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West Texas Intermediate crude advanced to the highest in more than a week amid speculation that the European Central Bank will cut its key interest rate to a record low next week.
Futures increased as much as 0.9 percent in New York to the highest intraday price since April 15. Banks including UBS AG and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) expect a rate reduction for May. U.S. crude stockpiles fell 845,000 barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said yesterday. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey before the API report had forecast government data today to show supplies climbed 2 million barrels to the most in 22 years, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
"Markets seem to think an ECB rate cut will solve Europe's problems," Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets Plc in London, said by e-mail. "Expectations of lower inventories could also be underpinning prices."
WTI for June delivery rose as much as 76 cents to $89.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $89.86 at 10:56 a.m. London time.
BASF is taking a number of steps to strengthen the competitiveness of its Performance Products segment. The segment bundles BASF's businesses with chemicals that improve the properties of many different end-user products. The portfolio includes ingredients for personal care, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, plastic additives, pigments and paper chemicals as well as chemicals used in oil and gas production and mining. In some market segments, increasing standardization and the entry of new competitors have changed the business environment significantly. This especially applies to the markets for plastic additives and pigments as well as for water, leather and textile chemicals.
BASF aims to adapt its businesses to the changed market environment and significantly increase competitiveness in the coming years by streamlining processes, investing in new technologies and adjusting its portfolio and its organizational setup. The currently planned measures will lead to a reduction of about 500 positions worldwide by the end of 2015.
"The expansion of our specialty business in the Performance Products segment made us more robust to economic fluctuations. However, the growth and profitability of the standard products do not yet meet our requirements. We have therefore identified numerous measures which we are implementing step by step. Further measures are being analyzed," said Michael Heinz, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and responsible for the Performance Products segment.
Courting a digital audience before introducing a print product is becoming a much more common practice by content publishers, and a strategy that new enthusiast magazine Haute Time is betting on. The new 50,000-circ, biannual pub launched on Monday and is hoping to tap the power of social, celebrity and digital as a blueprint for success. In April 2012 Haute Media Group introduced a group of niche sites focused on the luxury consumer demographic as a spin off to its Haute Living magazine; the media network includes sites HauteTime, HauteAuto, HauteResidence, HauteYatchs and HauteFashionDaily.
With this new print product the company has tapped NBA basketball player and New York Knick Carmelo Anthony as a co-founder—giving the brand unique access to the star's millions of social followers. "Unlike most magazines that launch in print first, we launched in a digital format first," says co-publisher Seth Semilof. "The brand's first cover mogul and business strategist Tony Robbins linked the magazine to his 3 million followers and Carmelo linked to his 5 million followers. The first day alone we had more readers read the book digitally than we'll have in print—we're printing 50,000 copies and we had over 50,000 people read the magazine online on the first day alone." Anthony has helped the brand leverage social media—he posts a "Watch of the Day" on Instagram to his more than 1 million followers to build buzz, he tweeted a link to the digital magazine to his more than 3.1 million followers, and shared it with his more than 2.3 million Facebook fans.
RockTenn today reported earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 of $4.45 per diluted share and adjusted earnings of $1.12 per diluted share. Adjusted earnings per share increased 15% over the prior year quarter.
Net sales of $2,325 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 increased $42 million compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2012. Segment income of $174 million increased $10 million or 6% over the prior year quarter adjusted to eliminate $7 million of pre-tax losses in the prior year quarter due to our Matane, Quebec containerboard mill.
RockTenn's income tax benefit during the quarter was primarily due to the reversal of previously established tax reserves of $254 million relating to alternative fuel mixture credits acquired in the Smurfit-Stone Acquisition following the Internal Revenue Service's completion of its examination of the Smurfit-Stone 2009 tax return.
RockTenn's restructuring and other costs and operating losses and transition costs due to plant closures were $0.14 per diluted share after-tax, for the second quarter of fiscal 2013. These costs consisted primarily of $8 million of pre-tax facility closure charges and $4 million of pre-tax integration costs.
Owens-Illinois, Inc. today reported financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2013.
Highlights • First quarter 2013 earnings from continuing operations attributable to the Company were $0.48 per share (diluted), compared with $0.73 per share in the same period of 2012. Excluding certain items management considers not representative of ongoing operations, adjusted earnings[1] were $0.60 per share, compared with $0.73 per share in the prior year. • Higher operating profits in South America and Asia Pacific were more than offset by lower results in Europe. South America benefited from volume growth and logistics savings from a new furnace brought online in Brazil in late 2012. As expected, European operating profit was adversely impacted by lower demand and efforts to normalize production levels over the course of 2013. • Price and product mix increased 2 percent year on year, with gains reported in all regions. Price increases covered cost inflation.
Net sales in the first quarter of 2013 were $1.64 billion, down from $1.74 billion in the prior year first quarter. Currency translation adversely impacted sales by 2 percent. Volume, in terms of tonnes shipped, decreased by 5 percent year-over-year. The decline in volume was most pronounced in Europe, due to difficult macroeconomic conditions, the absence of major sporting events that occurred in the prior year and the share shift to smaller competitors in response to the Company's pricing strategy in 2012. South America reported modest volume growth, driven by food packaging. Sales prices globally were up 2 percent, with successful price initiatives reported in all regions.
In the first quarter of 2013, segment operating profit was $226 million, down from $260 million in the prior year. The Company curtailed production, particularly in Europe, as part of an initiative to reduce production volatility over the course of the year. This led to lower absorption of fixed costs, and therefore lower profitability, relative to the comparable period in the prior year. The Company expects improved profitability from this initiative in the latter half of the year. Structural cost reductions partially compensated for the adverse impact of lower production and sales volume.
NewPage Corporation (NewPage) announced today the twenty-fifth anniversary of UniTherm®, a family of pressure sensitive thermal transfer label papers designed and manufactured by its specialty papers product area. UniTherm is used in logistics and inventory control systems worldwide, supporting rapid capture and transmittal of thermal transfer-printed variable information and barcode data that is an essential component of modern track-and-trace shipment and just-in-time inventory systems.
UniTherm was developed in 1988 as a solution for item-level barcode labeling offered by new computerized shipping and inventory management systems. "Barcode labels revolutionized the movement and tracking of products in virtually all industries," said Ed Buehler, vice president, specialty papers for NewPage. "UniTherm has been instrumental in enhancing the velocity and accuracy of supply chain logistics."
