia; color management; offset, digital, flexo and gravure print technologies; post-press/finishing processes; project management and estimating; marketing techniques; and business practices. UW-Stout campus leaders recently have announced the suspension of new admissions to the GCOM program for incoming freshmen effective Fall 2022. The GCOM program website now states the following: Admission to this program is suspended effective Fall 2022. A group of industry professionals, faculty and higher education consultants are working on revising the current curriculum to meet the printing industry needs. Courses for currently enrolled students who are pursuing a GCOM major or minor will continue to be offered.

THIRD QUARTER SUMMARY: GAAP Results: Revenue of $516 million (+7%), Operating Income of $46 million (+34%), and EPS of $0.63 (+62%) NINE MONTHS SUMMARY: GAAP Results: Revenue of $1,537 million (+9%), Operating Income of $161 million (+20%), EPS of $1.86 (-2%), Cash Provided by Operating Activities of $158 million (+2%)

Consistent with the rest of the shipping industry, USPS experienced delays in both ground and air transportation during the month of February due to inclement weather events including winter storms in the Midwest, South and Northeast regions. The Postal Service continues to implement mitigation plans to move mail and packages effectively across the nation. Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Feb. 25 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.6 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.5 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of .8 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of .5 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter.

Kohl’s Corporation will host a virtual Investor Day during which it will provide an update on the Company’s strategy to drive growth and become the retailer of choice for the Active and Casual lifestyle. Kohl’s will also announce an updated long-term financial framework. “Kohl's is undergoing a significant transformation of our business model and brand to be the retailer of choice for the Active and Casual lifestyle. We have fundamentally restructured our business to drive sustainable and profitable growth, while providing a strong return to shareholders,” said Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief executive officer. “We have laid the foundation for our winning strategy and have started to implement key initiatives that will scale and accelerate our growth in the years ahead. We delivered record EPS in 2021 and achieved our operating margin goal two years ahead of schedule, reflecting our progress to drive more profitable growth. The initiatives we are announcing today, including plans to drive the Sephora business to $2 billion, are further positioning us for long-term value creation.”

All timber originating from Russia and Belarus is ‘conflict timber’ and therefore cannot be used in PEFC-certified products, the Board of PEFC International clarified today. PEFC is extremely concerned about the Russian government's attack on Ukraine. The military invasion is in direct opposition to our core values. This aggression causes unspeakable and unacceptable pain and death to innocent people, including women and children. It also has an immediate and long-term destructive impact on the environment, on forests, and on the many people that depend on forests for their livelihoods. The clarification that timber from Russia and Belarus is conflict timber follows an extraordinary meeting by the PEFC International Board to discuss Mr Putin's military aggression against Ukraine and its implications for PEFC and PEFC-certified forest owners and companies.

Net sales for the quarter increased 16.1 percent, to $50.94 billion, from $43.89 billion last year. Net sales for the first 24 weeks increased 16.4 percent, to $100.35 billion, from $86.23 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $1,299 million, $2.92 per diluted share. Last year’s second quarter net income was $951 million, $2.14 per diluted share, which included $246 million pretax, $0.41 per diluted share, in costs incurred primarily from COVID-19 premium wages. Net income for the first 24 weeks was $2.62 billion, or $5.90 per diluted share, compared to $2.12 billion, $4.76 per diluted share, last year. For the four-week reporting month of February, ended February 27, 2022, the Company reported net sales of $16.29 billion, an increase of 15.9 percent from $14.05 billion last year.

*Fourth quarter 2021 net sales of $4.5 billion increased 2% year-over-year and were down 3% compared to 2019; Comparable sales were up 3% year-over-year and increased 3% versus 2019 *Fiscal year 2021 net sales of $16.7 billion increased 21% year-over-year and were up 2% compared to fiscal year 2019; Comparable sales were up 6% year-over-year and increased 8% versus 2019 *Returned over $400 million to shareholders in fiscal 2021 through dividend program and share repurchase plan

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net income of $41 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.41 for the three months ended January 31, 2022. For the year ended January 31, 2022, net income was $311 million and earnings per diluted share were a record $3.13. Total Company net sales for the three months ended January 31, 2022, were a record $1.33 billion. Net sales increased 13.9% compared to the three months ended January 31, 2020. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 14%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales primarily due to reduced store traffic. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 49% at the Free People Group, 14% at the Anthropologie Group and 3% at Urban Outfitters. Total Retail segment net sales increased 15%. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 22% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers. Nuuly segment net sales increased by $11.3 million driven by the continued expansion of the number of subscribers since its launch at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2020. For the year ended January 31, 2022, total Company net sales increased 14.2% compared to the year ended January 31, 2020.

Nordstrom, Inc. reported fourth quarter results in line with the Company's fiscal year 2021 outlook, demonstrating progress against its long-term growth strategy. The Company reported net earnings of $200 million, or $1.23 per diluted share ("EPS"), and earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") of $299 million, or 6.8 percent of sales, for the fourth quarter. For the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022, net earnings were $178 million and diluted EPS was $1.10, with EBIT of $492 million, or 3.4 percent of sales. Net earnings for the fiscal year included an $88 million debt refinancing charge ($65 million after tax, or diluted EPS of $0.40) in the first quarter. For the fourth quarter ended January 29, 2022, net sales increased 23 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2020 and decreased 1 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2019. Gross merchandise value ("GMV") increased 24 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2020 and was flat versus the same period in fiscal 2019. Nordstrom banner net sales were flat and GMV increased 2 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. Net sales for Nordstrom Rack decreased 5 percent versus the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, a sequential improvement of 320 basis points over the third quarter.

•Fourth quarter and full year operating margin of 8.4% and 9.2% on a reported basis, respectively, and 8.6% and 9.6% on an adjusted non-GAAP basis, the highest in over a decade. •Fourth quarter and full year net income per diluted share of $1.12 and $4.20, respectively on a reported basis and $1.14 and $4.35, respectively on an adjusted non-GAAP basis. •Repurchased $142 million, or 4.1 million shares in the fourth quarter for a total of $377 million, or 10.2 million shares in Fiscal 2021; contributing to a 15% reduction in shares outstanding from Fiscal 2020.

*Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share of $2.20 exceeds expectations *Record full year 2021 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $7.33, eclipsing previous high of $5.60 in 2018 *Repurchased $548 million of shares in the quarter and $1.355 billion of shares in 2021 *Expects full year 2022 ne t sales to increase 2% to 3% as compared to 2021, operating margin to be in the range of 7.2% to 7.5% and earnings per share to be in the range of $7.00 to $7.50 *Increasing the quarterly dividend by 100%, which equates to an annual dividend of $2.00 per share, and planning to repurchase at least $1.0 billion in shares in 2022, of which $500 million is expected to be repurchased through open market transactions or an accelerated share repurchase (ASR) program executed in Q2 2022

YETI Holdings, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million (exclusive of fees and commissions) of YETI’s common stock. This share repurchase program is effective immediately and extends through February 27, 2023. Matt Reintjes, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We remain confident in driving near and long-term demand for the YETI brand while also focused on efforts to drive shareholder value. Given recent market dynamics, we believe our shares are undervalued and this share buyback provides the ability to take advantage of the current valuation. At the same time, we have the financial flexibility to pursue both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.”

News Corp announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) and related assets, including the Coal, Mining and Metals business from S&P Global and IHS Markit. OPIS, a highly profitable and growing digital data, analytics and insights provider, will join Dow Jones’ professional information business, expanding Dow Jones’ presence in the energy, commodities and renewables markets. News Corp acquired OPIS for $1.150 billion in a cash transaction, subject to customary adjustments (and expects to receive an estimated tax benefit of $180 million as part of the transaction1). News Corp also has an agreement to acquire the Base Chemicals business from S&P Global and IHS Markit; that acquisition is expected to close in the coming months.

Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Feb. 18 included: *First-Class Mail: 86 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3.1 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 79.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.4 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter.

If the early days of 2022 have been any indication, paper shortages and rising distribution costs are challenges that the industry will likely face throughout year. The seeds of the current problems were sown in the years of the pandemic, when sales of print books unexpectedly rose, increasing demand while people were leaving manufacturing jobs in droves that led to labor shortages in the printing and papermaking businesses. Those were two of the main takeaways from last week’s webinar, “The Powerful Case for U.S. Book Manufacturing in the Face of Global Supply Chain Challenges, Paper Shortages, and Rising Distribution Costs,” moderated by Chris Lyons, president and publisher of Book Business, and featuring Jim Milliot, editorial director at Publishers Weekly; Bill Rojack, v-p of Midland Paper; and Matt Baehr, executive director at Book Manufacturers’ Institute. The program was sponsored by Canon Solutions America.

It seems businesses are finally bouncing back after the past two years of the pandemic. However, even though business is picking up, there is one glaring issue: The availability of paper stocks has become limited and unpredictable, and as a result the price of paper stock is inevitably increasing. Supply chain issues have been throwing curveballs at various manufacturing segments, and the printing industry is no exception. The availability of paper stocks has become slim as raw material costs rise, mills enact allocations and price increases, and labor shortages continue. So, are we doomed? Not even close. During an hour-long Printing Impressions and In-plant Impressions webinar, Marco Boer VP of I.T. Strategies and President of Midland Specialty Paper & Film Mike Ratcliff discussed the reasons for printing paper supply shortages, the steps printing companies can take to address the limitations head-on, and what print providers can expect in the future of the paper supply chain.

Statutory results • Sales increased 1% to £3,428m (2020: £3,397m), reflecting underlying performance, portfolio changes and currency movements. • Statutory operating profit was £183m (2020: £411m). The decrease in 2021 is mainly due to the gain on sale of PRH recognised in 2020 and restructuring costs in 2021 partially offset by improved trading profits, reduced intangible charges and gains on the 2021 business disposals. • Net cash generated from operations of £570m (2020: £450m). • Statutory earnings per share of 21.1p (2020: 41.0p).

The U.S. Postal Service announced it has completed its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, which, in this instance, evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the Postal Service’s Next Generation Vehicle Delivery (NGDV) program, a fiscally and environmentally responsible plan to modernize the federal government’s largest and oldest vehicle fleet. The Postal Service communicated its completion of the NEPA process in a record of decision (ROD) filed with the Federal Register today. “As we have reiterated throughout this process, our commitment to an electric fleet remains ambitious given the pressing vehicle and safety needs of our aging fleet as well as our fragile financial condition. As our financial position improves with the ongoing implementation of our 10-year plan, Delivering for America, we will continue to pursue the acquisition of additional BEV as additional funding – from either internal or congressional sources - becomes available,” said Postmaster General and USPS Chief Executive Officer Louis DeJoy. “But the process needs to keep moving forward. The men and women of the U.S. Postal Service have waited long enough for safer, cleaner vehicles to fulfill on our universal service obligation to deliver to 161 million addresses in all climates and topographies six days per-week.”

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights: • Total revenues of $826.5 million decreased 5.6% compared to the prior year quarter ◦ Same store revenues(1) decreased 4.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 • Total digital revenues were $272.6 million or 33% of total revenues, up 5.0% over the same period in the prior year on a same store(1) basis • Net loss attributable to Gannett of $22.4 million and margin loss of 2.7% • Cash used for operating activities of $5.9 million and free cash flow(1) usage of $18.2 million

*Fourth Quarter Revenue of $2.0 Billion with GAAP EPS of $0.61; Adjusted EPS of $0.71 *Commitment to Low Cost Model Helped Drive GAAP Operating Income of $31 Million and Adjusted Operating Income of $47 Million in the Fourth Quarter of 2021 *GAAP Operating Income of $234 Million and Adjusted Operating Income of $305 Million for Full Year 2021 *Strategic Initiatives Successes Included Progress on Operational Separation of the Business, Sale of CompuCom, and Further Advancement of Varis Platform and Digital Business Commerce Capabilities *Over $300 Million Committed to Shareholders in 2021 Through Stock Repurchases

The U.S. consumer magazine industry shrunk by more than 30% in the past five years, due largely to print advertising declines, per PwC data. The rate of decline is expected to slow slightly in the next five years, thanks to new efforts from online media companies to acquire and digitize traditional print brands. Why it matters: "If you make the right acquisition in the right vertical ... it can give you real scale that is meaningful and major clout in that vertical very quickly," said Jason Webby, chief revenue officer at Future.

The U.S. Postal Service is launching a set of four new fast delivery solutions, including one specifically aimed at local businesses. Known as USPS Connect, the set of solutions offers several options designed to help meet growing consumer demand for affordable, fast local, regional, and national deliveries and returns. According to the U.S. Postal Service, the solutions leverage ongoing network improvements, new equipment, and new pricing.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with certain affiliates of Veritas Capital, a leading private investment firm, for the acquisition of the Company. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, HMH shareholders will be entitled to receive $21 in cash per share through a tender offer. The per share purchase price represents a 36% premium to the Company’s unaffected share price as of January 13, 2022 and implies an equity value of approximately $2.8 billion. The decision to enter into an agreement with Veritas was the result of a deliberate and thorough strategic review process overseen by HMH’s Board of Directors. As part of that review, the Company held discussions with several potential strategic and financial bidders, including Veritas, through a formal process. Further details of the transaction and background of the sale process will be included in the Company’s Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer.

Fourth Quarter 2021 *Sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were $35.7 billion, an increase of $3.5 billion, or 10.7 percent from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 increased 8.1 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 7.6 percent. *Net earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were $3.4 billion, or $3.21 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $2.9 billion, or $2.65 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2020. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 21.1 percent from the same period in the prior year. Fiscal 2021 *Sales for fiscal 2021 were $151.2 billion, an increase of $19.0 billion, or 14.4 percent, from fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for fiscal 2021 increased 11.4 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 10.7 percent. *Net earnings for fiscal 2021 were $16.4 billion, or $15.53 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $12.9 billion, or $11.94 per diluted share in fiscal 2020. For fiscal year 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 30.1 percent versus last year.

*Comparable sales up 28.3% on an owned basis and up 27.8% on an owned-plus-licensed basis versus Q4 2020; up 6.6% and up 6.1%, respectively, versus Q4 2019 *Digital sales up 12% over Q4 2020, up 36% over Q4 2019 *7.2 million new customers shopped the Macy's brand, an 11% increase over Q4 2019 *Generated $2.7 billion in Operating Cash Flow and $2.3 billion in Free Cash Flow in FY 2021 *New $2 billion share repurchase program authorized after completing current $500 million program and raised quarterly dividend by 5%

Elena Armas self-published The Spanish Love Deception in February 2021. TikTok embraced the fake dating, enemies-to-lovers romance—videos hashtagged #TheSpanishLoveDeception have been viewed 73 million times to date—and in September 2021, Atria signed Armas to a two-book deal. “The slow-burning romance heats up the pages as Armas’s witty, intelligent protagonists reveal their innermost secrets and overcome their past misunderstandings,” our review said. “Rom-com fans will be riveted.” The book debuts at #3 on our trade paperback list; rights have been sold in 23 countries, and the sequel, The American Roommate Experiment, follows in September. Pop culture critic Chuck Klosterman lands at #5 on our hardcover nonfiction list with The Nineties, a “nostalgic look at the waning days of offline culture,” our review said, that “both piques and entertains.” Klosterman characterizes the era as one of ambivalence, but the book’s opening-week sales have been decisively enthusiastic. Latin Grammy Award–winning singer Chiquis Rivera lands at #8 on our hardcover nonfiction list with the memoir Unstoppable. A Spanish edition, Invencible, debuts at #20 on our trade paperback list.