Over the last 25 years, UniTherm has evolved, keeping pace with advancements in printer and printer ribbon technologies and the rapid growth of integrated global logistics systems. "UniTherm created a new generation of label papers designed for reliable performance over time in harsh environments," said Buehler. "This innovation tradition continues today as UniTherm remains the industry standard for thermal transfer papers."
The UniTherm family includes basis weight offerings from 40 lb. (65gsm) to 50 lb. (81gsm) – each optimized for pressure sensitive thermal transfer printing.
Highlights for the quarter include the following year-over-year comparisons:
Local domestic circulation revenue up 14 percent; fourth consecutive quarter of growth Broadcasting revenue accelerates 9 percent Company-wide digital revenue growth of 29 percent 35 percent increase in Digital segment operating cash flow; 14 percent increase in Broadcasting operating cash flow
Total revenues for the company were 1.6 percent higher in the first quarter compared to the first quarter in 2012 and totaled $1.24 billion reflecting revenue increases of 8.7 percent and 3.9 percent in the Broadcasting and Digital segments, respectively. Publishing segment revenues were relatively unchanged as the positive results of the all access content subscription model and digital marketing services were offset by softer advertising demand.
Net income attributable to Gannett in the first quarter of 2013 totaled $104.6 million. Net income attributable to Gannett on a non-GAAP basis (which excludes the special items) was $86.0 million, an increase of 6.5 percent.
Discover Financial Services today reported net income of $673 million or $1.33 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2013, as compared to $650 million or $1.21 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2012. The company's return on equity was 27%.
The results for the quarter ending March 31, 2013 are compared with the results for the quarter ending March 31, 2012, which are presented on a calendar basis due to a change in the company's fiscal year end from November 30 to December 31. First Quarter HighlightsRevenue net of interest expense was up $189 million, or 10%, from the prior year to $2.0 billion. Total loans grew $3.7 billion, or 7%, from the prior year to $60.4 billion. Credit card loans grew $2.4 billion, or 5%, to $48.7 billion and Discover card sales volume increased 4% from the prior year. Credit card loan delinquencies over 30 days past due reached a record low of 1.77%. Credit card net charge-off rate increased 5 basis points sequentially to 2.36%. Payment Services pretax income was down $1 million, or 2%, from the prior year to $47 million. Transaction dollar volume for the segment was $48.8 billion in the quarter, an increase of 2% from the prior year.
Xerox announced today first-quarter 2013 adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents, which includes a 2-cent benefit from a reserve reduction related to recent litigation developments. Adjusted EPS excludes 4 cents related to amortization of intangibles, resulting in GAAP EPS of 23 cents.
In the first quarter, total revenue of $5.4 billion was down 3 percent. Revenue from the company's services business was up 4 percent and represents 55 percent of total revenue.
"We delivered solid revenue growth in our services business along with a stable segment margin and a 64 percent increase in the total contract value of signings to $3.7 billion," said Ursula Burns, Xerox chairman and chief executive officer.
"While results in our services business align with our growth strategy and our expectations, challenges in our document technology business continued during the first quarter," she added. Revenue from the company's document technology business, representing 40 percent of total revenue, was down 9 percent, which had an adverse impact on segment margin as market conditions and the timing of a recent product platform launch put pressure on the sale of document systems, supplies and related services. In February, Xerox announced ConnectKeyTM, a software system embedded in 16 new Xerox multifunction printers, many of which began shipping in the second quarter.
"We're continuing to shift our business model to adapt to market trends by expanding indirect distribution and streamlining our supply chain and product portfolio," said Burns. "These changes, along with implementing broader operational improvements across the company, will result in increased margins that will help us scale profitable revenue in services while maintaining strong market share in document technology."
Q1 2013 (compared with Q1 2012)•Operational EBITDA EUR 240 (EUR 265) million.•Operational EBIT EUR 118 (EUR 150) million due to lower performance in Printing and Reading. Improvement in Biomaterials, Renewable Packaging and wood supply.•EPS excluding NRI EUR 0.07 (0.10) and EPS EUR -0.02 (0.09).•Cash flow from operations EUR 101 (EUR 223) million affected by working capital increase. Strong liquidity at EUR 1.7 (EUR 1.25) billion.
Q1 2013 (compared with Q4 2012)•Operational EBITDA EUR 240 (EUR 276) million.•Operational EBIT EUR 118 (EUR 158) million due to lower performance in Printing and Reading. Improvement in Renewable Packaging and wood supply.•Ratio of net debt to the last twelve months' operational EBITDA 2.7 (2.5).
Actions and outlook•Final approvals to build plantation-based integrated board and pulp mills at Beihai city in Guangxi, China still pending.•Ostroleka containerboard machine PM 5 started up in January.•Montes del Plata Pulp Mill has initiated the commissioning of the main equipment and expects to begin the mill start-up process during Q3/2013.•Earlier announced restructuring plans progressing as planned in Printing and Reading. New plans announced to simplify and streamline Group and business structures aiming at reducing annual costs by EUR 200 million, including the earlier announced EUR 30 million in Building and Living.•Q2 2013 sales expected to be slightly higher and operational EBIT in line with or slightly higher than Q1 2013.
Stora Enso plans to launch a Group streamlining and structure simplification project intended to achieve annual fixed cost savings of EUR 200 million, including the earlier announced EUR 30 million in the Building and Living Business Area, with the full impact starting from the second quarter of 2014. The project is planned to include all Business Areas and corporate functions. In addition to reducing costs, the planned project would reduce interdependencies between businesses and enable a stronger focus on growth in value creating businesses.
"We plan to clearly and decisively further reduce our fixed costs to revenue ratio not only to adjust to the decline in market demand, but also to clearly add resilience against the cyclical and structural changes in our revenue. The reality is that our European driven printed media markets have shrunk more than 20% since 2008, and there is no reason to believe that the structural change of the past five years in Europe will slow down or change direction in the foreseeable future," says Stora Enso CEO Jouko Karvinen.
It is planned to change from four Business Areas to three Divisions by integrating the current Building and Living Business Area with the Printing and Reading Business Area in a new Division mainly focusing on mature businesses and geographies. The other two Divisions would be the existing Renewable Packaging and Biomaterials Business Areas, which would remain as they are and concentrate on growth markets and businesses, as well as innovation.