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics showing the average time to deliver a mailpiece across the postal network was 2.7 days in the first five weeks of the fiscal year second quarter. Throughout January, winter storms across the nation created hazardous road conditions and impacted the air transportation network resulting in delays for middle mile mail and package transit. The Postal Service continues to implement mitigation plans to move mail and packages effectively across the nation. Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Feb. 11 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 90.9 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 79.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

For the Twelve Months Ended January 1, 2022 (52 Weeks) Net sales increased 29% to $1,411.0 million, compared to $1,091.7 million in the prior year. *DTC channel net sales increased 35% to $784.7 million, compared to $580.9 million in the prior year period, driven by both Drinkware and Coolers & Equipment. The DTC channel grew to 56% of net sales, compared to 53% in the prior year. *Wholesale channel net sales increased 23% to $626.3 million, compared to $510.9 million in the same period last year, primarily driven by both Drinkware and Coolers & Equipment. *Drinkware net sales increased 32% to $832.4 million, compared to $628.6 million in the prior year period, due to the continued expansion of our Drinkware product offerings, including the introduction of new colorways and sizes, and strong demand for customization. *Coolers & Equipment net sales increased 24% to $551.9 million, compared to $446.6 million in the same period last year. The strong performance was driven by growth in bags, outdoor living products, soft coolers and hard coolers.

The Postal Regulatory Commission (Commission) welcomes Russell Rappel-Schmid as the agency’s first chief data officer to lead its open data and data governance efforts. Mr. Rappel-Schmid joined the agency effective February 14, 2022. Rappel-Schmid will oversee the Commission’s data management and compliance with the OPEN Government Data Act. Most recently, Rappel-Schmid served as the State of Alaska's first chief data officer. In that role, he worked with the State Office of Information Technology and other state departments on the data governance plan for their move to the cloud. He also launched Alaska’s first non-geospatial open data portal, and created data tools to help users better visualize and understand the state’s data. Rappel-Schmid previously served at the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG). He was a member of the USPS OIG’s data analytics team where he worked to identify, access, and effectively use Postal Service data. Rappel-Schmid also worked as an audit manager, overseeing audits of Postal Service costs, pricing, and international mail. Rappel-Schmid started his career using data to drive internal audits while on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Kohl’s announced the list of the 400 stores that will be adding Sephora at Kohl’s shops this year. From Alaska to Maine, the 400 stores will span 36 states, eight of which are brand new homes to Sephora at Kohl’s. The addition of 400 stores brings the Sephora at Kohl’s location total to 600 and puts the partnership on track to meet its 850 store goal by 2023. “We’re thrilled to be bringing Sephora at Kohl’s closer to millions more of our customers nationwide through this 400 store expansion,” said Doug Howe, Kohl’s chief merchandising officer. “The quick and vast rollout of Sephora at Kohl’s is a testament to how much we believe in this partnership and making prestige beauty more accessible to people everywhere. We’re excited to grow and bring this elevated beauty experience to more of Kohl’s existing and new customers this year.”

Global research and education leader Wiley, together with the Big Ten Academic Alliance announced they have reached agreement for a one-year contract extension with an open access option, as a pilot in collective action toward the Big Collection. The Big Ten Academic Alliance is a premier higher education consortium in the U.S. that includes major research institutions in 11 U.S. states. The agreement enables researchers at 13 participating flagship universities and 17 affiliated campuses to publish accepted articles open access in all of Wiley's hybrid open access journals in 2022. The agreement also provides access to all of Wiley’s subscription content across the consortium. The agreement aims to advance the goals of the BTAA Big Collection to move toward a sustainable open scholarship ecosystem.

The European print trade body Intergraf, which the BPIF is a member of, has called for an end to the ongoing strikes at UPM in Finland, which began at the start of the year and are due to continue until at least 12 March following another recent extension. The UPM strikes have greatly aggravated the current lack of paper on European markets and are threatening the supply of printed products. Intergraf said printers’ stocks will not last until the strike has been settled and warned that they will not be able to fulfil orders. It has estimated that, based on member associations feedback, from mid-February, there will be a 40% shortage in the paper needed by European printers. Meanwhile Finat, the European association for the self-adhesive label and narrow web packaging industry, has warned that if strikes continue and label production is not put back on track, there could be serious ramifications for the supply of food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net sales for the three months and year ended January 31, 2022. Total Company net sales for the three months ended January 31, 2022, were a record $1.33 billion. Net sales increased 13.9% compared to the three months ended January 31, 2020. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 14%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales primarily due to reduced store traffic. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 49% at the Free People Group, 14% at the Anthropologie Group and 3% at Urban Outfitters. Total Retail segment net sales increased 15%. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 22% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers. URBN believes that the total Company fourth quarter gross margin could deleverage more than planned primarily due to higher than anticipated inbound transportation costs. For the year ended January 31, 2022, total Company net sales increased 14.2% compared to the year ended January 31, 2020. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 16%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales due to reduced store traffic. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 23% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers.

Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Feb. 4 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 90.9 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 79.5 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter.

Kohl’s Corporation issued the following statement regarding Macellum Advisors GP, LLC’s announcement of its nomination of directors for election to the Kohl’s Board of Directors at the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders: Kohl’s believes Macellum’s effort to take control of the Board is unjustified and counterproductive. Kohl’s appointed two of Macellum’s designees, along with an additional mutually agreed upon designee, to its Board pursuant to the 2021 settlement agreement with Macellum and certain other shareholders. All members of the Kohl’s Board, other than its CEO, are independent. Macellum’s claim that Kohl’s Board is not equipped to evaluate sale opportunities is groundless. The Board designated its Finance Committee, which is comprised entirely of independent directors, was formed pursuant to the settlement with Macellum and includes one of Macellum’s 2021 designees, to lead the review of any expressions of interest. Additionally, the Company and the Board have engaged financial advisors, including Goldman Sachs and PJT Partners, and have asked Goldman Sachs to engage with interested parties. Furthermore, Macellum’s claim to be “disappointed and shocked” by Kohl’s rejection of the previously disclosed expressions of interest is disingenuous. Macellum has on multiple occasions stated publicly that Kohl’s is worth “at least $100 per share.”

Bertelsmann Investments (BI) is acquiring a stake in Ada Health, a leading European start-up in the digital health sector, thus strengthening its commitment to the promising business field of digital health. In 2016, an entrepreneur, a neuroscientist and a doctor founded the start-up Ada Health in Berlin-Kreuzberg with the aim of harnessing artificial intelligence for the early diagnosis of diseases by patients themselves. As a pioneer in the field of digital health, Ada Health developed a medical platform and an app, which is now available in seven languages, that helps people quickly and easily make an initial medical diagnosis based on their symptoms - and has already done so millions of times. Together with other investors, Bertelsmann Investments (BI) is now taking a stake in the successful company. In an extension of the financing round B, which had already brought Ada Health 90 million US dollars in May 2021, BI and the investors Farallon Capital, Red River West are together providing a further 30 million US dollars for the expansion of the business. Ada Health is thus one of the first investments by Bertelsmann Investments in the digital health sector.

Import growth is expected to moderate during the first half of 2022 giving the nation’s congested container ports a much-needed break. Imports at the nation’s ports are expected to grow modestly during the first half of 2022, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hacker Associates. But continued high volumes will keep up the pressure that built as the economy bounced back from the pandemic last year. “We’re not going to see the dramatic growth in imports we saw this time last year, but the fact that volumes aren’t falling is a clear sign of continued consumer demand,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF VP for supply chain and customs policy. Congestion remains on both coasts. The Port of Los Angeles alone has around 40 ships waiting to dock, according to Ben Hackette, founder, Hackett Associates.

Dotdash Meredith is eliminating the print editions of six of the former Meredith Corp.’s most iconic magazines, including InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Eating Well and People en Espanol, according to a report yesterday first published by the Wall Street Journal. The Journal said it obtained an internal memo from Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel in which Vogel told employees that the move would eliminate about 200 jobs, which represent less than 5% of Dotdash Meredith’s total staff. The other magazines being shut down are Health and Parents. “We have said from the beginning, buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites,” Vogel said in the memo. “It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few important brands, print is no longer serving the brand’s core purpose.”

The U.S. Postal Service announced its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021 - Dec. 31, 2021), reporting an adjusted loss of approximately $1.3 billion for the quarter, compared to an adjusted loss of $288 million for the same quarter last year. Adjusted loss excludes non-cash workers' compensation adjustments for the impacts of actuarial revaluation and discount rate changes, which are outside of management's control. On a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles basis, the Postal Service had a net loss of approximately $1.5 billion for the quarter, compared to net income of $318 million for the same quarter last year. The increases in both net loss and adjusted loss were partially driven by inflationary impacts to operating expenses, including rising prices associated with energy and fuel expenses.

Deluxe announced its integration with Q2 Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: QTWO), a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending. Through this integration, Deluxe will offer HR & Payroll Solutions within Q2’s Partner Marketplace Program, enabling financial institutions to seamlessly provide these solutions to their clients, while generating recurring revenue and increasing customer retention. The Q2 Partner Marketplace allows financial service companies to provide applications to their consumer and small business clients. The Deluxe HR & Payroll application offered through the Q2 Marketplace, empowers small businesses to automate payroll, tax payments, hiring and onboarding, time management, benefits administration, and additional HR tools within a single platform for ease of use.

*S&P Global Delivered Very Strong Financial Results in 2021 *4th Quarter Revenue Increased 12% and Full-Year Revenue Increased 11% *Diluted EPS Increased 48% to $2.79 in the 4th Quarter; Increased 29% to $12.51 for the Full Year *Adjusted Diluted EPS Increased 16% to $3.15 in the 4th Quarter; 17% to $13.70 for the Full Year *Recent Growth Investments Resulted in New Product Launches and Expanded Capabilities *Sustainable1 Driving Significant Expansion of ESG Product Offerings *Achieved Considerable Progress on Merger Preparation and Synergy Validation

HH Global has once again been recognized for our efforts in enabling our clients to further their sustainability and ESG goals and lessen their impact on the planet. The Co-operative Group are one of the UK’s largest grocery retailers, and one of our top ten UK clients. Through using the latest technology and assessing the environmental viability of our procurement model, from suppliers to materials, we have been able to successfully innovate the Co-op and subsidiary company Nisa’s sustainability strategies across the board. In 2021, our changes to the production of Nisa’s main marketing leaflet have prevented 175 tonnes of paper from going to waste. We have also standardized these leaflets, by producing them on the same FSC accredited paper used for their magazines and POS material. This means that the paper used across their major marketing channels has been harvested in a responsible and sustainable manner.

Midland, one of North America's largest independent distributors of media for business communications, announced today that industry veteran Robert Rundle has joined the organization as Sr. Product Manager for Graphics and Specialty Media. Robert has over 20 years of experience in the Marketing and Product Management of Offset, Digital and Wide Format Pressure Sensitive Film. “Robert will lead Midland’s efforts to continue to grow our Graphics and Specialty Media product category, including development of new and innovative self-adhesive Specialty Media for offset, digital and wide format inkjet print applications. In today’s challenging print market, these products offer opportunities for printers to offer high value Graphics and Specialty Media solutions to their end user customers. Robert’s expertise in this sector of the market will be an invaluable resource for our customers to leverage”, comments David Field, General Manager of Midland’s Specialty Paper & Film Division.

Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Jan. 28 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.9 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.0 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Periodicals: 79.8 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1 percentage point from the fiscal first quarter.

Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter and First Half Key Financial Highlights: *Revenues in the quarter were $2.72 billion, a 13% increase compared to $2.41 billion in the prior year and the highest quarterly revenue since separation. Revenues in the first half rose 15% year-over-year *Net income in the quarter was $262 million, flat compared to $261 million in the prior year. Net income in the first half rose 72% year-over-year *Total Segment EBITDA in the quarter was $586 million, an 18% increase compared to $497 million in the prior year. Total Segment EBITDA in the first half rose 30% year-over-year

Fourth Quarter 2021 *Net sales increased 9% to $137.4 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $125.6 billion in fourth quarter 2020. Excluding the $1.3 billion unfavorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 10% compared with fourth quarter 2020. *Operating income decreased to $3.5 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with $6.9 billion in fourth quarter 2020. *Net income increased to $14.3 billion in the fourth quarter, or $27.75 per diluted share, compared with $7.2 billion, or $14.09 per diluted share, in fourth quarter 2020. Fourth quarter 2021 net income includes a pre-tax valuation gain of $11.8 billion included in non-operating income from our common stock investment in Rivian Automotive, Inc., which completed an initial public offering in November. Full Year 2021 *Net sales increased 22% to $469.8 billion, compared with $386.1 billion in 2020. Excluding the $3.8 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the year, net sales increased 21% compared with 2020. *Operating income increased to $24.9 billion, compared with operating income of $22.9 billion in 2020. *Net income increased $33.4 billion, or $64.81 per diluted share, compared with net income of $21.3 billion, or $41.83 per diluted share, in 2020.

Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) (“Kohl’s” or the “Company”) today issued the following statement: The Kohl's Board of Directors (the Board) has determined, following a review with its independent financial advisors and upon the recommendation of its Finance Committee, that the valuations indicated in the current expressions of interest which it has received do not adequately reflect the Company’s value in light of its future growth and cash flow generation. The Board is committed to maximizing the long-term value of the Company and will review and pursue opportunities that it believes would credibly lead to value consistent with its performance and future opportunities. The Board has designated its Finance Committee to lead the ongoing review of any expressions of interest. The Finance Committee, which was formed pursuant to the 2021 settlement agreement with Macellum Advisors GP, LLC and other shareholders, is comprised exclusively of independent directors. The Company and the Board have also engaged financial advisors, including Goldman Sachs and PJT Partners, and have asked Goldman Sachs to engage with interested parties.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $15.76 billion for the retail month of January, the four weeks ended January 30, 2022, an increase of 15.5 percent from $13.64 billion last year. Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year occurred on February 1, 11 days earlier this year. The shift favorably impacted January’s Other International and Total Company sales by approximately 4% and 0.5%, respectively. For the twenty-two weeks ended January 30, 2022, the Company reported net sales of $92.10 billion, an increase of 16.4 percent from $79.11 billion last year.

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights: *Delivered sales of $3.4 billion, up 14.2%, and up 16.9% on a daily, constant currency basis *Expanded gross margin by 240 bps to 37.3% *Generated reported and adjusted operating earnings of $417 million and achieved operating margin of 12.4%, up 305 basis points on a reported basis and up 240 basis points on an adjusted basis. 2021 Financial Highlights: *Delivered sales of $13.0 billion, up 10.4%, and up 12.4% on an organic, daily, constant currency basis *Drove U.S. market outgrowth of 100 basis points, 450 basis points on a two-year average *Achieved reported and adjusted operating earnings of $1.5 billion, up 51.8% on a reported basis and up 16.6% on an adjusted basis

The New York Times Company announced fourth quarter 2021 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.41 compared with $.06 in the same period of 2020. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (defined below) was $.43 in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared with $.40 in the fourth quarter of 2020. Operating profit increased to $94.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 from $80.5 million in the same period of 2020 and adjusted operating profit (defined below) increased to $109.3 million from $97.7 million in the prior year, as higher advertising, subscription and other revenues more than offset higher costs.