Summit Natural Gas of Maine and Sappi Fine Paper North America announced today an agreement in principle to establish natural gas service to the Somerset Mill in Skowhegan, Maine, in one of the largest natural gas distribution projects of its kind in the recent history of Maine. Summit's investment of $350 million in pipeline infrastructure will provide the mill access to efficient natural gas, supporting Sappi's low-cost position and commitment to sustainability well into the future.
"The opportunity to utilize natural gas is essential to maintain the competitive cost position of our Somerset Mill and is another example of our investment in the State of Maine," said Mark Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sappi Fine Paper North America. "We look forward to working with Summit to establish access to clean, economical natural gas, which we foresee will ultimately reduce fuel costs, be better for the environment, and ensure the long-term profitability of our operations."
The project, which is subject to regulatory and other approvals, consists of Summit constructing 88 miles of steel pipeline originating in Richmond, Maine and traveling up through the Kennebec Valley to Madison and Skowhegan. In addition to this proposed project with Sappi, Summit plans to serve 17 communities in the region upon total system build-out with the installation of approximately 1600 miles of polyethylene distribution pipeline. Sappi's firm participation in the project is subject to certain corporate capital approvals.
J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI) marks Earth Day every year by celebrating its employees' day-to-day commitment to reducing the company's environmental footprint.
Across several of its divisions, JDI has made significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through a combination of investments in energy efficiency and fuel oil substitution programs.
In the last five years, the company has reduced its oil consumption by 156 million litres and greenhouse gas emissions by 346,000 tonnes annually - the equivalent of taking 66,500 cars off the road.
Some examples of JDI's efforts in 2012 to reduce its footprint on air, land, and water:http://www.jdirving.com/article.aspx?id=4292
The U.S. Senate voted late today to move ahead with a debate on online sales tax legislation, and a vote on the bill could come this week. The vote followed President Barack Obama's endorsement of the bill.
The U.S. Senate voted 74 – 20 late today to move forward with a debate on a bill that would broadly increase the collection of online sales tax by Internet and catalog retailers. The bill could come to a final vote in the Senate later this week.
Today's vote was almost identical to the Senate's vote last month on a nonbinding resolution that supported the sales tax bill. The vote followed the Obama Administration's endorsement earlier in the day of the legislation before the Senate, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, or Senate bill S. 743. "The Administration strongly supports S. 743, which will level the playing field for local small business retailers that are in competition every day with large out-of-state online companies," the White House said in a statement.
More cash out of pocket doesn't necessarily equate to greener dispositions in consumers' minds, at least when it comes to organic foods. That's the conclusion of a Harris Interactive poll of 2,276 adults conducted in anticipation of today's 44th celebration of Earth Day. Perhaps Americans emerged from the recession with a more cynical view: 59% of them agreed that marketers sometimes label products as organic to have an excuse to charge more for them. "Many are wary of the 'greenwashing' concept that gives companies a chance to cash in on consumers who want to help the planet, but are confused by all the eco-friendly jargon," said Harris Poll president Mike deVere in a press release.
To break it down, more men (63%) than women (54%) questioned the motives of organic marketers, and folks in the Midwest and the South (61%) were more skeptical than Westerners (54%). Political partisanship, apparently, also plays a role in how much people trust organic brands. Nearly two thirds (65%) of Republicans said organic labeling was a scam, versus a little more than half of Democrats (54%).
Net sales amounted to SEK 5 132 million, compared to SEK 3 068 million in the previous quarter. The increase was due to the Korsnäs acquisition.
Adjusted operating profit (excluding non-recurring items) reached SEK 432 million. The increase of SEK 305 million from the previous quarter is mainly attributable to the Korsnäs acquisition.
Integration and realisation of synergies are progressing better than planned and synergies of SEK 77 million have been realised.
Non-recurring costs of SEK 75 million have burdened the results for the quarter.
"The first full quarter as the new BillerudKorsnäs has come to an end and the integration of the two companies is progressing very well. We have therefore increased the target with SEK 200 million for our integration program to approximately SEK 530 million in synergies, savings and increased efficiency. Non-recurring costs for realising the synergies and savings will increase to approximately SEK 200 million, but are clearly justified given the expected savings. The sales process of PM2 in Gävle is also progressing according to plan and we expect to be able to fulfill the requirements from EU concerning our acquisition of Korsnäs. Our adjusted operating profit for the quarter of SEK 432 million is in line with expectations given current environment. The currency situation with a very strong Swedish krona is putting high pressure on our operating profit and the negative impact quarter on quarter is SEK 68 million. Given the strong krona, it is pleasing to see that the integration generates positive savings effects beyond our initial expectations.
Packaging Corporation of America today reported record first quarter net income of $61 million, or $0.62 per share, compared to first quarter 2012 net income, excluding special items, of $41 million, or $0.42 per share. Net sales were a record $755 million, up 12% compared to first quarter 2012 net sales of $671 million.
The $0.20 per share increase in earnings, excluding 2012 special items, was driven by higher containerboard and corrugated products prices and mix ($0.23), higher sales volume ($0.05) and lower recycled fiber costs ($0.01). These items were partially offset by higher costs including labor and benefits ($0.06), workers' compensation ($0.01), energy ($0.01) and transportation ($0.01).
Corrugated products shipments per workday were up 7.1% compared to last year's first quarter, and total shipments were up 3.8% with two less workdays in this year's first quarter. Outside sales of containerboard were equal to last year's first quarter. Containerboard production was 646,000 tons, up 6,000 tons over the first quarter of 2012. PCA ended the quarter with its containerboard inventories about 3,000 tons above year-end levels.
Brent crude fell for the first time in four days as euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted for a 15th month in April adding to concern that demand for oil will continue to fall in the region.
Futures dropped as much as 1.6 percent in London as a Purchasing Managers' index held at 46.5, Markit Economics said. That was in line with economists' forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Earlier, the PMI index on China came in at 50.5, below analysts estimates, raising speculation that consumption will falter in the world's second-biggest crude user.
"We started the day with weak figures from China and then after that there were disappointing figures from the euro-zone, particularly from Germany," Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AG, said by phone from Oslo today. "It seems like the Chinese economy is slowing down at the moment and it doesn't seem the euro-zone is stabilizing as had been hoped."
Brent for June settlement fell as much as $1.61 to $98.78 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. It was at $99.39 as of 11:15 a.m. local time.
Kohl's Department Stores has released its 2012 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, providing updates on the company's programs and accomplishments in sustainability, community relations and social compliance. The report is available for download on Kohl's Investor Relations page under Corporate Governance and on KohlsGreen.com.
"In 2012, we continued to evolve and grow many of our programs, furthering the company's commitment to our communities, business partners and environmental responsibility," said Kevin Mansell, Kohl's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "From associate volunteer efforts to educating our supply chain partners about sustainable practices, Kohl's and our associates are dedicated to making a positive difference. I am proud to share what we have accomplished and our plans for continued progress in the years ahead."
Sustainability: Kohl's Cares®: Advancing Environmental Solutions: Kohl's is committed to protecting and conserving the environment through solutions that promote long-term sustainability. Key strategies include supply chain collaboration, sustainable operations and stakeholder engagement.
Ahlstrom, a global high performance fiber-based materials company, launches today Ahlstrom Captimax(TM), a new best-in-class fuel media at the IDEA13 exhibition in the U.S. The product is suited for fuel filters in passenger and commercial heavy-duty vehicles and off-road machinery. Ahlstrom Captimax(TM) is also being evaluated for use in other applications such as hydraulic and fuel water separation.
By using Eastman's Cyphrex(TM) microfibers, Ahlstrom has created media for a filter that allows manufacturers to obtain optimum micron efficiency ratings and dust holding capacity without making compromises.
Ahlstrom Captimax(TM) provides a balance of excellent small-particle retention and the potential for longer product life. The media also lets fuel filtration system suppliers maintain existing capacity levels but decrease the product size. In addition, the media can allow for increased efficiency with better options to filter fine particles to protect fuel injectors in vehicles and machines. Ahlstrom Captimax(TM) provides high efficiency allowing engines to perform at their maximum.
UPM has achieved exceptional success with its workplace safety initiative which was launched at the beginning of 2012. Within a year since the beginning of the Step Change in Safety 2012–2014 initiative UPM's global Lost Time Accident Frequency (LTAF) decreased by an amazing 40 percent.
The safety initiative had two goals: to achieve world class safety results within three years and to prevent any fatal accidents at UPM premises.
"40 percent less accidents at work is a great improvement. The development was positive in all business areas and at the end of the year 2012 nine production units out of UPM's total of 68 achieved more than one year without any lost time accidents. We are proud of the excellent results of the campaign but the work still continues. Our final target level has not been achieved yet," says Jussi Pesonen, CEO of UPM.
The change started with engaging the leaders and led to safer ways of working in all levels of the organization. Key factors in the success of the initiative have been securing the needed resources and the visibility of the initiative. The change is steered with common corporate standards and company-wide safety key performance indicators, which include leading indicators like reporting near-misses, safety observations and safety walks. Safety awards and incentives have been introduced to reward success and improvement in safety performance.
Penguin is several steps closer to resolving e-book price fixing charges in the U.S. and in the European Union. Thursday, the Department of Justice filed a motion with Judge Denise Cote asking her to approve the final judgment against Penguin, which has until May 3 to file any counter papers. In the EU, the European Commission said Penguin had agreed to changes in e-book pricing that pave the way for a settlement with the company.
The motion made by the DoJ was no surprise since the government and Penguin had reached an agreement in the case that largely followed settlements reached with Hachette, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins. The government has since complied with the procedures to get a final judgment, including a public comment period that yielded three responses. Once Judge Cote approves the agreement, the terms will apply to the merged Penguin Random House company once that deal is finalized.
In the EU, Penguin has been the lone holdout in settling with the commission. While Hachette, S&S, Macmillan, HC and Apple agreed to settle, Penguin had held out, but, the commission said in a statement released Friday, "following constructive discussions with the Commission, Penguin recently offered commitments with a view to seeking an early closure of the proceedings." In a statement, Penguin reiterated it had done nothing wrong, but said to clear the way for the Random House merger it had agreed to settle. "Penguin confirms that, subject to the market test currently underway, it has reached an agreement with the European Commission to settle its investigation into the establishment of agency pricing agreements for eBooks. Penguin's position that it has done nothing wrong remains unchanged and the company continues to believe that the agency pricing model operates in the best interests of consumers and authors. While we disagree with some elements of the Commission's analysis, we are settling as a procedural matter to clear the decks in anticipation of our proposed merger with Random House."
Kimberly-Clark Corporation today reported first quarter 2013 results and increased its guidance for full-year 2013 adjusted earnings per share.
Sales of $5.3 billion in the first quarter of 2013 were up 1 percent compared to the year-ago period. Organic sales rose 3 percent, with increased sales volumes of 2 percent and higher net selling prices of 1 percent. Foreign currency exchange rates were unfavorable by 1 percent and lost sales in conjunction with European strategic changes and pulp and tissue restructuring actions reduced sales by 1 percent.
Operating profit was $783 million in the first quarter of 2013, up 12 percent from $700 million in 2012. Adjusted operating profit was $850 million in the first quarter of 2013, up 16 percent compared to $735 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted results in 2013 exclude a $36 million charge for the remeasurement of the local currency-denominated balance sheet due to the February 2013 devaluation of the Venezuelan bolivar and $31 million of restructuring costs for European strategic changes. Adjusted results in 2012 exclude $35 million of costs for pulp and tissue restructuring actions.
The increase in year-over-year adjusted operating profit included benefits from organic sales growth and $85 million in cost savings from the company's FORCE (Focused On Reducing Costs Everywhere) program. Input costs were $35 million higher overall versus 2012, with $15 million of higher fiber costs, a $10 million increase for other raw materials and $10 million of higher distribution costs. Overall marketing, research and general expenses increased versus the year-ago period, driven by higher administrative costs, while strategic marketing was down slightly compared to a high level of spending in the year-ago period.
West Texas Intermediate crude traded near the highest price in a week as investors speculated that declines over the past three weeks were excessive. Hedge funds cut bullish bets on WTI by the most in almost two months.
Futures fluctuated in New York after gaining the past two days. WTI fell in the seven days ended April 19 for a third weekly decline, the longest run since November. Money managers reduced net-long positions, or wagers that U.S. prices will rise, by 6.8 percent in the week ended April 16, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Commitments of Traders report on April 19. It was the biggest drop since the period ended Feb. 26.
"While we're holding around this zone, the outlook is starting to look more positive for oil," said Michael McCarthy, a chief market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. "We should see a floor under oil at current levels. A lot of the falls that we've seen, not only in oil but other industrial commodities, were related to the weaker growth numbers that we've seen out of China and the U.S."