Readers purchased 825 million copies of print books in the U.S. in 2021—the best-selling year for print books, NPD Bookscan says, since it began tracking data in 2004—and analysts believe young people posting about books on social media played a serious role in those big numbers. The U.S. print book market was up 9% compared to 2020, according to NPD Bookscan, finishing 67 million copies ahead of 2020, and selling 125 million more copies than in 2019. Kristen McLean, executive director and industry analyst at NPD Bookscan, said social media—particularly TikTok users who post about books, known collectively as BookTok—has “definitely been a factor” in surging book sales, along with the pandemic in general, with many of the sales gains coming in Q1 and Q2 before the Covid-19 vaccines were widely available.

Click here (https://security-us.mimecast.com/ttpwp#/checking?key=dG9tLnBhbmtvd0BtaWRsYW5kY28uY29tfHJlcS1lNGUxNTYyN2RiMmY4M2JlYmU4YThmOGQ5MTEyNmNhOA%3D%3D) to review our mailing industry coalition-based letter in support of HR 3076 -The Postal Service Reform Act. We and other organizations and companies who comprise the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service have been asked to support this signifcant and helpful bill. Getting this passed with a clear bipartisan majority in the House will grease the skids in the Senate. Constituent influence is the key to getting this done. We hope to obtain as many signatures from companies and trade associations as possible, demonstrating broad support. The ACMA is signing onto the letter and we urge you to review it, then send a quick reply directly to this email whether you’d like your company’s name added or not. Sorry for the short notice, but please get back to us no later than 10:00 am Eastern Time Tuesday, February 1st. This bill is the product of years of work by ACMA and others. As with much Congress does, it is not perfect, but it is clearly helpful and while we will continue to work for improvements, we cannot let perfect be the enemy of good. This is good as written and we must move quickly as things will soon devolve into election year politics and nothing may be possible. ACMA member or not, if you mail, you should support this bill. Please reach out with any questions, and thank you for taking action!

Gannett Co., Inc. announced that the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program for the repurchase of up to $100 million of the Company’s common stock.“The authorization to buy back up to $100 million of common stock provides the Company with another mechanism to maximize long-term value for our shareholders,” said Michael Reed, Gannett Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We remain confident in our strategy and believe that our current stock price represents a significant discount to the intrinsic value of the company and its operating units. Over the last year we have significantly improved our capital structure and the stock repurchase program announced today provides us with additional flexibility to create long-term value for investors. We remain committed to a disciplined capital allocation strategy, including investments in our strategic priorities, continued debt paydown, and return of capital to our shareholders.

The United States Postal Service reported new delivery performance metrics showing the average time to deliver a mailpiece across the postal network remained stable at 2.7 days between the period Jan. 1 and Jan 21. The Postal Service continues to implement mitigation plans due to recent winter storms to move mail and packages effectively with First-Class Mail performance showing steady signs of improvement over the second week of January. Additional second quarter service performance scores covering Jan.1 through Jan. 21 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.9 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 2.2 percentage points from the fiscal first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1 percentage point 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.

We are delighted to announce that Steve Lister is joining HH Global in the role of Sustainability Director - Global Brands and Retailers. In this newly created role, Steve will report to Kevin Dunckley (Chief Sustainability Officer) and will focus on launching and delivering our Sustainability Consultancy Services to clients. This addition to our growing sustainability and ESG team demonstrates our ongoing commitment to and investment in this core part of our proposition and will further develop our market-leading Innovation with Purpose sustainability program. Steve has been hugely passionate about his focus on sustainability for the last 15 years and brings a wealth of experience in delivering sustainable solutions on diverse projects for brands including Unilever, Heineken, Coca-Cola and Nike.

A strong rebound in sales in the K–12 instructional materials category and solid gains in the trade categories led to a 12.2% increase in publishing sales in 2021 compared to 2020, according to new data from the AAP’s StatShot program. Sales from the 1,369 publishers that report data totaled $15.4 billion last year, up from $13.7 billion in the year before. After falling 19.6% in 2020, sales in the K–12 category jumped 34.6% last year, as states and school districts returned to a more normal buying pattern. Sales in the higher education course materials category recovered from a drop of 4.3% in 2020, though the rebound wasn’t as dramatic as for K–12, rising 2.5% last year.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced today that its Directors have elected Michael Pietsch Chairman of the Board for the 2022-2023 term, and elected Julia Reidhead, Chairman and President of W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., Vice Chairman, AAP Board of Directors. In addition, Blaise R. Simqu, CEO, SAGE Publications, has joined the Board as an appointed Director. “Throughout its history, AAP has been governed by a Board of Directors committed to preserving an independent and innovative publishing industry for the benefit of current and future societies,” commented AAP President and CEO Maria A. Pallante. “With Michael Pietsch and Julia Reidhead assuming pivotal, leadership roles, this organization remains poised to address the numerous and serious public policy challenges that threaten the vitality of publishing across all sectors.

*Total net revenues increased 7.5 percent, or $65.8 million, to $943.0 million, compared with $877.3 million in the prior year period. This revenue growth was on top of the 44.8 percent revenue growth reported in the Company’s 2021 fiscal second quarter. *Net income for the quarter was $88.5 million, or $1.34 per diluted share compared with net income of $113.7 million, or $1.71 per diluted share, in the prior year period, primarily reflecting significant year-over-year cost increases for inbound and outbound shipping, labor, and digital marketing. Adjusted net income1 for the quarter was $88.6 million, or $1.34 per diluted share, compared with adjusted net income1 of $114.2 million, or $1.72 per diluted share, in the prior year period.

The supply of "real" green power in the U.S. is very limited. Nevertheless, the distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, now obtains green power from wind and solar energy. By the end of the year, Arvato Supply Chain Solutions plans to have all its distribution centers worldwide running on green power. Arvato Supply Chain Solutions has switched 100 percent of the energy supply to its distribution center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin/USA, to green electricity from wind and solar power. This saves an average of around 1,500 metric tons of CO2 per year at the location. The consistent use of renewable energies is an important part of the supply chain and e-commerce service provider’s sustainability strategy and is to be implemented at all locations in the global network by the end of 2022.

The Postal Regulatory Commission submitted its FY 2021 Annual Report to the President and Congress. The Commission is required by statute to address information concerning the agency’s operations, including the extent to which regulations are achieving the objectives of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. The Commission’s report must also include an estimate of the costs incurred by the Postal Service to provide certain services that the Postal Service would not otherwise have provided except for the requirements of the law, and further presents an estimate for the value of the postal monopoly. The Commission’s Annual Report also reflects the work it has done throughout the year as it continues to advance its mission to provide transparency and accountability of Postal Service operations. In addition to reviewing and approving planned rate changes for Market Dominant and Competitive products, new product proposals, and formal complaint adjudications, the Commission:

Kohl’s Corporation confirmed that it has received letters expressing interest in acquiring the Company. The Kohl’s Board of Directors will determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Shareholders are not required to take any action at this time. Kohl’s does not intend to further comment publicly on these matters unless it determines it is in the best interests of shareholders to do so.

Unit sales of print books dropped 3% in the week ended Jan. 15, 2022, from the comparable week last year, at outlets that report to NPD BookScan. Nonfiction sales remained soft, and adult nonfiction sales fell 7.8% from the week ended Jan. 16, 2021. Once again, it was softness throughout the category rather than the lack of a big bestseller that fueled the decline. Indeed, the two top titles in the category—Baby Steps Millionaires by Dave Ramsey and Glenn Beck’s The Great Reset—sold about 65,000 copies and 58,000 copies, respectively, easily beating the top title at this time last year: Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, which sold about 33,000 copies in the similar week. Juvenile nonfiction sales fell 11.6% in the week, as all of the category’s largest subcategories had double-digit declines. My Little Golden Book of Betty White by Deborah Hopkinson remained the #1 title, selling almost 12,000 copies. Juvenile fiction sales also fell, dropping 2.9%.

The U.S. ad market has fully recovered from the recession of 2020-21, with full calendar-year spending rising 18% vs. 2020, and 9% vs. 2019, according to a Standard Media Index analysis of the U.S. Ad Market Tracker, a collaboration with MediaPost indexing total U.S. ad spending from the pool of agency holding companies and independent agencies' actual media buys. A separate analysis of month-by-month data by MediaPost, however, reveals that the expansion has been decelerating through year-end 2021 (see related story). As robust as the recovery has been, SMI's analysis indicates it has been far from even across the major media.

From Jan. 1 through Jan. 14, the average time to deliver a mailpiece across the postal network was 2.7 days. Second quarter service performance scores covering the period Jan.1 through Jan. 14 included: *First-Class Mail: 86.6 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the first quarter. *Periodicals: 80.8 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the first quarter.

The recent United Nations global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, brought the world’s leaders together again to try to reach agreement on further commitments to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. High on the agenda was preserving the health of the world’s forests – a critical natural resource for absorbing these emissions. With this heightened international attention on preventing deforestation, primarily in the developing world, now is a good time to remind ourselves that the North American forests that supply the wood fiber for our paper and packaging products are among the most sustainably managed in the world. They are so well-managed, in fact, that our forests continue to be a net absorber of carbon. In the United States, sustainable forest management practices, the regeneration of forest area and modern harvesting practices resulted in a net sequestration of carbon every year from 1990 to 2019, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Arena Group, a digital publishing company formerly called Maven, plans to acquire AMG/Parade, the parent company to the storied American magazine Parade, in a $16 million cash and stock deal. Why it matters: AMG/Parade will anchor The Arena Group's new push into lifestyle content and will boost its sports vertical, per Ross Levinsohn, CEO of The Arena Group. AMG (Athlon Media Group) includes a professional sports magazine arm called Athlon Sports and Parade Media Group, which includes Parade Magazine as well as the cooking outlet Relish and the wellness outlet Spry Living.

Accelerate360, the former magazine distributor that expanded into publishing, and now controls many celebrity and health brands primarily sold by newsstand, announced it is acquiring the Bauer Media Group’s publishing assets, including the one-time checkout juggernauts Woman’s World and First for Women. The transaction also includes the Bauer U.S. bookazine business, which produces more than 100 special-interest publications per year. The deal is expected to close next month. Bauer’s titles dominated the checkout slots for decades.

Bookstore sales continued their strong rebound in 2021 over 2020 in November. Preliminary estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate bookstore sales were $709 million, up 43% over the $496 million in sales from November 2020. This increase followed a 53% sales jump for year-to-year October sales.

The United States Postal Service reported new service delivery performance metrics for the first week of the fiscal second quarter showing service performance holding steady for First-Class Mail, Marketing Mail and Periodicals. Consistent with the rest of the shipping industry, the organization experienced some minor delays in both ground and air transportation during the week of January 1-7. The Postal Service continues to address impacts to last mile delivery due to availability challenges due to COVID-19 cases and inclement weather events including winter storms on the East Coast, Midwest and West Coast. Second quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Jan.1 through Jan. 7 included: *First-Class Mail: 90 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .37 percentage points from the first quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .46 percentage points from the first quarter. Periodicals: 81.1 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, with an improvement of .37 percentage points from the first quarter.

The ODP Corporation announced that its Board of Directors determined to delay the previously announced public company separation to evaluate a potential sale of the Company’s consumer business. In May 2021, the Company announced that its Board of Directors unanimously approved a plan to separate ODP into two independent, publicly-traded companies by means of a tax-free spin-off to ODP shareholders. In November 2021, USR Parent, Inc., the parent company of Staples and a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners, reaffirmed its non-binding proposal to acquire the Company’s consumer business, including the Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores business, the Company's direct channel business (officedepot.com), and the Office Depot and OfficeMax intellectual property, including all brand names, for $1 billion in cash. The Company remains in conversation with Sycamore as it further evaluates the potential value and regulatory risk of Sycamore’s proposed transaction. In December 2021, ODP’s Board of Directors received a non-binding proposal from another third party to acquire the Company’s consumer business. The terms of that proposal are confidential.

REI Co-op is putting a new distribution center that will operate as a zero-waste facility. The specialty outdoor retailer is building a 400,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in Lebanon, Tenn., to support its continued growth on the East Coast and in the Midwest and South. Expected to open in fall 2023, the building and its operations will proactively address the employee experience, community engagement and environmental impact, according to REI. Al. Neyer is the retailer’s architect and general contractor partner. Situated on 41 acres in Wilson County, the facility will be one mile from I-40 and three miles from downtown Lebanon. The location will considerably reduce shipping times to fulfill customers' online purchases and be able to support more than 70 REI stores. Nearly 5.6 million REI members live in the service area of the new distribution center.

Developing a strategy for future campaigns can feel overwhelming—we get it. Staring at a white wall is how it usually starts. Well, how about first looking at where you can save money? WHAT’S THIS USPS PROMOTIONS AND INCENTIVES PROGRAM ABOUT? In 2011, the USPS introduced the marketing mail promotions program, in which they discount a percentage of postage on any campaign that meets the requirements. The purpose is to encourage marketers to integrate different technologies with mail to engage audiences and strengthen the relevance of direct mail. After ten years now, it’s been proven successful.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net sales for the two and eleven months ended December 31, 2021. Total Company net sales for the two months ended December 31, 2021, increased 14.6% compared to the two months ended December 31, 2019. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 14%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by high single-digit negative retail store sales primarily due to reduced store traffic. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 47% at the Free People Group, 15% at the Anthropologie Group and 3% at Urban Outfitters. Total Retail segment net sales increased 15%. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 18% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers. URBN now believes that the total Company fourth quarter gross margin could deleverage due to higher than anticipated inbound transportation costs. For the eleven months ended December 31, 2021, total Company net sales increased 14.4% compared to the eleven months ended December 31, 2019. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 16%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales due to reduced store traffic. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 22% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers.

Chico's FAS, Inc. reported holiday sales and updated its outlook for fiscal 2021 fourth quarter sales and earnings. Molly Langenstein, Chico's FAS Chief Executive Officer and President, and Patrick ("PJ") Guido, Chico's FAS Chief Financial Officer, will discuss progress on the Company's strategic plan and these results at the ICR Conference today at 3:30 PM ET. For the nine-week holiday period ending January 1, 2022, total net sales grew approximately 30% compared to the same period last year. Comparable sales for the nine-week holiday period grew approximately 31.5% over fiscal 2020. The Company has updated its fourth quarter outlook and expects fourth quarter net sales at the low end of the $495 million to $510 million range previously provided on November 30, 2021 and expects diluted earnings per share at the high end of the previously provided $0.00 to $0.05 range.

Total net sales of $173.3 million increased by 16.5% for the 2021 holiday period compared to $148.7 million for last year’s comparable nine-week holiday period ended January 2, 2021 (the “2020 holiday period”). *Total comparable net sales, including both physical stores and e-commerce, increased by 14.1% for the 2021 holiday period compared to an increase of 2.7% for the 2020 holiday period. *Comparable net sales in physical stores increased by 23.2% for the 2021 holiday period compared to a decrease of 12.4% during the 2020 holiday period. Comparable net sales in physical stores increased by a double-digit percentage in all but one of 14 geographic markets compared to the 2020 holiday period. Net sales in physical stores represented 74.5% of total net sales for the 2021 holiday period compared to 68.4% of total net sales during the 2020 holiday period.