WTI for May delivery, which expires today, was at $88.14 a barrel, up 13 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:06 p.m. Singapore time.
The Canadian Competition Bureau and the Department of Canadian Heritage have cleared the planned merger of Penguin Group and Random House without conditions. The two international media companies Bertelsmann and Pearson welcome the Canadian authorities' decision as another important step on the way to completing the combination of their respective publishing companies Random House and Penguin Group to Penguin Random House.
On February 14, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice was the first authority to approve the planned merger – also without conditions. This was followed by approvals in Australia and New Zealand. On April 5, the EU Commission in Brussels also approved the planned combination without conditions. Other regulatory authorities are still reviewing the transaction. After all necessary approvals have been received, Bertelsmann and Pearson can close the transaction. The two companies are confident that the approvals will be forthcoming during the course of the year.
The new publishing group, whose planned establishment the two partners had announced last October, will be 53 percent owned by Bertelsmann and 47 percent owned by Pearson. Penguin Random House will encompass all Random House and Penguin Group publishing units in the U.S. and U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa, as well as Penguin's activities in China and Random House's publishers in Spain and Latin America.
PPPC released final March North American printing and writing statistics on Friday afternoon, though data for some grades was available on Thursday.
March showed seasonal recovery, but tepid underlying trends. Despite a more moderate shipment decline, in some ways trends were weaker than February given materially easier comparables. Inventories rose more than normal. Utilization softened modestly month over month and declined more on a yearover-year basis. Trade flows were favorable, with net imports falling to a 16-month low.
In terms of grades, all four posted better shipment trends compared to February but each saw much easier comparables. All grades posted declines in utilization. All four grades posted unfavorable inventory trends compared to normal. Coated groundwood saw an unfavorable trade development (both year over year and month over month) other grades saw favorable trade developments.
Once again, uncoated groundwood had the strongest shipment trend in the month, benefiting from a dramatically easier comp. Coated groundwood had the weakest shipment trend. Uncoated free posted the strongest utilization, 300 basis points stronger than the next closest grade.
Total North American printing and writing paper shipments fell 5.3% year over year in March, improved from an 8.5% decline in February. The March comp was 1050 basis points easier than in February. Shipments are off 4.9% year to date.
Magazine publishers that use the MAZ digital publishing platform are gaining access to more detailed usage data for their apps, including time spent per page, tap-through rates of links and multimedia and aggregate metrics, like total number of app and content sessions. The new usage data are being offered as part of MAZ 3.0, a new version of the platform, which incorporates the analytics and reporting tool, Maz Stats, into its digital dashboard. Maz Stats is specifically designed for publishers creating content for tablets and mobile devices. It includes the five main tablet metrics recommended by the MPA – The Association of Magazine Media. It also allows publishers to break out sharing data by social media channel and see which actual pieces of content are being shared socially using MAZ's Clippings feature. MAZ Founder and CEO Paul Canetti stated: "The insights MAZ now provides will inspire more experimentation and eventually will generate new revenue streams as advertisers demand more granular metrics for digital content. Instead of shooting in the dark, publishers can actually know what is working and what is not." MAZ also announced that it is expanding to other platforms with MAZ 3.0, including products for iPhone, Android smartphones and tablets, as well as the Amazon Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD.
Electronics For Imaging, Inc., a world leader in customer-focused digital printing innovation, today announced its results for the first quarter of 2013.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2013, the Company reported first quarter record revenue of $171.4 million, up 7% compared to first quarter 2012 revenue of $160.1 million. First quarter 2013non-GAAP net income was $15.8 million or $0.33 per diluted share, which included an unfavorable non-operational currency impact of $0.04 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $14.2 million or $0.30 per diluted share for the same period in 2012. GAAP net income was $8.4 million or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to $6.2 million or $0.13 per diluted share for the same period in 2012.
AAA Fuel Gage 4/19/13National Unleaded Regular:Current Average - $3.506/gallonMonth Ago Average - $3.697/gallonYear Ago Average - $3.891/gallonHighest Recorded Average - $4.114/gallon on 7/17/08Diesel:Current Average - $3.932/gallonMonth Ago Average - $4.053/gallonYear Ago Average - $4.136/gallonHighest Recorded Average - $4.845/gallon on 7/17/08
Current Exchange Rates as of 4/19/13American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.975932American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.161826American Dollar to Euro = 1.308765American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.010070American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.081701
West Texas Intermediate crude rose for a second day to trim its third weekly drop, the longest losing streak since November. Brent climbed above $100 a barrel.
WTI advanced as much as 1.2 percent in New York. Prices increased the most in three weeks yesterday after the 14-day relative-strength index sank below 30 on April 17, a signal that the market is oversold, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Futures may decline next week on signs that economic growth is slowing, according to a weekly Bloomberg News survey.
"We would expect a rebound," said Miswin Mahesh, an analyst at Barclays Plc in London. "This year we'll see very good demand growth," and the seasonal weakness in demand is "something that we think is very transient, very temporary," he said.
WTI for May delivery increased as much as $1.06 to $88.79 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $88.53 at 12:22 p.m. London time.
Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, today reported financial results for its first quarter that ended March 31, 2013.
First Quarter Highlights•First quarter 2013 GAAP earnings per diluted share were $.47, compared with $.42 in 2012. •First quarter 2013 GAAP results include $.03 per diluted share in after-tax charges related to previously announced restructuring activities and the impact of currency devaluation on operations in Venezuela. First quarter 2012 GAAP results included a $.10 per diluted share charge related to restructuring activities and acquisition-related expenses. •Base net income attributable to Sonoco (base earnings) for first quarter 2013 was $.50 per diluted share, compared with $.52 in 2012. (See base earnings definition and reconciliation later in this release.) Sonoco previously provided first quarter base earnings guidance of $.50 to $.54 per diluted share. •First quarter 2013 net sales were $1.18 billion, down 3 percent, compared with $1.21 billion in 2012.
Skateboarder Magazine isn't abandoning print altogether, but--not surprisingly for a young, male enthusiast title--it's going to concentrate a lot more on digital from now on.
The 49-year-old GrindMedia brand is replacing its subscription-based print magazine with a free digital edition and a bimonthly print replica of the digital issue beginning with its current April/May issue. "We've learned that we need to change our focus with this particular audience and start with the notion of quick-hit videos," says Norb Garrett, senior vice president and group publisher for GrindMedia, an action and adventure sports division of Source Interlink. "From there we build other ancillary products. The magazine becomes almost a promotional device rather than the central focus. We've had to shift where the starting point is and where the delivery point is." The changes began early this year as Skateboarder Magazine saw several of its print-focused editorial staff replaced with web and video experts. Those moves came in response to growing web traffic--up 186 percent since they increased investment in video last year, Garrett says--and traditionally poor penetration into the audience. He estimates skateboard print media reaches less than 250,000 out of a potential audience of 22 million.
Crown Holdings, Inc. today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. First Quarter HighlightsIncome per diluted share $0.28; Before Certain Items $0.50 Global beverage can volumes grew 6% driven by strong growth in Brazil and Asia Pacific Second production lines in Putian, China and Bangi, Malaysia were commercialized
Net sales in the first quarter grew to $1,973 million over the $1,947 million in the first quarter of 2012, primarily driven by increased global beverage can sales unit volumes more than offsetting lower raw material costs. First quarter gross profit improved to $299 million over the $287 million in the 2012 first quarter, primarily due to increased beverage can sales and reduced depreciation expense, partially offset by lower profits in the European Food segment. Selling and administrative expenses were $104 million in the first quarter compared to $106 million in the same period last year. Segment income (a non-GAAP measure defined by the Company as gross profit less selling and administrative expense) increased to $195 million in the first quarter compared to $181 million in the first quarter of 2012 primarily due to improved gross profit.
Cascades's new EVOK™, the first polystyrene foam food tray in North America made with recycled material, can now be found on the grocery shelves of an important Canadian distributor. EVOK™ was created to package meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, and fresh fruit. Cascades is proud to offer this innovative new product and reaffirm its position as a leader in packaging that respects the environment.
By reducing the use of virgin material and introducing recycled material—at a level of 25%—Cascades has lowered the carbon footprint of food packaging.
METRO has adopted the initiative with lots of enthusiasm. "Rethinking packaging is one of our priorities in our Corporate Responsibility approach," says Mr. Serge Boulanger, METRO's Senior Vice-President, National Procurement and Corporate Brands. "We're very pleased to contribute to the best practices by becoming the first national brand to use EVOK™ in all our stores in Quebec."
Replacing regular packaging with EVOK™—which contains recycled material—enables METRO to reduce Quebec's greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by some 600 tons. That's roughly the equivalent produced by 200 compact cars.
Brent crude rose from its lowest closing level in nine months and West Texas Intermediate advanced for the second time in six days,as European equities gained. OPEC was said to have no plans for an emergency meeting.
Brent climbed as much as 1.4 percent, reversing an earlier loss of 1 percent. WTI added as much as 1.2 percent. European shares rose after the biggest four-day selloff since July as Italian and Spanish bonds rallied. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has no plans to hold emergency talks in response to oil's drop, according to two delegates with knowledge of the group's policy.
"We do not believe that the timing is there just yet for Brent prices to drop sustainably below $100," said Torbjoern Kjus, a senior oil analyst at DNB ASA in Oslo.
Brent for June settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange increased as much as $1.41 to $99.10 a barrel, and traded for $99.06 at 10:29 a.m. local time. Brent settled at $97.69 yesterday, the lowest close since July 2, after dropping below $100 a barrel this week for the first time in more than eight months. The volume of all futures traded today was 40 percent higher than the 100-day average.
WTI for May delivery was at $87.70 a barrel, up $1.02, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:24 a.m. London time after falling earlier as much as $1.07 to $85.61.
Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe told a House committee today that the Postal Service is currently operating with a broken business model and the gap between revenues and costs will only get worse in the coming years unless the laws that govern the Postal Service are changed.
"Our financial problems are due to the restrictive laws that prevent us from fully responding to changes in consumer behavior," Donahoe testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. "Any private sector company could quickly adapt to the market changes we have experienced, and remain profitable. However, we do not have all of the flexibility we need to adapt to a changing marketplace."
Donahoe said the Postal Service continues to be very aggressive in cost-cutting actions it can take within the law, reducing its cost base by $15 billion since 2006. "No other organization, public or private, that I am aware of, can claim a similar cost reduction while continuing to function at a high level. And yet, we have to go much further and much faster and we are prepared to do so."
The Postal Service would have reduced costs an additional $2 billion annually by implementing the new delivery schedule announced in February. However, according to Postal Service legal opinions, House Resolution 933 to fund government operations for the remainder of the fiscal year included language specifically designed to prevent the Postal Service from changing to the new delivery schedule.
"The Postal Service is a responsible, law-abiding arm of the executive branch. Congress passed a law, we reviewed it carefully, we complied with it and we informed our customers – which is what we did last week," Donahoe told the Committee. "Our customers require certainty, especially about something as fundamental as our delivery schedule. And so, we announced that we would delay implementation of our new schedule until we gained legislation giving us the ability to move forward."
The fire, in the stockyard at Smurfit Kappa's SSK site in Nechells, to the north-east of Birmingham, broke out at around 10pm last night.
It was a severe blaze, with 15 fire engines and some 100 firefighters from West Midlands Fire Service required to tackle it.
There were also concerns about smoke drifting across the nearby M6 motorway. Nobody was hurt in the incident. The site is one of Smurfit Kappa's two recycled packaging mills in the UK, and produces testliner and recycled fluting. It processes more than 200,000 tonnes of recovered fibre a year, according to the company. The fire is understood to have involved 10,000 tonnes of cardboard for recycling stored in the yard. Local reports said the main building was unaffected, but this is yet to be confirmed by Smurfit Kappa. There has been a paper mill on the site for 150 years, and the mill has been manufacturing recycled grades since 1911. The name of the mill, which currently employs 110 staff, is based on the surnames of the founders: Smith, Stone and Knight. Smurfit Kappa issued a brief statement this morning. The company said: "At approximately 10pm last night a fire started in the paper yard and rapidly spread to the remaining raw material stock. Emergency services were called and are co-ordinating a combined operation to bring the situation under control. No one has been injured and we are co-operating fully with the emergency services on site."
The much-touted new deforestation policy of controversial paper giant Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) will save almost no forests in its main base of operations, Sumatra, Indonesia, a new report by NGO coalition Eyes on the Forest has concluded.
APP and Sinar Mas announced the policy in February as "an end to the clearing of natural forest across its entire supply chain in Indonesia, with immediate effect." However, a new Eyes on the Forest (EoF) analysis that looks at all APP concessions – including those not covered by the moratorium - in Riau Province, Sumatra, found that the policy protects at most 5,000 hectares of natural forest. This compares to the deforestation of more than 2 million hectares caused by the operation of APP's Sumatra pulp mills over the past three decades.