The United States Postal Service reported preliminary performance metrics for the 2021 holiday season showing the organization saw volume increase when compared to the same time last year. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, it took on average 2.7 days to deliver a mailpiece or package across the Postal Service network. During the same timeframe, the network accepted more than 13.2 billion letters, cards, flats and packages for delivery, exceeding 12.7 billion accepted for delivery during the same timeframe in 2020. The Postal Service’s peak season preparations included: *Stabilizing the Workforce and Preparing for Pandemic-related Challenges;*Expanded Facility Footprint to Resolve Bottlenecks and Improve the Flow of Mail and Packages; *New Package Sorting Equipment to Expedite Handling and Sortation of Increased Package Volumes; *Diversified, Reliable Transportation Options.

The New York Times Company announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire The Athletic, the global digital subscription-based sports media business that provides national and local coverage of more than 200 clubs and teams in the U.S. and around the world, for an all cash purchase price of $550 million, subject to customary closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Meredith Kopit Levien, president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company, said, “Acquiring The Athletic puts us in a position to be a global leader in sports journalism and offer English speakers around the world another reason to turn to the Times Company to meet their daily news and life needs. The Times already provides distinctive sports coverage for a general interest audience as part of our core report. As a stand-alone product, The Athletic will enable us to offer much more — extensive coverage for fans who seek a deep connection to and understanding of their favorite teams, leagues and players. With one of the largest dedicated teams of reporters covering sports globally and a commitment to everyday reporting, The Athletic is a great complement to The Times.”

First quarter highlights: *First quarter earnings per share (EPS*) from continuing operations was $4.13, compared with a loss of $0.45 in the year-ago quarter; continuing operations adjusted** EPS increased to $1.68, up 53.1 percent on a constant currency basis *First quarter sales from continuing operations increased 7.8 percent to $33.9 billion, up 7.6 percent on a constant currency basis *First quarter operating income from continuing operations increased to $1.3 billion, compared with a loss of $535 million in the year-ago quarter; adjusted operating income from continuing operations increased to $1.8 billion, up 48.5 percent on a constant currency basis *VillageMD and Shields majority investments closed on November 24th and October 29th, respectively

The U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors will meet Jan. 12, 2022, in open session at Postal Service headquarters, 475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW, Washington, DC. The public is welcome to observe the meeting beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET in the Benjamin Franklin Room on the 11th floor. The Board is expected to discuss the following items: 1. Call to Order and Remarks of the Vice Chairman 2. Remarks of the Postmaster General and CEO 3. Board Leadership 4. Adjournment. Open session meetings of the Board of Governors are available on live audio webcasts at http://about.usps.com/who/leadership/board-governors/briefings/welcome.htm. Three hours after the conclusion of the open session meeting, a recorded audio file will be available for listening. In compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the audio webcast will be open-captioned.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $22.24 billion for the retail month of December, the five weeks ended January 2, 2022, an increase of 16.2 percent from $19.14 billion last year. For the 18 weeks ended January 2, 2022, the Company reported net sales of $76.34 billion, an increase of 16.6 percent from $65.47 billion last year.

S&P Global and The Climate Service, Inc. announced today that S&P Global has acquired The Climate Service. Based in Durham, North Carolina The Climate Service, Inc. was founded in 2017. Since then, The Climate Service has won multiple awards for its innovative approach to analyzing climate risks, including winner of the 2021 ESG Investing Best Specialist ESG Data Provider award, New Wave Leader 2020 by Forrester and World Changing Ideas by Fast Company. The acquisition will add capabilities to S&P Global's leading portfolio of essential environmental, social, and governance (ESG) insights and solutions for its customers. Through this acquisition, S&P Global will be able to offer its clients even more transparent, robust and comprehensive climate data, models and analytics.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) released its StatShot report for November 2021 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for November 2021 were up 8.3% as compared to November 2020, coming in at $1.3 billion. Year to date revenues were up 13.1%, at $14.3 billion for the first eleven months of the year.

Hearst announced it has agreed to acquire CellTrak, a leading provider of care documentation software solutions in the personal care market. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, Hearst president and CEO; Gregory Dorn, MD, Hearst Health president; Scott Decker, Homecare Homebase president; and Dan Wacker, CellTrak CEO. Terms were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close in Q1 of 2022. CellTrak will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Homecare Homebase, with Wacker continuing as general manager of the company. “In-home care services have grown significantly the past 10 years as it is the preferred venue for people to receive care, and Homecare Homebase has been the leading platform providing vital workflow solutions in the home health and hospice categories,” said Dorn. “Extending their capabilities to personal care is the right next step for caregiving in the home.”

Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Michael Kubayanda announced the election of Commissioner Ann C. Fisher as vice chairman of the agency. PRC regulations state that the Commission elect a member to serve as vice chairman for a term of one year. In making the announcement, Chairman Kubayanda said, “Congratulations to Vice Chairman Fisher on her election to the vice chair role for 2022. She brings extensive experience and knowledge of postal issues to the position. I would also like to thank Commissioner Ashley Poling for her excellent service as vice chairwoman throughout calendar year 2021.” Vice Chairman Fisher was appointed commissioner of the PRC in August 2019 following her nomination by President Donald J. Trump and confirmation by the United States Senate. Her experience with postal issues spans close to 3 decades.

The publishing industry made it through 2020 in much better shape than most thought it would when the pandemic first emerged nearly two years ago. Though there were many challenges and some companies and segments of the industry struggled, most companies had good financial years, and overall industry sales were unexpectedly robust in 2020. With the hope that the negative effects of Covid-19 would ease in 2021, most industry members expected that the business would settle into something of a new normal last year. But that was not to be the case. The biggest story of 2021 was the ongoing impact the pandemic had on the industry. Virtual author tours, conferences, and fairs became standard practices in 2020, but there was hope that 2021 would eventually bring a return to in-person events—for the most part, however, those ideas were thwarted. During the summer, bookstores slowly began experimenting with live author appearances, usually held outdoors or in limited numbers indoors with masked customers. But as colder weather set in and different variants sprang up, in-person tours largely ended, and there's no certainty among the industry regarding when they might return in a significant way.

The United States Postal Service reported new service delivery performance metrics showing ongoing strong service for First-Class Mail and Marketing Mail, with a slight decline for Periodicals through the first 12 weeks of the fiscal first quarter. Since Thanksgiving, the Postal Service has accepted 11.1 billion pieces of mail and packages for delivery and anticipates it will deliver more than 12 billion pieces of mail and packages by New Year’s Day. First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 24 included: *First-Class Mail: 89.8 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.24 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.7 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .73 percent from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 81.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a decrease of 1.57 percent from the fourth quarter. *Overall, the average number of days to deliver a mailpiece across the network was 2.7 days.

The ODP Corporation announced that it has sold its CompuCom Systems subsidiary to an affiliate of Variant Equity in a transaction valued up to $305 million. “This action represents an important step in continuing to align our business model and resources towards our core strategy,” said Anthony Scaglione, chief financial officer of The ODP Corporation. “By enhancing our core focus and leveraging our B2B assets and digital commerce platform, we are in an excellent position to maximize returns for our shareholders.”

News Corp announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Base Chemicals business from S&P Global and IHS Markit. Base Chemicals will become part of Dow Jones’ Professional Information Business, alongside OPIS, the energy and renewables data and information business. The OPIS acquisition (along with related assets), also from S&P Global and IHS Markit, was announced in August. The addition of Base Chemicals and OPIS will further enhance Dow Jones’ information services business. Base Chemicals is known for its pricing data, insights, analysis and forecasting capabilities for the world’s most important base chemicals delivered through its leading Market Advisory and World Analysis services. Base Chemicals has a strong track record of growth, with a revenue base that is nearly 100% digital and recurring, and, similar to OPIS, has high margins with modest Capex requirements.

First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 17 included: *First-Class Mail: 90.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.6 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 91.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 81.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of 1.56 percent compared to performance from the fourth quarter. *Overall, the average number of days to deliver a mailpiece across the network was 2.7 days.

Dark Horse Media, an independent comics publishing house and entertainment media company, has been acquired by the Embracer Group, a Swedish video game development company. Financial terms were not disclosed. Embracer is directed by cofounder and group CEO Lars Wingefors. The group’s purchase includes the acquisition of an 80% stake in Dark Horse from a “seller based in Hong Kong and China”—which appears to be Vanguard Visionary Associates, the Chinese media production company that took an investment stake in DH in 2018—and a remaining 20% share owned by Dark Horse founder, CEO, and publisher Mike Richardson and Dark Horse COO Neil Hankerson.

“FedEx operating income grew in our second quarter, driven by strong revenue growth and effective management of our cost and expected labor availability challenges,” said Michael C. Lenz, FedEx Corp. executive vice president and chief financial officer. “While adjusted earnings per share was unchanged year over year, this year’s effective tax rate was significantly higher, as last year’s earnings included a $0.71 per share tax benefit.” Second quarter operating income improved due to higher revenue per shipment at all transportation segments, despite the negative effect of labor market challenges that have contributed to global supply chain disruptions. The challenging labor market affected the availability and cost of labor resulting in network inefficiencies, higher purchased transportation costs, and higher wage rates, which increased costs by an estimated $470 million year over year, primarily at FedEx Ground. The quarter’s results also benefited from continued strategic management actions to improve revenue quality and favorable net fuel.

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc announces that it has completed the purchase of the members’ interests of ABC-CLIO LLC. The consideration is $22.9 million (£17.3 million), of which $22.3 million (£16.8 million) has been satisfied in cash on completion and up to $0.6 million (£0.5 million) will be satisfied in cash post completion. ABC-CLIO is an established academic publisher of reference, nonfiction, online curriculum and professional development materials in both print and digital formats for schools, academic libraries and public libraries, primarily in the USA. Founded in 1955, ABC-CLIO is based in Santa Barbara, California. ABC-CLIO has four imprints and 32 databases that provide curriculum-aligned content and lesson plans, professional development support and student activities to US schools and academic institutions. It has more than 23,000 titles in its portfolio.

First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 10 included: *First-Class Mail: 90.6 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.1 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.1 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 82.0 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .74 percent compared to performance from the fourth quarter. Overall, average days to deliver a mailpiece across the network was 2.7 days.

Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Highlights *Adobe achieved record revenue of $4.11 billion in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, which represents 20 percent year-over-year growth. Diluted earnings per share was $2.57 on a GAAP basis and $3.20 on a non-GAAP basis. *Digital Media segment revenue was $3.01 billion, which represents 21 percent year-over-year growth. Creative revenue grew to $2.48 billion, representing 19 percent year-over-year growth. Document Cloud revenue was $532 million, representing 29 percent year-over-year growth. *Digital Media Annualized Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) increased $571 million quarter over quarter to $12.24 billion exiting the quarter, including the addition of enterprise ARR of Frame.io, which closed on October 7, 2021. Creative ARR grew to $10.30 billion. Total enterprise ARR for Frame.io, including business closed by Adobe, exiting the quarter was approximately $29 million. Document Cloud ARR grew to $1.93 billion. *Digital Experience segment revenue was $1.01 billion, representing 23 percent year-over-year growth. Digital Experience subscription revenue was $886 million, representing 27 percent year-over-year growth. *GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter was $1.50 billion.

During 2020 and early 2021, the pandemic-driven shift to stay-at-home work, where people print less, brought a dip in demand for office paper. Now with workers heading back to the office, a new survey commissioned by Stora Enso indicates an expected recovery for office printing paper. “This is good news for the industry,” says Stora Enso’s Jonathan Bakewell, VP, Head of Segment Office and Book Papers, “but we also set out to ask some broader questions about printing behaviour and preferences and what going back to the office would really look like for people.” The survey, which was rolled out to 3,400 people across Sweden, UK, France, Netherlands, and Germany, showed that a return to the office is underway now, with 35% of respondents saying they have already returned and a further 51% expecting to return soon. But they will not be going back to the five-day week. The preferred mix (33%) was for three days at the office and two days at home, while 14% aren’t planning to return to the office at all.

Global research and education leader Wiley today announced the asset purchase of eJournalPress (EJP), a leading provider of software and support services for scholarly publishing. With this investment, Wiley plans to drive the evolution of the technology and platforms that underpin research publishing and advance the future of research communication. EJP’s online manuscript submission, peer review, and journal production tracking systems deliver a comprehensive service for authors, editors and publishers to create, review and manage scholarly content as it moves through peer-review and gets published online. “Getting trusted, peer-reviewed research into the world requires both smart people and sophisticated technology,” said Jay Flynn, Wiley Executive Vice President and General Manager, Research. “By investing in the future of EJP, we will drive innovation in journal workflow and peer review management to deliver best-in-class solutions for our clients and partners.”

French conglomerate Vivendi confirmed it is pushing ahead with its deal to purchase the 17.9% stake in Lagardère held by investor Amber Capital for about $720.6 million. Vivendi, which also owns book publisher Editis, already holds a 26.7% stake in Lagardère and the resulting transaction will give Vivendi 45.1% of its rival's shares. Under French regulations, once a company's stake in another company exceeds the 30% level, it must make a tender offer for all remaining shares and Vivendi confirmed it will be making an offer to buy remaining shares at a price of €24.10 per share.

Penguin Random House’s attorneys responded today to the Department of Justice’s efforts to block its acquisition of Simon & Schuster, attacking the government’s main complaint, that the purchase would “likely result in substantial harm to authors of anticipated top-selling books and ultimately, consumers.” In filing its suit to block the deal November 2, the DOJ said that a combined PRH-S&S, along with HarperCollins, “would collectively control more than two-thirds of this market, leaving hundreds of authors with fewer alternatives and less leverage.” PRH attacks this charge on several levels and begins by calling the theory of a “top-selling” category “fiction,” noting that the government doesn’t even identify what size of an advance it is referring to. “The publishing industry does not divide the market for book rights into distinct categories based on the author’s compensation for the book,” PRH’s lawyers said.” “The royalty advance for a proposed book is driven mainly by the reader demand a particular editor anticipates for that particular book.”

The network continues to operate smoothly with the busiest mailing and shipping week fast approaching. Between Nov. 25 and Dec. 8, the Postal Service accepted 4.9 billion mail and packages for delivery. Overall, heading into the busiest mailing and shipping week, average days to deliver a mailpiece was 2.7 days. First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 3 included: *First-Class Mail: 90.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.4 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 82.6 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the first quarter (twelve weeks) of fiscal 2022, ended November 21, 2021. Net sales for the first quarter increased 16.7 percent, to $49.42 billion from $42.35 billion last year. Net income for the quarter was $1,324 million, $2.98 per diluted share, compared to $1,166 million, $2.62 per diluted share, last year. This year included a tax benefit of $91 million, $0.21 per diluted share, related to stock-based compensation, and a write-off of certain information technology assets of $118 million pre-tax, $0.20 per diluted share. Last year included tax benefits of $145 million, $0.33 per diluted share, and incremental expenses for COVID-19 premium wages of $212 million pre-tax, $0.35 per diluted share.

The Postal Regulatory Commission announced today that Michael M. Kubayanda has returned to the agency as chairman. After being re-nominated by President Joseph R. Biden and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Chairman Kubayanda was sworn back into office today, December 9, 2021, to serve a term through November 22, 2026. “I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to continue to work alongside my fellow commissioners and the talented staff of the Commission. The Commission’s work is fundamental at a time of great challenge and opportunity for the Nation’s mail system,” said Chairman Kubayanda. “I would especially like to thank Vice Chairwoman Poling for her exceptional leadership in handling the Commission’s administrative responsibilities during my temporary absence.”