"We're extremely disappointed. When APP published the policy, we thought it could be great news for Indonesia's forests, biodiversity and citizens," said Nazir Foead, Conservation Director of WWF-Indonesia. "However, after this new analysis for Sumatra, it appears that the company has announced a halt to deforestation only after completing nearly all the deforestation it could possible do."
Among APP's many natural forest wood sources are the concessions of its suppliers in Riau Province. They alone lost more than 680,000 hectares of natural forest between the start of the company's Riau pulp mill in 1984 and 2012. Of that, 77% was lost in legally questionable ways, while an even larger proportion - 83% - consumed the habitat of critically endangered Sumatran tigers and elephants.
WWF called on APP and Sinar Mas to announce a forest restoration commitment.
"The company is asking for a grand amnesty, for the 'past to be forgotten', leaving our country to deal with devastated ecosystems, social conflicts, on-going greenhouse gas emissions and critically endangered species who lost their habitat," says Aditya Bayunanda, GFTN and pulp & paper manager of WWF Indonesia. "That is not acceptable, Indonesian NGOs are calling on APP to restore selected peatlands and forests lost in protected, High Conservation Value areas and to mitigate the damage its operations caused to surrounding natural forests, peat soils, and wildlife."
MeadWestvaco Corporation, a global leader in packaging and packaging solutions, received Walmart's "Responsibility Award for Total Health and Wellness," which recognizes MWV's development of the Shellpak® Renew medication adherence solution.
Shellpak Renew was launched in June 2012 to provide an improved and more sustainable medication adherence package for prescription medicines. This type of packaging is proven to help improve patient medication adherence. Better adherence can lead to better patient health.
Shellpak Renew was developed based on feedback from pharmacists and patients. The outer carton is made of MWV's Natralock®, an environmentally-friendly, paperboard-based solution that maximizes the use of recyclable materials and is tear-resistant for a high level of child resistance. The new sustainable and easy-to-use Shellpak Renew is 40 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than the original Shellpak®, and eliminates the use of plastic. This enhances the sustainability profile, minimizes pharmacy shelf space and improves convenience for patients. To improve adherence, Shellpak Renew includes an integrated calendar for patients to track their doses of medication.
Shellpak Renew is an evolution of MWV's Shellpak adherence solution, which originally launched in 2008. In a first-of-its-kind study published in Clinical Therapeutics, "A Pharmacoepidemiologic Analysis of the Impact of Calendar Packaging on Adherence to Self-Administered Medications for Long-Term Use," conducted by Venebio and funded by MWV, when used alone Shellpak was found to demonstrate a statistically significant impact over vials, improving adherence and persistence for long-term daily medications.
HP today announced new products and expanded solutions that enable printing customers to reduce their environmental impact while benefitting from the quality and reliability of Original HP printing supplies.
The new offerings include a complete line of sustainably sourced papers and the addition of Office Depot as HP's newest retail recycling ally.
An industry leader in the shift to more environmentally sustainable printing, HP is leveraging key relationships with manufacturing, retail and nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners to provide customers with products and solutions designed with the environment in mind—from design and manufacturing to use and recycling.
"Our customers want printing solutions that offer quality and reliability, with proven environmental performance," said Annukka Dickens, director, Americas Environmental Leadership Team, HP. "HP's approach includes innovative and environmentally sustainable product design, and free and easy return and recycling to help customers reach their sustainability goals."
Cenveo, Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Cenveo Corporation, has completed the refinancing of its existing senior secured Term B Loan and Revolving Credit Facility with an amended and restated $360 million Term B Loan facility, through Bank of America, N.A. as administrative agent, and joint lead arrangers Bank of America, N.A., Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc. and Barclays Bank PLC, along with a new $200 million asset based loan ("ABL") Credit Agreement with Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent, and Bank of America, N.A., Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, Barclays Bank PLC and General Electric Capital Corporation as joint lead arrangers.
The new credit facilities will provide significant benefits for the company including:• Reducing the Term B Loan all-in interest rate from 7.00% to 6.25%;• Lowering the cost of borrowing on our revolver from 7.00% to approximately 2.20% based on current one month LIBOR rates and the initial interest rate spread;• Providing increased financial flexibility with updated covenants;• Subject to the satisfaction of certain requirements relating to the refinancing of Cenveo's existing senior unsecured notes and senior second lien notes, extending the Term B Loan maturity from December 21, 2016 to April 16, 2020 and extending Cenveo's revolving credit facility maturity from December 21, 2014 to April 16, 2018.
West Texas Intermediate fell for the fourth time in five days, trading near the lowest level in almost four months before government data forecast to show U.S. crude inventories rose last week.
WTI dropped as much as 1 percent. An Energy Department report today may show crude supplies rose 1.2 million barrels to the highest level in 22 years, according to a Bloomberg survey. That's contrary to a report yesterday from the American Petroleum Institute, which showed stockpiles slid 6.7 million barrels last week, the most since the seven days ended Dec. 28.
"The oil market is looking quite weak and there's a comfortable supply-demand situation in the short term," said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at Bayerische Landesbank in Munich, who predicts the European benchmark, Brent, may tumble to $80 a barrel in the first half. "The fundamental reason for the bearish situation is the cautious outlook worldwide."
WTI for May delivery declined as much as 87 cents to $87.85 a barrel, and was at $88.03 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:29 a.m. London time.
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Who Can Identify the World's Rarest Butterfly
Two scientists are in a grim contest in the American Southeast to document some of the animal kingdom's most endangered species
- By Rob Dunn
- Smithsonian.com, October 07, 2011, Subscribe
Nick Haddad is a tall, quick-to-smile Minnesotan. But lest the easy grin fool you, he is also a man who likes to win. He wins in Scrabble. He tries to win in basketball. And he thinks he has won in the grim contest waged among biologists over which is the rarest butterfly in the world.
Haddad spends hundreds of hours a year studying the St. Francis Satyr, a small brown butterfly the size and weight of a folded postage stamp. The St. Francis Satyr lives at Fort Bragg, a military base near Fayetteville, North Carolina, and nowhere else. The St. Francis Satyr was once common but is now on the brink of extinction.