Adobe announced the latest online inflation data for the month of November 2021. Online prices hit a record highat a 3.5%year-over-year (YoY) increase while prices are down 2% month-over-month (MoM) due to holiday discounts. This is the highest YoY increase since Adobe first began tracking the digital economy in 2014, and it marks the 18th consecutive month of YoY online inflation. Apparel was a standout category with prices up 17.3% YoY and down just 0.4% MoM, reaching a record high of inflation. One dollar out of every four dollars* is now spent online in the U.S., making the digital economy a significant component of the overall economy. The Adobe Digital Price Index (DPI) provides the most comprehensive view into how much consumers are paying for goods online. The DPI covers more than 100 million products in the U.S. and is modeled after the Consumer Price Index issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Total revenues across all categories for October 2021 were up 23.1% as compared to October 2020, coming in at $1.4 billion. Year to date revenues were up 13.7%, at $13.1 billion for the first ten months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 16.8% in October, coming in at $1.1 billion. Religious press revenues were up 29.4% in October, coming in at $71.3 million. During October of 2021 Education revenues were $284.4 million, up 62.4% compared with October of 2020. Professional Books, including business, medical, law, technical and scientific, were up 5.3% during the month, coming in at $29.5 million.

Learning technology company HMH announced that the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has approved HMH Into Reading™ as a curriculum option for the K-5 Palmetto Literacy Project (PLP) Schools. The K–5 Palmetto Literacy Project schools are a group of 265 schools across the state with a special focus on ensuring all students are reading on grade level. PLP schools will have the ability to purchase the recommended literacy programs using Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to implement in 2022. The PLP review committee found that Into Reading is grounded in science of reading research and shows strong alignment to the five essential science of reading concepts, including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The review also showed that Into Reading’s instructional design aligns with Scarborough’s Reading Rope and has explicit, research-based foundational skills instruction that integrate listening, speaking, reading and writing.

*Research Publishing & Platforms rose 9% as reported and at constant currency and 4% excluding acquisitions, driven by strong growth in open access, corporate solutions, and research platforms. *Academic & Professional Learning grew 4% as reported and 3% at constant currency, driven by strong recovery in Professional Learning from prior-year COVID lockdown impacts. This more than offset a decline in Education Publishing due to softer US enrollment and some easing of prior-year COVID-related tailwinds in content and courseware. *Education Services increased 17% as reported and 15% at constant currency, driven by 3% growth in University Services (formerly OPM) and strong double-digit growth in Talent Development (formerly mthree). *GAAP EPS was $0.99 as compared to $1.22 in the prior year period, which included a $0.25 discrete tax benefit related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES ACT).

First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Nov. 26 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.6 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.4 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .6 percentage points from the fourth quarter. The Postal Service anticipates that between 850 million and 950 million packages will be delivered for the holidays. The total number of letters, cards and packages processed and delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is estimated to be more than 12 billion.

A new survey commissioned by Stora Enso on post-pandemic work and printing habits polled 3,400 workplace consumers across Sweden, UK, France, Netherlands, and Germany, on how they feel about printing and what they want from their office paper. The survey delivered some surprising insights, and some not so surprising. During 2020 and early 2021, the pandemic-driven shift to stay-at-home work naturally brought a dip in demand for office paper, with people on average printing 32 per cent more at the office than at home. Now with the economic recovery – 35 per cent of respondents having already returned to their office and a further 51 per cent expecting to return soon – the good news for the industry is that back to the office will also mean back to print. Stora Enso’s Jonathan Bakewell, VP, Head of Segment Office and Book Papers, says: “This increase in printer paper demand, marked by a return to the office, has been hoped for, but these results reaffirm it.”

For the Third Quarter of Fiscal 2021: *Net sales increased 28.6% to $2.0 billion compared to $1.6 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 due to the favorable impact from stronger consumer confidence and fewer COVID-19 restrictions compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2020. *Comparable sales (sales for stores open at least 14 months, including stores temporarily closed due to COVID-19, and e-commerce sales) increased 25.8%. *Gross profit increased to $789.5 million compared to $545.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. *Operating income increased to $284.2 million, or 14.2% of net sales, compared to $101.3 million, or 6.5% of net sales, in the third quarter of fiscal 2020.

*Total net sales were $206.1 million, an increase of $65.8 million or 46.9%, compared to $140.3 million last year. -Net sales from physical stores were $165.3 million, an increase of $60.7 million or 58.1%, compared to $104.6 million last year. -Net sales from e-commerce were $40.8 million, an increase of $5.1 million or 14.3%, compared to $35.7 million last year. E-commerce net sales represented 19.8% of total net sales compared to 25.5% of total net sales last year. -Total comparable net sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 compared to the pre-pandemic third quarter of fiscal 2019 increased by 27.4%. *Gross profit was $76.7 million, or 37.2% of net sales, a record in the Company's history as a public company, compared to $40.7 million, or 29.0% of net sales, last year. *Operating income improved to $29.0 million, or 14.1% of net sales, compared to $3.5 million, or 2.5% of net sales, primarily due to the significant increase in net sales. *Net income improved to $20.8 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, which are third quarter records for the Company as a public company, compared to $2.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, last year.

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $18.13 billion for the retail month of November, the four weeks ended November 28, 2021, an increase of 15.7 percent from $15.67 billion last year. For the twelve-week first quarter ended November 21, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $49.42 billion, an increase of 16.7 percent from $42.35 billion last year. For the thirteen weeks ended November 28, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $54.10 billion, an increase of 16.8 percent from $46.33 billion last year.

IAC company Dotdash announced the completion of its acquisition of Meredith Holdings Corp., owner of world-class brands such as PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, FOOD & WINE, Allrecipes, Southern Living, InStyle and REAL SIMPLE, in an all cash transaction at a purchase price of $42.18 per share. The new Dotdash Meredith combines celebrated and iconic brands with digital DNA to create America’s largest digital and print publisher—a top 10 internet property[1] able to deliver intent-driven content and experiences at scale. The company, headquartered in New York City and led by CEO Neil Vogel, will be its own reporting segment within IAC. “Today marks the start of a big new opportunity at IAC—conceived by the ambitious minds of Neil Vogel and the Dotdash team and made possible in collaboration with our talented new colleagues from Meredith—to define a new future in publishing,” said Joey Levin, CEO of IAC. “Dotdash Meredith has a bright future ahead.”

Before the era of online shopping, the department store Sears published its first holiday catalog in 1934. It started a tradition of kids circling pictures of toys they wanted from Santa and had adults bookmarking jewelry, appliances and more gift ideas. The nostalgic trend is being kept alive after Amazon began sending out its own toy catalogue in 2018 and is bringing it back this year. NBC’s Harry Smith reports in this week’s Sunday Spotlight. more at: https://www.today.com/video/holiday-store-catalogs-are-returning-reviving-a-classic-tradition-127345733612

As the busiest mailing and shipping season begins, the United States Postal Service reported new service delivery performance metrics showing strong service performance for First-Class Mail (91.4 percent) and Marketing Mail (92.4 percent). Service performance for Periodicals continued to trend above 82 percent for the first seven weeks of the fiscal first quarter. First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Nov. 19 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.4 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.6 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .5 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

Nordstrom, Inc. reported third quarter net earnings of $64 million or $0.39 per diluted share, with earnings before interest and taxes ("EBIT") of $127 million. For the third quarter ended October 30, 2021, net sales increased 18 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2020 and decreased 1 percent versus the same period in fiscal 2019. The timing of this year's Anniversary Sale, with approximately one week falling into the third quarter of 2021, had a positive impact of approximately 200 basis points on net sales compared with fiscal 2019.

GAP INC. reported a third quarter fiscal year 2021 diluted loss per share of $0.40. Excluding fees associated with restructuring the company’s long-term debt and net charges related to strategic changes in its European operating model, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.27. Additional information regarding adjusted diluted earnings per share, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, is provided at the end of this press release along with a reconciliation of this measure from the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The company’s third quarter fiscal year 2021 net sales of $3.9 billion were down 1% compared to 2019 with supply chain disruption driving an estimated 8 percentage point negative impact due to constrained inventory.1 The company remains focused on digital dominance through investing in its ecommerce platform, strategically closing unprofitable stores and partnering to amplify in international markets. Online sales grew 48% compared to the third quarter of 2019 and represented 38% of the total business, even as store traffic continues to rebound. Investments in technology are driving an enhanced online experience as the company accelerates its digital strategy. Third quarter comparable sales were up 5% versus 2019. The comparable sales calculation reflects online sales and comparable sales days in stores that were open.

The Association of American Publishers released its StatShot report for September 2021 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for September 2021 were up 2.0% as compared to September 2020, coming in at $1.7 billion. Year to date revenues were up 12.4%, at $11.6 billion for the first nine months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 0.3% in September, coming in at $938.5 million.

The Postal Regulatory Commission today announced that effective immediately, Vice Chairwoman Ashley E. Poling will assume the administrative responsibilities of the agency under 39 CFR 3000.110(b) which states, “…In case of a vacancy in the Office of the Chairman of the Commission, or in the absence or inability of the Chairman to serve, the Vice Chairman, unless otherwise directed by the Chairman, shall have the administrative responsibilities and duties of the Chairman during the period of vacancy, absence, or inability.” Michael M. Kubayanda’s term as Commissioner expired 1 year ago, on November 22, 2020. A Commissioner may continue to serve after the expiration of his or her term until a successor is confirmed, except that a Commissioner may not continue to serve for more than 1 year after the date of expiration, a period commonly known as the “holdover year.” President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. designated Commissioner Kubayanda Chairman of the Commission in January 2021, and he continued to serve in that position until his holdover year ended on November 22, 2021. He is awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate after being re-nominated by President Biden.

Urban Outfitters, Inc. announced net income of $89 million and record third quarter earnings per diluted share of $0.89 for the three months ended October 31, 2021. For the nine months ended October 31, 2021, net income was $270 million and record first nine-month period earnings per diluted share were $2.71. Total Company net sales for the three months ended October 31, 2021, were a record $1.13 billion. Net sales increased 14.6% compared to the three months ended October 31, 2019. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 14%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by mid-single-digit negative retail store sales primarily due to reduced store traffic. By brand, comparable Retail segment net sales increased 55% at the Free People Group, 9% at the Anthropologie Group and 7% at Urban Outfitters. Total Retail segment net sales increased 16%. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 15% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale custom ers. For the nine months ended October 31, 2021, total Company net sales increased 14.3% compared to the nine months ended October 31, 2019. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 16%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales due to reduced store traffic resulting from temporary store closures and occupancy restrictions in Europe and Canada. Wholesale segment net sales decreased 23% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers.

Domestic revenue of $10.99 billion increased 1.2% versus last year. The increase was primarily driven by comparable sales growth of 2.0%, which was partially offset by the loss of revenue from permanent store closures in the past year. Domestic GAAP SG&A was $1.96 billion, or 17.9% of revenue, versus $1.95 billion, or 18.0% of revenue, last year. International revenue of $925 million decreased 7.8% versus last year. This decrease was primarily driven by the loss of revenue from exiting Mexico and a comparable sales decline of 3.0% in Canada. These items were partially offset by the benefit of approximately 450 basis points of favorable foreign currency exchange rates. International GAAP gross profit rate was 25.0% versus 19.0% last year. On a non-GAAP basis, the gross profit rate was 25.0% versus 22.6% last year.

A summary of results for the third quarter ended October 30, 2021 as compared to the third quarter ended October 31, 2020: *Net sales of $905 million, up 10% as compared to last year and up 5% as compared to pre-COVID 2019 third quarter net sales. *Digital net sales of $413 million increased 8% as compared to last year and increased 55% as compared to pre-COVID 2019 third quarter digital net sales. *Gross profit rate of 63.7%, down approximately 30 basis points as compared to last year and up approximately 360 basis points as compared to 2019. The year-over-year decline is driven by approximately 300 basis points of higher average unit cost from freight inflation and efforts to offset supply chain issues, almost fully offset by higher average unit retail on lower promotions. *Operating income of $73 million and $79 million on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively, as compared to operating income of $59 million and $65 million last year, on a reported and adjusted non-GAAP basis, respectively.

As the Postal Service enters the busiest weeks of the year for mailing and shipping, the agency reported new service delivery performance scores that showed improvements for First-Class Mail and Periodicals, and steady performance for Marketing Mail for the first six weeks of the fiscal first quarter. First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Nov. 12 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.6 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.4 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, consistent with performance from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.2 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .5 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

Staying connected in the digital world relies more and more on having the latest and greatest devices at your disposal. Consumers who do not, or cannot afford to keep up with the most current technology, are increasingly finding themselves left as roadkill on the digital superhighway. Phones, tablets, computers and other connected devices have shorter and shorter lifespans, and the factors conspiring to render them obsolete are numerous. The latest killer stalking millions of devices more than a few years old is the termination of 3G cellular networks, which is set to begin in January 2022. One of the growing pains to get to faster, better 5G networks deployed nationwide involves the major carriers – AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon – decommissioning their older networks in order to repurpose critical spectrum. The sunsetting of 3G will start happening early in the new year, with each company operating on its own schedules, which will also impact smaller carriers that rely on their networks.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it is suspending enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for large private businesses “pending future developments.” The move comes after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit temporarily halted the rule, saying that that it “grossly exceeds” the authority of the agency that issued it.” "The court ordered that OSHA 'take no steps to implement or enforce' the ETS [Emergency Temporary Standard] 'until further court order.' While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation,” OSHA stated.

HarperCollins Publishers announced a global commitment to becoming carbon neutral for its direct operational emissions in 2022. In order to meet this goal, HarperCollins has appointed award-winning sustainability strategy consultancy Brite Green to develop and implement effective sustainability strategies and targets. HarperCollins will initially focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, targeting on-site electricity and fuel energy usage. As part of the News Corp Global Environmental Initiative, HarperCollins is also working toward a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions across its operational and supply chain by 2050 or earlier, in line with the Paris Agreement. “As a leading global publishing company, we have a responsibility to mitigate the impact of our business on the environment and to identify ways to improve the sustainability of our industry,” said Brian Murray, President and CEO, HarperCollins Publishers. “We have been successfully reducing our emissions and becoming carbon neutral in Scopes 1 and 2 is the next step in the process. We will continue to work toward our long-term targets and seek to reduce carbon emissions and their associated costs from our business overall.”

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the major rate hikes imposed in August by the U.S. Postal Service, saying the Postal Regulatory Commission’s order underlying the increases was neither arbitrary and capricious, nor did it exceed the Commission’s statutory authority. The decision, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, preserves a 6.8% increase for first-class mail and an 8.8% increase for package services — hikes of unprecedented size in recent years. The increases came after the PRC late last year finished an overhaul of the existing rate-setting system, which it had deemed inadequate. The new rate system ties price caps to what the PRC identified as the USPS’ most significant cost drivers: fewer pieces of mail going to more addresses and benefits payments the agency is required to make for future retirees.

*Third quarter net sales and earnings exceed expectations and company raises full year 2021 financial outlook *Third quarter net sales increase 15.5%; third quarter comparable sales increase 14.7% *Record third quarter diluted earnings per share of $1.65 and company raises full year 2021 guidance to $7.10 to $7.30 *Repurchased $506 million of shares in the quarter and now plans to repurchase $1.3 billion of shares in 2021 *Ended the quarter in a strong financial position with $1.9 billion in cash

*Comparable sales up 37.2% on an owned basis and up 35.6% on an owned-plus-licensed basis versus 2020; up 8.9% and up 8.7%, respectively, versus 2019 *Diluted EPS of $0.76 and Adjusted diluted EPS of $1.23 *Repurchased $300 million of shares, repaid $1.6 billion in debt ahead of schedule and paid $46 million in dividends *Added 4.4 million new customers into Macy’s brand, a 28% increase over 2019

*Third quarter comparable sales grew 12.7 percent, on top of 20.7 percent growth last year. -Comparable sales growth was driven entirely by traffic. -Store comparable sales increased 9.7 percent, on top of 9.9 percent growth last year. -Digital comparable sales grew 29 percent, following growth of 155 percent last year. -Same-day services (Order Pickup, Drive Up and Shipt) grew nearly 60 percent this year, on top of 200 percent last year. -More than 95 percent of Target's third quarter sales were fulfilled by its stores. *All five core merchandise categories delivered double-digit comparable sales growth, on top of strong sales performance last year.

Bookstore sales posted another huge gain in September, with sales jumping 42.1%, to $881 million, over 2020, during which September sales were $620 million, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. While sales growth has slowed since spring, monthly increases remain substantially over those of the 2020 slump, when many bookstores were shut to in-store shopping for much of the year. For the entire retail segment, sales were up 14.7% in September. Sales are up 20.2% in the year to date.

The Home Depot® reported sales of $36.8 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2021, an increase of $3.3 billion, or 9.8 percent from the third quarter of fiscal 2020. Comparable sales for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 increased 6.1 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 5.5 percent. Net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 were $4.1 billion, or $3.92 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.4 billion, or $3.18 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2020. For the third quarter of fiscal 2021, diluted earnings per share increased 23.3 percent from the same period in the prior year.

• Walmart U.S. Q3 comp sales1 grew 9.2%; 15.6% two-year stack; Comp transactions up 5.7% • Q3 FY22 GAAP EPS of $1.11; Adjusted EPS2,3 of $1.45 • Company expects Walmart U.S. Q4 comp sales of around 5%; Raises EPS guidance for third consecutive quarter • Walmart U.S. inventory up 11.5% ahead of holidays

Meredith Corporation announced that its pending acquisitions by Gray Television Inc. and IAC's Dotdash Media Inc. received key regulatory approvals. First, the Federal Communications Commission has approved Gray's acquisition of Meredith Corp., and Meredith will now seek the transaction's approval at a November 30, 2021, special shareholder meeting. Immediately prior to the Gray acquisition, Meredith will spin its digital, magazine, MNI, PEOPLE TV, and corporate operations out to shareholders as a new company, Meredith Holdings Corp., that Dotdash has agreed to acquire. Additionally, Meredith announced the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act of 1976 for Meredith Holdings' acquisition by Dotdash expired on November 12, 2021.

The U.S. Postal Service reported service delivery performance scores showing First-Class Mail and Periodicals continuing to climb through the first five weeks of the fiscal first quarter. With fiscal year 2021 fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 first quarter-to-date service performance scores above 92 percent, the Postal Service enters the holiday shipping season in the best service performance condition ever measured for Marketing Mail. First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Nov. 5 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.2 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.3 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .3 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 82.9 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .8 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

The U.S. Postal Service filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) today of price changes for Shipping Services to take effect Jan. 9, 2022. The proposed prices, approved by the Postal Service Governors, would raise Shipping Services product prices approximately 3.1 percent for Priority Mail service, and 3.1 percent for Priority Mail Express service. Shipping Services price adjustments vary by product. Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the consumer price index, Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. The Governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue. If favorably reviewed by the PRC, the new prices will include an increase in the price of a Small Flat-Rate Box to $9.45. The Medium Flat-Rate Box would increase to $16.10, the Large Flat-Rate Box would decrease to $21.50 and the price of the APO/FPO Large Flat-Rate Box would decrease to $20.00. Regular Flat-Rate Envelopes, Legal Flat-Rate Envelopes, and Padded Flat-Rate Envelopes would increase to $8.95, $9.25, and $9.65 respectively.

For the Three Months Ended October 2, 2021 -Net sales increased 23% to $362.6 million, compared to $294.6 million during the same period last year. -Gross profit increased 19% to $207.0 million, or 57.1% of net sales, compared to $174.0 million, or 59.1% of net sales, in the third quarter of 2020. The 200 basis point decrease in gross margin was primarily driven by higher inbound freight rates and the unfavorable impact of the non-renewal of the Global System of Preferences (“GSP”) program on import duties, partially offset by product cost improvements and all other impacts. -Operating income decreased 2% to $68.7 million, or 19.0% of net sales, compared to $70.1 million, or 23.8% of net sales, during the prior year quarter due to the aforementioned lower spending levels in 2020.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for August 2021 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for August 2021 were up 9.8% as compared to August 2020, coming in at $1.95 billion. Year to date revenues were up 14.4%, at $9.9 billion for the first eight months of the year.

Consumer expectations regarding personalized content and experiences have significantly increased in recent years -- as have their expectations for immediacy and choice. Consumers expect personalized experiences, and marketers seek meaningful customer interactions. At the same time, according to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, trust and data privacy are becoming a major consideration. Addressing this new aspect of competition, Bertelsmann is leveraging data and AI to deliver personalized, brand-safe content as well as tailored and efficient learning experiences, ultimately lowering costs to consumers and business partners alike. This follows a strategic mandate by Bertelsmann’s Executive Board to magnify efforts in technology and data-driven business models, setting a clear agenda as Tech & Data Alliance to drive partnerships, build platforms and connect people and skills throughout the group. Microsoft, with its deep expertise in cloud-based computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and platform development, will support Bertelsmann to power this new generation of data-driven models, bringing even better value, experiences, and products to Bertelsmann’s customers, both in business-to-business as well as consumer-facing offerings.

If your business prints catalogs, you are keenly aware of the paper shortages and subsequent price increases we’ve experienced so far this year. It’s not over, the mills continue to be on “allocation” through the end of this year and likely into next. What does allocation mean anyway? Simply put, it means the demand for paper is at the mills’ capacity, so they are allocating the amounts that buyers (like printers, paper brokers and catalogers) can purchase. But more importantly, what can you do about it? Get ahead of the pack by placing your orders much, much earlier than you have in the past. click read more below for details

First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 29 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.1 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.1 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .3 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

Third Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights: • Total revenues of $800.2 million decreased 1.8% compared to the prior year quarter ◦ Same store revenues increased 0.9% compared to the third quarter of 2020 • Total digital revenues were $265.0 million or 33.1% of total revenues, up 17.8% over the prior year period on a same store basis • Net income attributable to Gannett of $14.7 million • Net cash flow provided by operating activities of $40.8 million • Free cash flow of $29.3 million

Sweeping new rules governing debt collection practices in the U.S. will go into effect on November 30. Unfortunately, many of the very serious concerns about the use of electronic communications for debt collection raised by citizens, cybersecurity experts and consumer advocacy groups including Keep Me Posted (KMP) were effectively ignored by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal agency charged with making sure banks, lenders and other financial companies treat consumers fairly. The widespread impacts of CFPB’s new rules cannot be underestimated: Nearly 70 million Americans now have a debt in collection. That staggering number translates to nearly one in three adults with a credit report being pursued during the pandemic, according to analysis from the Urban Institute. What’s more, even consumers with debts that are beyond the statute of limitations can still be pursued under the rules. Even those with no credit worries need to beware: Scammers are already using unsolicited electronic communications to perpetrate fraud, using debt collection as a pretext. click read more below for more information

Fiscal 2022 First Quarter Key Financial Highlights: *Revenues were $2.50 billion, an 18% increase compared to $2.12 billion in the prior year, driven by growth across key segments *Net income of $267 million compared to $47 million in the prior year *Total Segment EBITDA was $410 million compared to $268 million in the prior year *Reported EPS were $0.33 compared to $0.06 in the prior year – Adjusted EPS were $0.23 compared to $0.08 in the prior year *Digital Real Estate Services segment revenues grew 47%, driven primarily by strong yield and demand at both REA Group and Move, operator of realtor.com® *Dow Jones saw its highest first quarter revenue and profitability since its acquisition *Book Publishing segment revenues grew 19%, benefiting from the HMH acquisition and continued strong consumption patterns *Subscription Video Services Segment EBITDA grew 46% as Foxtel’s streaming products reached approximately 2.1 million paid subscribers, up 69% compared to the prior year *News Media segment revenues grew 18%, benefiting from the rebound in the advertising market, strong digital subscriber gains and new content licensing revenues from recent news payment agreements with major tech platforms *Announced a $1 billion stock repurchase program and the termination of the Stockholder Rights Agreement

The supply crunch that has dogged the global shipping industry could worsen before it gets better, with new challenges ranging from crew retention to wage inflation. That’s a warning from executives at Wah Kwong Maritime Transport, a privately owned shipping company based in Hong Kong. They caution that contrasting approaches to containing the virus continues to disrupt the turnover and repatriation of seafarers landing at ports around the world. “There’s a real squeeze that we’re starting to see in terms of the disappearing applications for seafarers,” William Fairclough, managing director at Wah Kwong, said in an interview. “For certain types of ships, it may become very difficult to actually find the crew and you may get delays because of that. That’s conceivable, it’s never been the case before.”

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $16.47 billion for the retail month of October, the four weeks ended October 31, 2021, an increase of 19.2 percent from $13.82 billion last year. For the nine weeks ended October 31, 2021, the Company reported net sales of $35.97 billion, an increase of 17.3 percent from $30.66 billion last year.

Highlights from the divisions: RTL Group recorded 3.4 million paying subscribers for its streaming services (the paid offerings of RTL+ in Germany and Videoland in the Netherlands), an increase of 91 percent compared to the end of September 2020. Streaming revenues of RTL+ and Videoland increased by 31 percent compared to the same period last year. Penguin Random House placed numerous new titles on the New York Times bestseller lists in the first nine months of 2021, including “The Hill We Climb” and “Change Sings” by Amanda Gorman, “The President’s Daughter” by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, “Harlem Shuffle” by Colson Whitehead, and “How To Avoid A Climate Disaster” by Bill Gates. Gruner + Jahr and RTL Deutschland announced in August that they will be merging to form a new national cross-media champion. The new company launches at the beginning of next year. BMG continued with its successful repertoire strategy, signing global superstars including Bryan Adams, Santana, Soft Cell and Johnny Marr. In October, BMG announced the acquisition of an extensive portfolio of rights from Tina Turner, the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Arvato again saw a very dynamic development, particularly in the e-commerce, IT/tech and healthcare sectors. Beyond this, the private placement of shares in the global customer experience company Majorel on Euronext Amsterdam was a success.

Highlights from the quarter include: *Raising FY 2021 billings2 guidance to $1,075-$1,095 million, unlevered free cash flow guidance to 17-19% of billings and Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) 2 guidance to 12-15% of billings *Strong billings growth across the Company of 22% in Q3 and 21% YTD as demand for teaching and learning solutions continued as students returned to classrooms this fall and teachers further assessed instructional needs for the remainder of the school year *ARR2 growth accelerated to 123% bringing ARR to $120 million, or 11% of trailing twelve-month billings. Net Retention Rate (NRR)2 was 153% *Trailing twelve-month free cash flow3 of $137 million, an improvement of $36 million compared to the second quarter of 2021, reflecting strong operating leverage and the benefits of 2020 actions to align HMH’s cost structure with its digital first, connected strategy

The New York Times Company announced third quarter 2021 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $.32 compared with $.20 in the same period of 2020. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (defined below) was $.23 in the third quarter of 2021 compared with $.22 in the third quarter of 2020. Operating profit increased to $49.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 from $39.6 million in the same period of 2020 and adjusted operating profit (defined below) increased to $65.1 million from $56.5 million in the prior year, as higher subscription, advertising and other revenues more than offset higher costs.

Third Quarter 2021 Summary(1)(2)(4) *Total reported sales of $2.2 billion, down 7% versus last year, largely driven by 160 fewer retail locations in service compared to last year and lower demand year-over-year in certain product categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic *GAAP operating income of $104 million and net income from continuing operations of $73 million, or $1.33 per diluted share, versus $102 million and $34 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, respectively in the prior year *Operating cash flow from continuing operations of $121 million and adjusted free cash flow of $123 million, versus $256 million and $259 million, respectively in the prior year *$1.7 billion of total available liquidity including $753 million in cash and cash equivalents

America’s largest magazines retained 95% of their circulation through the Covid-19 crisis, Press Gazette research suggests. Strong print subscription bases and growing digital issue readership have helped the likes of Vanity Fair, Vogue and the New Yorker grow over the past year. Our analysis of Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) figures suggests that magazines have fared better than newspapers through the pandemic. Press Gazette’s ranking of the 50 biggest US magazines by circulation shows that print remains the sector’s dominant medium, despite subscription and single-copy sales falling in recent years.

Hearst announced it has agreed to acquire an 80% stake in leading connected vehicle solution provider Noregon Systems, Inc. The announcement was made jointly by Hearst President and Chief Executive Officer Steven R. Swartz and Noregon Systems founder and Chief Executive Officer Bill Hathaway. Hathaway will retain a 20% ownership stake in Noregon and continue to serve as its CEO. Terms were not disclosed and the transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close by end of Q4. “Bill Hathaway and his colleagues have built a great company that plays a vital and growing role in keeping the trucks on the road that power our economy,” said Swartz. “We look forward to partnering with Bill and his team and to welcoming them all to Hearst.” Noregon was founded by Hathaway in 1993 as a custom development solutions provider for leading OE manufacturers in the trucking industry. In 2007, the company launched its flagship commercial product, JPRO — an all-makes commercial vehicle diagnostic application. Since then, the company has continued to innovate beyond JPRO, offering a variety of connected vehicle products and services to the medium and heavy-duty truck industry. Currently, Noregon serves more than 15,000 customers in the U.S. and Canada.

In separate motions filed last month, Amazon and the Big Five publishers argued that a lawsuit accusing them of a conspiracy to fix e-book prices was “illogical” and should be dismissed. But in a lengthy opposition brief filed this week, lawyers for a potential consumer class portrayed their case as the second act of the Apple e-books case, and insisted there is more than enough evidence for the case to proceed. In the 56-page filing, lawyers for the plaintiffs insist that the existence of Most Favored Nation clauses in the Amazon contracts of the Big Five publishers—the crux of the plaintiffs' case—is sufficient to allow the case to proceed, especially given that the MFN is the same mechanism five major publishers and Apple used to eliminate price competition from the consumer e-book market in 2010.

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) today released its StatShot report for July 2021 reflecting reported revenue for all tracked categories, including Trade (Consumer Books), K-12 Instructional Materials, Higher Education Course Materials, and Professional Publishing. Total revenues across all categories for July 2021 were up 6.9% as compared to July 2020, coming in at $1.65 billion. Year to date revenues were up 15.6%, at $8.0 billion for the first seven months of the year. Trade (Consumer Books) sales were up 9.7% in July, coming in at $750.7 million, and up 15.8% year to date, with $4.9 billion in revenue. more at source: https://publishers.org/news/aap-july-2021-statshot-report-publishing-industry-up-6-9-for-month-and-15-6-year-to-date/

Daily sales for the quarter increased 11.7% compared to the third quarter of 2020 with the same number of selling days. On an organic, constant currency basis, which excludes revenues from the divested China business from the prior year results, daily sales increased 11.9% as compared to the third quarter of 2020. Foreign exchange contributed a 0.1% favorable impact during the third quarter of 2021 compared to the third quarter of 2020. Gross margin for the third quarter of 2021 was 37.1%, a 145 basis point increase over the prior year quarter driven by solid margin expansion in both segments. Reported and adjusted operating earnings for the third quarter of 2021 of $438 million were up 16% on a reported basis, and up 17% on an adjusted basis, versus the third quarter of 2020. Net cash provided by operating activities was $161 million and $311 million for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

First quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 22 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.0 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.0 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.8 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an increase of .2 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 83.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

*Operating cash flow decreased 1% to $54.7 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $55.3 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2020. *Free cash flow decreased to $2.6 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $29.5 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2020. *Net sales increased 15% to $110.8 billion in the third quarter, compared with $96.1 billion in third quarter 2020. Excluding the $0.5 billion favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter, net sales increased 15% compared with third quarter 2020. *Operating income decreased to $4.9 billion in the third quarter, compared with $6.2 billion in third quarter 2020. *Net income decreased to $3.2 billion in the third quarter, or $6.12 per diluted share, compared with $6.3 billion, or $12.37 per diluted share, in third quarter 2020.

Effective December 26, 2021, the published rates for our services will increase. This helps to support ongoing expansion and capability enhancements as we strive to maintain the high service levels you expect from UPS. Below is an overview of our 2022 Rates*. Package - The following changes will be effective December 26, 2021: The rates for UPS® Ground, UPS Air and International services will increase an average net 5.9% The following changes will be effective January 9, 2022: The Peak Surcharges will be renamed Peak/Demand Surcharges; The list of Zip Codes to which Area Surcharges apply will change. See updated Zip Code listings. details at: https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/rates-update.page?

Fiscal 2022 first quarter revenues grew 2 percent to $709 million. Looking more closely at the quarter: *Digital revenues grew 24 percent to $200 million. Performance was led by strong 29 percent growth in digital advertising revenues. Meredith continues to benefit from its proprietary technology platform that brings together strong content and trusted brands, unique taxonomy, and first party data. Digital consumer revenues grew 24 percent, with performance driven by Apple News+ and performance marketing via retail partners, including Walmart, Amazon, and Target. *Magazine revenues declined 2 percent to $305 million. Magazine consumer related revenue, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the segment's revenue, grew 6 percent, driven by newsstand and subscription revenue performance. Magazine advertising revenues declined as expected, due primarily to the food, prescription drug, and beauty categories, which continue to be adversely impacted by current economic conditions including ongoing work-from-home protocols and supply chain disruptions. *Local Media Group revenues declined 7 percent to $209 million. As expected in a non-political year, political spot advertising revenues were lower at $5 million compared to $52 million. Non-political spot advertising revenues grew 24 percent, reflecting a lack of political advertising crowd out, and driven primarily by gaming, professional services, and home categories. Retransmission revenue growth was driven primarily by annual escalations.

Total consolidated revenues increased 9.0 percent to $309.4 million, compared with total consolidated revenues of $283.8 million in the prior year period, reflecting strong ecommerce growth of 10.3 percent including contributions from PersonalizationMall, which the Company acquired on August 3, 2020. Excluding the non-comparable five weeks of contribution from PersonalizationMall in the quarter, total net revenues increased 4.3 percent, compared with the prior year period. Gross profit margin for the quarter was 40.6 percent, a decline of 10 basis points compared with 40.7 percent in the prior year period. Operating expenses as a percent of total revenues, increased 170 basis points to 47.1 percent. Net loss for the quarter was $13.2 million, or ($0.20) per share.

Commenting on the results, Nigel Newton, Chief Executive, said: “Bloomsbury delivered excellent results in the first half with year-on-year revenue growth of 29% to £100.7 million and profit growth of 225% to £12.9 million. These are our highest ever first half sales and profits. These results demonstrate the strength and resilience of our strategy of publishing for both the consumer and academic markets, and our growth of digital revenues. Both divisions had outstanding performances. The Consumer division continued the momentum of last year with 29% revenue growth and a £5.6 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £8.4 million. Bestsellers during the period included Tom Kerridge’s Outdoor Cooking, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Since the period end Bloomsbury authors have won two of the most important prizes in the literary world, The Nobel Prize for Literature and The Women’s Prize, which were won by Abdulrazak Gurnah and Susanna Clarke respectively. We congratulate them both. The Non-Consumer division saw 27% growth and a £3.2 million increase in profit before tax and highlighted items to £4.6 million. Bloomsbury Digital Resources grew by 44% in addition to a very strong recovery in print sales, which grew by 34%. The focus on our online academic digital resource strategy means we are well placed to continue to benefit from the accelerated shift by academic institutions to digital products to support hybrid learning.

S&P Global reported third quarter 2021 results with revenue of $2,087 million, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year, with every segment delivering revenue growth. Net income increased 75% to $797 million and diluted earnings per share increased 75% to $3.30 primarily due to the debt tender premium and fees associated with the senior notes tender offer in the prior period. "The strong global economic growth, elevated M&A activity, strong stock markets, and increased volatility realized in the third quarter created a solid underpinning for our businesses. In this environment, S&P Global delivered an exceptional quarter of financial results as we continue to provide our customers with the essential intelligence they need to navigate rapidly changing markets," said Douglas L. Peterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of S&P Global. "After delivering very strong results in a difficult 2020, we expect to meaningfully surpass those results in 2021."

The U.S. Postal Service reported service delivery performance scores for the first two weeks of the fiscal first quarter started in October showing ongoing improvements across First-Class and Periodical mail categories. Quarter-to-date service performance scores covering the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 15 included: *First-Class Mail: 91.2 percent of First-Class Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: 92.2 percent of Marketing Mail delivered on time against the USPS service standard, a slight decrease of .3 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Periodicals: 84.3 percent of Periodicals delivered on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.2 percentage points from the fourth quarter.

HarperCollins Publishers announced a global commitment to becoming carbon neutral for its direct operational emissions in 2022. In order to meet this goal, HarperCollins has appointed award-winning sustainability strategy consultancy Brite Green to develop and implement effective sustainability strategies and targets. HarperCollins will initially focus on Scope 1 and 2 emissions, targeting on-site electricity and fuel energy usage. As part of the News Corp Global Environmental Initiative, HarperCollins is also working toward a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions across its operational and supply chain by 2050 or earlier, in line with the Paris Agreement.

The U.S. Postal Service reported service delivery performance scores for the first week of the fiscal first quarter started in October that showed continued gains across all First-Class, Marketing and Periodical mail categories. For the period Oct. 1 through Oct. 8, first-quarter-to-date service performance included: *First-Class Mail: Delivered 91.0 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3 percentage points from the fourth quarter. *Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.8 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of .3 percentage points from the third quarter. *Periodicals: Delivered 84.4 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 2.3 percentage points from the third quarter.

The print and paper advocacy group, Two Sides, are excited to announce its newest partner member, the enclosing and mailing experts, GB Mail. Set up in 2017 by Joe Ghadami, Gary Leonard-Pepin and Ben Taheri, the Aylesbury based mailing house specialises in fully automated high-speed paperwrap, polywrap and envelope enclosing. Also located on site is GB Mail’s storage and fulfilment department and digital print room housing eight production presses. “Sustainability is a big part of our company ethos at GB Mail and we are constantly at the forefront of testing eco-friendly innovative mailing options. We are proud to have been one of the first mailing houses in the UK to offer paper-wrapping services. This eco-friendly way to wrap your mailing item is fully recyclable and provides the wow factor. As an environmentally aware business, partnering with Two Sides is the natural next step on our sustainable journey.” says Joseph Ghadami, Managing Director at GB Mail.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has decided to temporarily suspend a planned reduction in service level standards for First Class package delivery until after the peak holiday season, a week after the Postal Regulatory Commission which oversees it said the plan “lacked demonstrable evidence.” The proposed changes called for adding 1-2 days to the service level standard for about 31.2% of First Class package volume, while shorting it by about a day for approximately 4.8% percent of the volume, according to the PRC. “In light of the ongoing environment caused by COVID-19 and the rise of the Delta variant affecting our customers, the implementation date for the revised service standards for First-Class Package Service will be announced after the holiday shipping season” the USPS said in a statement.

Fiscal 2021 sales from continuing operations increased 8.6 percent from the year-ago period to $132.5 billion, up 7.5 percent on a constant currency basis1. Operating income from continuing operations in fiscal 2021 increased to $2.3 billion compared with $982 million in the year-ago period. Net earnings from continuing operations were $2.0 billion, compared with $180 million in the year-ago period, reflecting non-cash impairment charges in the year-ago period, strong growth across both segments, and earnings from the company's equity method investment related to Option Care Health.

HH Global would like to extend our warmest congratulations to the winners of the inaugural Profit with Purpose Award at the 2021 World Sustainability Awards today, Smithfield Foods. We are incredibly honoured to have been selected as a finalist for one of these twelve prestigious awards, which honour those who have shown outstanding corporate and social sustainability practices and ultimately encourage other businesses to follow suit. The Profit with Purpose Award commends companies for ensuring business growth is driven by a mission to achieve both social and environmental sustainability, by channeling innovations, focus and profits into these areas.

It looks to be another odd year for holiday celebrations. The biggest question likely on most minds is, do we make merry in person or virtually? No matter your plans, the Postal Service is ready to do its part to handle your special holiday greetings and gifts. But we also need you to do your part, and that is to make sure you get those packages and good wishes to your Post Office location on time. There are plenty of holiday- and winter- themed stamps available to adorn your greeting cards this year. You can find them in our online Postal Store or at any one of our more than 34,000 Post Office locations. As a reminder, on Aug. 29, the cost of a First-Class Forever stamp increased three cents, from 55 cents to 58 cents. There are also temporary price increases in place through Dec. 26, 12:01 a.m., Central time for both retail and business customers for some of our more popular shipping products, which also includes military shipping — Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service. International products are unaffected. These temporary rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with the revenue to cover extra costs in anticipation of peak-season volume surges similar to levels experienced in 2020.

On October 1, a critical piece of code used on over 2 billion websites to safeguard security expired. Companies large and small were disrupted. And untold millions of consumers around the globe that do not have the latest and greatest digital devices suddenly could not access the sites they wanted or needed to. The quiet sunsetting of the Let’s Encrypt security certificate is still wreaking havoc because it is the most widely used piece of code authorizing access to secure websites. Consumers are finding that their desktop, mobile, Mac, Windows, Android and other systems and devices cannot connect to many websites using the HTTPS security protocol if their personal tech is more than a few years old and not running the latest operating systems. For the fortunate, they will only have the hassles of updating and upgrading – but many will now be forced to buy new technology. This same issue has occurred on a smaller scaler with lesser used security certificates, and has the potential to reemerge as other certificates expire. This is a critical matter for consumers who already have been demanding the option of paper correspondence mailed to them by their service providers. Why? Because it is these same service providers, including banks and financial services institutions, insurance companies, healthcare providers, telecoms and utilities that are the most likely to use the secure internet protocols, and valid security certificates are necessary for accessing private, personal account information.

IAC and Meredith Corporation announced their entry into an agreement pursuant to which IAC’s Dotdash digital publishing unit will acquire the entity that will hold Meredith Corporation's National Media Group, which is comprised of its Digital and Magazine businesses, and its corporate operations (“Meredith”), in an all cash transaction at a purchase price of $42.18 per share. The transaction combines the power of Dotdash’s digital publishing model with Meredith’s trusted, iconic brand portfolio, loyal audience and scale. The combined company, to be called Dotdash Meredith and led by Dotdash CEO Neil Vogel, is expected to be one of the largest publishers in America with leading brands across the highest value commercial categories online, including home, health, food, finance, parenting, and beauty. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. “The Meredith family is extremely proud of everything the company has achieved over the past 120 years, which is a direct reflection of our dedicated employees,” said Mell Meredith Frazier, Vice Chairman of the Meredith board of directors. “Our creative and devoted employees have guided our beloved brands through a fast-changing media landscape – enriching the lives of generations of Americans. The Meredith Foundation will continue to be an active member in the flourishing Des Moines community, as will Dotdash Meredith.”

Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $19.50 billion for the retail month of September, the five weeks ended October 3, 2021, an increase of 15.8 percent from $16.84 billion last year. Costco currently operates 817 warehouses, including 565 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 13 in Australia, three in Spain, and one each in Iceland, France, and China. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.

Making sure those serving in the nation’s armed forces and diplomatic service receive their presents and care packages in time for the holidays is a priority of the U.S. Postal Service. Plan ahead and mail your holiday cheer early to friends and loved ones serving abroad. To send packages to military and diplomatic posts abroad, the Postal Service offers a discounted price of $20.40 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. The price includes a $1.50 discount per box for mail sent to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide. To ensure timely delivery of holiday wishes by Dec. 25, the Postal Service recommends that cards and packages be sent to military APO/FPO/DPO addresses overseas no later than the mailing dates listed at: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/1005-usps-announces-shipping-dates-for-holiday-military-mail.htm

Two of the world’s leading retailers are working together to expand same-day and next-day delivery capabilities for home improvement customers in the U.S. With Walmart GoLocal, The Home Depot customers have another option for same-day or next-day delivery on a variety of home improvement products. “The Home Depot is continuously working to give customers the most convenient shopping experience in home improvement, and that includes providing a wide range of fast and reliable delivery options,” said Stephanie Smith, senior vice president of supply chain for The Home Depot. “This partnership brings us even closer to our goal of offering same-day or next-day delivery to 90 percent of the U.S. population.” The company will offer delivery with Walmart GoLocal in select markets in the coming weeks, with plans to expand to multiple markets across the country by the end of the year. Products that qualify for this scheduled delivery, including tools, fasteners, paint and other supplies that easily fit in a car, will have that option enabled at online checkout.

Kohl’s announced an expansion of the company’s ongoing commitment to health and wellness, including mental health, highlighted by a new national nonprofit partnership with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Kohl’s is donating $2 million over two years to NAMI, which the organization will use to refresh its support group model. With Kohl’s gift, NAMI’s support groups will be expanded to reach additional people and serve more diverse communities, rolling out virtually in communities across the United States. The programming will be enhanced to include new trauma-informed, cross-cultural training and materials to better support those whose mental health has been impacted by trauma, including the impacts of COVID-19 and economic uncertainty. “We’re confident that our new partnership with NAMI will make a positive impact in the lives of countless families across the country who are affected by mental illness,” said Greg Revelle, Kohl’s chief marketing officer. “We see this relationship as a natural extension of our long-standing commitment to healthy families and an important part of our continued focus on health and holistic well-being.”

Gap Inc. has acquired the New York and Tel Aviv based start-up Context-Based 4 Casting Ltd. (CB4) that uses cutting-edge AI and machine learning tools to transform retail operations, increase sales and improve the customer experience through predictive analytics and demand sensing. “We believe artificial intelligence and machine learning will shape the future of our industry. Gap Inc. has experience working with CB4’s world-class data scientists, so we understand the impact and the wide applications their science can have across sales, inventory and consumer insights, as well as its potential to unlock value and enhance the customer experience,” said Sally Gilligan, Chief Growth Transformation Officer Chief, and head of the Strategic Growth Office at Gap Inc. The deal was brokered by Gap Inc.’s Strategic Growth Office, a unit of the company that seeks out opportunities to fuel growth and accelerate new capabilities across its portfolio of brands.

Global research and education leader Wiley announced the acquisition of J&J Editorial Services, LLC, a publishing services company based in the United States. The acquisition of J&J Editorial reinforces the company’s commitment to helping learned societies, professional associations and publishers achieve their missions. Founded in 2008 by Jennifer Deyton and Julie Nash, J&J Editorial provides expert offerings in editorial operations, production, copyediting, system support and consulting, allowing more than 120 clients to publish world-class titles that power the global knowledge ecosystem. Together, Wiley and J&J Editorial are better suited to help societies, associations and publishers manage change, deliver high-quality content, and provide vital service flexibility in a changing publishing landscape.

HH Global is pleased to announce the completion of the acquisition of Noosh, following the signing of an agreement on September 30, 2021. HH Global identified Noosh as the best-in-class global technology solution provider with over $1.2b in marketing spend managed and sourced through its technology. This acquisition will allow HH Global to introduce self-serve and hybrid solutions to clients, while providing differentiated opportunities to extend existing client relationships into new categories and regions. Furthermore, the agreement will allow both businesses to leverage greater aggregated spend under management. Ultimately, the acquisition of Noosh will accelerate global service reach for both new and existing clients across both HH Global and Noosh, through unrestricted technology deployment.

Quarter-to-date service performance data for July 1 through Sept. 24 included: *First-Class Mail: Delivered 88.1 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 0.6 percentage points from the third quarter. *Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.5 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.5 percentage points from the third quarter. *Periodicals: Delivered 82.2 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3 percentage points from the third quarter. On October 1, the Postal Service will implement new service standards for First-Class Mail and Periodicals. These new service standards will increase delivery reliability, consistency, and efficiency for our customers and across our network. Most First-Class Mail (61 percent) and Periodicals (93 percent) will be unaffected by the new service standard changes. Standards for single-piece First-Class Mail traveling within a local area will continue to be two days.

The Commission finds: *The Postal Service’s stated goals for the proposal appear reasonable. *The Postal Service assumed factors necessary for successful implementation of the proposal that have not been demonstrated. *It is unclear when the Postal Service plans to realize the full impact of its proposed changes to the service standards. The proposed changes may have a positive impact on the Postal Service’s ability to meet its service performance targets. *The Postal Service’s cost-saving estimates of the proposed changes may be inflated and the proposed changes would not substantially affect the Postal Service’s overall financial condition. *Flaws in the Postal Service’s transportation model could diminish its reliability. The Postal Service’s surface network impact projections and estimated cost changes are potentially inaccurate and unachievable. *The Postal Service has not demonstrated that it is operationally capable of running the complex surface network modeled to support the service standard changes it plans to implement. *Implementing processing and transportation changes prior to peak season may be challenging due to the continuation of the COVID-19 emergency and stress on the logistics industry. In general, the Commission finds that the proposed changes appear to be consistent with applicable statutory requirements. Nevertheless, the Postal Service has not demonstrated that its implementation of the proposed changes will satisfy the requirements.

Today’s college students have grown up in a digital world, so one might expect that most of them would prefer e-textbooks to print on paper, but that’s not the case according to a new survey conducted by Direct Textbook, a free textbook price comparison service. The survey reports that 62% college students prefer print textbooks to e-textbooks. This represents a 10% decline in print textbook preference since 2015, when 72% of students reported favoring print textbooks, but it doesn’t mean students are embracing e-textbooks. Despite the growing e-textbook market, student preference for e-textbooks increased by just 2% from 2015 (27%) to 2021 (29%), while the number of students who have no preference increased by nearly 8% over that same period. Students who prefer print textbooks say they are easier to read and that they have trouble concentrating on e-textbooks. They also like that no internet is required. And 25% say they end up printing e-textbook pages anyway.

Penguin Random House is offering enhanced two-day shipping for independent booksellers starting October 1 and running through March 1, 2022. Of particular note, the company is waiving the minimum-retail-value requirement for orders. The program covers frontlist and backlist titles from all PRH's divisions as well as all the clients of Penguin Random House Publisher Services. The enhanced service also comes as concerns over possible supply chain disruptions grow, something alluded to in a statement from Jaci Updike, president. U.S. sales, for PRH: “While we can’t 100% predict what the supply chain will look like in the fourth quarter this year, we do know that rapid replenishment is a key element of profitability and success at the all-important holiday season, and as always, we want to step up our efforts to get books into stores as quickly as possible. Some things are out of our control – including the unprecedented challenges the shipping companies are facing – but the PRH team is committed to going above-and-beyond to pick and pack indie orders with full speed,” Updike said.

Gannett Co., Inc. announced that it is seeking to opportunistically refinance its existing term loan under its senior secured credit facilities. The Company intends to issue senior secured notes to refinance a portion of the term loan and refinance the remainder of the existing term loan with a new senior secured term loan. The proposed refinancing transactions are subject to market and other conditions, and the Company can give no assurances that it will complete any such transactions, in whole or in part, or as to the amount or timing of any such transactions. The new senior secured term loan would be in a principal amount up to $550 million (the “Credit Agreement”). Gannett Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, would be the borrower under the Credit Agreement (the “Borrower”), and lenders are anticipated to include funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Capital Management L.P. Upon closing, the net proceeds of the loans will be used to refinance a portion of the Company’s existing term loan.

A funding boost for the Federal Trade Commission to create a new data protection bureau should be accompanied by a national privacy law, ad industry groups say. "The U.S. needs both a strong privacy regulator and a rational, comprehensive national consumer privacy law,” Leigh Freund, CEO and president of the self-regulatory organization Network Advertising Initiative stated Monday. She added that while the FTC needs more resources, increasing funding without establishing a national standard “will still leave U.S. consumers and businesses subject to a jumble of incompatible state and international laws.”

Skyrocketing demand for boxes and packing materials during the pandemic has slashed paper production across North America, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for retail companies. “We’re starting to hear, ‘We’re out of paper,‘” said Polly Wong, president of San Francisco-based direct-marketing firm Belardi Wong, noting that some of her clients already missed their fall advertising campaigns due to issues at the printers. Ms. Wong estimates that 100 million catalogs will not be printed or reach U.S. homes in time for the year’s biggest spending season as a result. “It kind of put our industry up in a panic.” With some mills converting to cardboard to meet the spike in e-commerce deliveries and others shutting down altogether, more than 2.5 million metric tons of North American printing and writing paper capacity — or nearly one-fifth of 2019 levels — has come offline since the start of last year. more at source

If you're like me, sending a letter or package across the country through the US Postal Service feels like a game of chance. Will it get there in a week -- or two? During the first quarter of this year, around 20% of first-class mail across the US was delivered late. And now snail mail is about to get slower for some of the 160 million residences and businesses that rely on the Postal Service. Starting Oct. 1, the USPS will implement new service standards for its first-class mail and packages, lengthening delivery time for about 30% of its volume. That means some letters, parcels and magazine subscriptions traveling longer distances could take up to five days to arrive, instead of two or three days. The changes are part of a 10-year plan called Delivering for America to overhaul the agency and try to tackle its $160 billion debt. The plan would also reduce post office hours and raise prices for customers, and there'll be even more postage hikes during the peak holiday season. more at source

Quarter-to-date service performance data for July 1 through Sept. 17 included: *First-Class Mail: Delivered 88.3 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 0.8 percentage point from the third quarter. *Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.5 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.5 percentage points from the third quarter. *Periodicals: Delivered 82.2 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3 percentage points from the third quarter. Service performance in recent weeks has been affected in markets impacted by Hurricane Ida and ongoing employee availability challenges posed by COVID-19. Delivering for America, the Postal Service’s 10-year plan for financial sustainability and service excellence, seeks to meet or exceed its goal of 95 percent on-time service performance for all mail and shipping product delivery based on standards as all elements of the plan are implemented. The Postal Service continued preparations for the higher delivery demands of the 2021 holiday peak season this week. Ongoing efforts have included a national drive to hire delivery and plant personnel that is expected to result in an additional 40,000 seasonal hires by year-end, the leasing of 7.5 million square feet of additional space across more than 40 multiyear annexes where we are experiencing year-round space constraints due to parcel growth, and the installation of new processing equipment to accommodate higher volumes reflecting customers’ delivery needs. Since April, the Postal Service has installed 65 of 112 new package sorting machines, reflecting the Delivering for America plan’s $40 billion of planned investment over ten years. Additionally, more than 50 package systems capable of sorting large packages are expected to be deployed prior to December. 4.5 million additional packages can be sorted each day utilizing newly deployed package sortation equipment.

Costco Wholesale Corporation announced its operating results for the 16-week fourth quarter and the 52-week fiscal year, ended August 29, 2021. Net sales for the quarter increased 17.5 percent, to $61.44 billion from $52.28 billion last year. Net sales for the fiscal year increased 17.7 percent, to $192.05 billion from $163.22 billion last year. Net income for the fourth quarter was $1.670 billion, or $3.76 per diluted share, compared to $1.389 billion, or $3.13 last year. This year’s fourth quarter was negatively impacted by a write-off of certain information technology assets of $84 million pre-tax ($0.14 per diluted share). Last year’s fourth quarter was negatively impacted by incremental expense related to COVID-19 premium wages and sanitation costs of $281 million pretax ($0.47 per diluted share) and a $36 million pretax charge ($0.06 per diluted share) related to the prepayment of $1.5 billion of debt, partially offset by an $84 million pretax benefit ($0.15 per diluted share) for the partial reversal of a reserve related to a product tax assessment taken in fiscal year 2019. Net income for the fiscal year was $5.01 billion, or $11.27 per diluted share, compared to $4.00 billion, or $9.02 per diluted share in the prior year.

While UPS buys its way into last mile and on-demand delivery with Roadie, the U.S. Postal Service is piloting a same/next-day delivery service in Texas, geared toward local business-to-consumer orders that companies bring to a local USPS office to get a discounted rate. During the pilot of USPS Connect Local, small businesses can print prepaid labels using using ClickNShip, the USPS’s labeling system, and bring their packages to the dock of a post office near the final destination. The discounted rates are normally reserved for large-volume shippers. Packages must be dropped off by 7 a.m. for same-day delivery, otherwise it’s a next-day service. USPS Connect Local, launched in July, is part of the agency’s 10-year Delivering for America plan, which has a goal of adding $24 billion in net revenue growth over that period.

As supply chain issues continue to plague the retail sector, booksellers have become some of the most vocal voices online to warn of coming shortages this holiday season. This past weekend, some authors took to Twitter to urge readers that, if they want copies of their books in time for the holiday season, they needed to place their orders now. Independent bookstores, too have told customers to plan ahead. “If you think you might need a book in this last chunk of the year, please consider ordering soon,” Washington, D.C.-based East City Bookshop posted on Twitter, citing tightening in the supply chain. It isn’t just books: a complex combination of worker shortages, increased overseas shipping costs and raw material shortages have impacted companies ranging from Peloton to Ravensburger, a popular maker of jigsaw puzzles, said this week that it would halt all orders of its games for the foreseeable future. But book publishers are especially vulnerable because they order new book printings based on consumer demand, and to keep a popular title in stock, they depend on getting those new printings out to customers quickly. As the timelines for new printings are stretched further and further, publishers face the real possibility of running out of some books ahead of the holidays.

Pearson English announces the global launch of a new pre-primary course My Disney Stars and Friends, working alongside Disney. It features stunning Disney artwork, stories and themes suitable for the youngest learners. Pearson’s learning materials are at the forefront of educational trends and needs. My Disney Stars and Friends includes a focus on social and emotional learning, personal wellbeing, and puts learners on a clear and measurable learning path. They will be followed by a captivating series of MARVEL Cinematic Readers for teenagers and adults in the autumn. The new Disney-themed course can be used for teaching in school and home environments or a blended approach. This gives teachers flexibility and supports educators, parents and learners alike.

To help customers better prepare for a new Market Dominant price adjustment schedule, the Postal Service will not raise prices on Market Dominant products, including Forever stamps, in January 2022. Instead, the next Market Dominant price adjustment is scheduled to happen in July 2022. Beginning January 2023, Market Dominant price adjustments will occur twice a year, (e.g. January 2023, July 2023, January 2024, July 2024, etc.). Market Dominant products include First-Class Mail (FCM), USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, Package Services* and Special Services. July 2022 rate authority will include ten months of CPI plus retirement, density, and non-compensatory class authorities as determined by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).The January rate authority will include six months of CPI, plus any unused rate authority.Subsequent July rate authority will include six months of CPI plus the retirement, density, and non-compensatory class authorities and any remaining unused rate authority.

The early months of the pandemic led to shortages of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, meat and more. And a year and a half later, at least one supply chain in the U.S. is still experiencing disruptions. The nation's paper supply is running thin, impacting envelopes, books, paper bags and beyond, NBC News correspondent Kerry Sanders reported on TODAY Tuesday. One bride-to-be planning a wedding for November, Gabriella Santaniello, told TODAY that her invitations were delayed for weeks because her vendor didn't have enough paper to print the envelopes. "I panicked. I didn’t expect for them to come back with that answer," she recalled. Another impacted industry? Booksellers. Barnes & Noble saw a surge in sales at the height of the pandemic but could deal with supply chain issues during the holiday season. "The problem comes as we get closer into the holiday and really close to Christmas when some books start selling a bit more than we expect," Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt told TODAY. "Then there’s a problem because then you can’t reprint and or rather the capacity for reprint is limited."

By any measure, the first half of 2021 was a good period for trade book publishing. Revenue at the companies that report trade sales to the Association of American Publishers’ StatShot program rose 17.6% over the first six months of 2020; NPD BookScan reported that unit sales increased 18.5% in the period; and bookstore sales jumped 30% over what was a miserable first six months of 2020. So it comes as no surprise that the four publicly traded major publishers also posted strong increases in the period. Of particular note is the fact that while sales were strong, profits were even better, with operating margins showing healthy gains. In general, the publishers cited higher sales of both backlist books and digital content, especially digital audiobooks, for the improved margins. Though supply chain issues and the uncertainty over the delta variant are causing some concerns about how the rest of the year will unfold, publishers are hoping that the increased interest in reading will carry over through the 2021 holiday season and beyond.

Women’s magazine Marie Claire is ending its US print edition after 27 years, The Post has learned. The magazine, which was sold by Hearst to British publisher Future Media in May, quietly informed its subscribers via a letter that its Summer 2021 issue would be its last. Marie Claire subscribers will instead receive a print copy of Harper’s Bazaar, the fashion publication owned by Hearst, for the rest of their subscription terms, according to the letter, which was signed by Bazaar editor in chief Samira Nasr. “I have some news to share: After the Summer 2021 issue, Marie Claire will no longer be available as an annual subscription but will instead focus on its vibrant digital platforms– Marieclaire.com, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.,” Nasr said.

Quarter-to-date service performance data for July 1 through Sept. 3 included: *First-Class Mail: Delivered 88.7 percent of First-Class Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.2 percentage points from the third quarter. *Marketing Mail: Delivered 92.8 percent of Marketing Mail on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 1.8 percentage points from the third quarter. *Periodicals: Delivered 82.6 percent of Periodicals on time against the USPS service standard, an improvement of 3.3 percentage points from the third quarter. During the week of Aug. 28 - Sept. 3, the Postal Service quickly prepared for and responded to Hurricane Ida, a category 4 hurricane, which made landfall in Louisiana on Aug. 29. Due to the hurricane, network service delays occurred as the storm temporarily suspended USPS operations in parts of Louisiana and other Gulf Coast and Atlantic areas in the hurricane’s path.