One part of the story of the St. Francis Satyr begins with beavers. If you've ever wondered just how whimsical evolution can be, consider beavers. They are the answer to that question and the punchline. They are giant rodents with ping-pong paddle tails. They live in houses they build of sticks. They dam rivers to make ponds and have teeth that will grow through their heads if not constantly worn down through use. Unfortunately, much of what makes beavers interesting also puts them at odds with humans. They impede the flow of rivers. They cut down trees. And they have thick, dense fur, perfect for a cape or coat. Consequently, the North American beaver, an animal that once may have numbered close to 90 million, is now rare in many regions and extinct in others. In much of the southeastern United States, including North Carolina, the beaver was gone by the turn of the last century.
The beaver's story matters to butterflies because when beavers disappear, so do dams. Dams lead to ponds that eventually lead to meadows that sprout sweet young sedges, into which the St. Francis Satyr's larvae sink their mouthparts one bite at a time.
When the beaver became rare, it appears the St. Francis Satyr did, too. Satyrs now number around 1,000 and are found in an area of less than 20 acres. The butterfly was discovered in 1983 by a collector named Thomas Kral. He named it in honor of St. Francis, the man who spoke to and, more importantly, listened to animals. Kral was convicted of conspiracy to violate the wildlife laws of the United States (though not the St. Francis Satyr, which was not yet listed as endangered or even known to exist when he collected 50 individuals). The Satyr persists both because of and in spite of the man who named it. It also persists because of war, or preparations for it.
In the United States, many plant and animal species, including the St. Francis Satyr, have benefited from military bases, where they tend to be relatively well protected from habitat loss. Despite the sounds of guns and bombs, the species are preserved. But the case of the St. Francis Satyr is a special one. The St. Francis Satyr may have survived because of bombs. At Fort Bragg, weapons—from big bombs to small bullets—are used nearly every day in soldiers' training. The explosions start fires that burn the forests and allow sedges to grow on meadows, and with them, here and there, a few butterflies. Once the entire southeastern United States, from Florida to Raleigh, burned every few years naturally. Now Fort Bragg is one of the few places where the wilderness and its necessary flames remain.
So far bombs and the slow recovery of beavers, which are multiplying in the absence of hunting on the base, have saved the St. Francis Satyr at Fort Bragg, but just barely. Without more bombing (or other forms of burning) and beavers, meadows would grow over, bombed areas would grow back and the butterfly would have nowhere to go. Fortunately, this butterfly has advocates. St. Francis spoke on behalf of all animals. Nick Haddad speaks on behalf of just one, the St. Francis Satyr. He speaks on its behalf all the time, and when he does he tends to remind his audience that he is studying "the rarest butterfly in the world," a statement that received little argument in the Southeast until Allison Leidner came to town and Haddad got competitive.
Allison Leidner is an unlikely character in the story of rare butterflies. Now a fellow at NASA in Washington, D.C., Leidner is a New Yorker with a fondness for city life who wanted to save species, to lift them up from the brink the way you might pick up a wounded bird. She came to North Carolina to study with Nick Haddad, and that was when the trouble started.
Not long after Leidner arrived in North Carolina, she heard about another rare butterfly, rumored to live on just a few islands of the Outer Banks. Allison decided to look for it and found it: it was lovely and rare, very rare. It did not yet have a scientific name. It still doesn't. It is called, simply, "Atrytonopsis new species 1" or, as she dubbed it, the Crystal Skipper, an unnoted gem skipping among the dunes.
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Related topics: Insects and Spiders
Comments (11) |
Hello Thomas, I am actually writing a graduate thesis on the concept of butterfly collection/butterfly poaching and would be very interested in hearing your thoughts on this issue. I am unsure of how to contact you, but you can find my email address in the current student roster on the MIT Science Writing website.
Posted by Sarah Yu on November 7,2012 | 10:22 PM
Thomas Kral has repeatedly demonstrated that he refuses to hold himself accountable for the behavior that he was convicted for and that he will continue to omit and obsfuscate about his activities, or he will resort to online retorts and the need to get in the last word. From an article published in Outside Magazine, January 1996: "Kral's collection alone contained 1,637 illegal butterflies. As one incredulous Fish & Wildlife officer said, it was "one of the finest collections I've ever seen, even counting in a museum." Mr. Kral may have the right to his own opinion about the crime for which he was prosecuted, but not his own facts. Yours in relevancy (but not distortion of the facts), J.W.
Posted by J. Willbley on August 8,2012 | 06:43 PM
Regarding the comment posted by Peter Laufer on November 16 - please don't confuse a few instances from the 1980's of someone caught looking for otherwise non-protected butterflies in a National Park or Wildlife Refuge with the false accusations made by Nick Haddad and others. I find it far more bizarre that Mr. Peter Laufer never bothered to try and even contact me regarding my input into what he claims was his "well researched" Chapter 7 of his book The Dangerous World of Butterflies, which is typical of the one-sided tabloid journalism available in libraries and supermarket newsstands across the country. By the way, where was the Smithsonian moderator when Mr. Laufer's blatant product endorsement of his book was posted in clear violation of comments that are supposed to be moderated?
Posted by Thomas Kral on December 5,2011 | 11:08 PM
Fascinating article by Rob Dunn, along with bizarre commentary from Thomas Kral. Took me back to the research I did for my book The Dangerous World of Butterflies. I studied the Kral case, looking through much of the original evidence still held by the government in the National Archives Pacific Region depository. Here's an intriguing quote from a letter Kral wrote to one of his colleagues: "I myself got caught collecting in Florida's Everglades National Park and twice in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Reserve, but got away with it each time, simply claiming ignorance of the laws." My detailed account of the case is in Chapter Seven of the book, available at libraries throughout the country, if readers are interested . . .
Posted by Peter Laufer on November 16,2011 | 10:43 PM
Dear Editor,
Please correct another major error in your article - I never collected any of the 50 individuals of the St. Francis Satyrs to sell, these were never for sale. Also, I had never collected any butterfly or other insect once a given taxa was listed under the Endangered Species Act, nor have I sold ANY endangered insects. I was never convicted of poaching Endangered butterflies as you continue to state in your article. The seized butterflies in question were mostly from Mexico and not protected under the ESA. Please study case CR-93-20137-JW more carefully.
I have been formally acknowledged as an expert on North American Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and I can professionally state that most of the other comments and observations made in this article regarding the Saint Francis Satyr are either false or greatly exaggerated, which makes me question the supposed research conducted by Nick Haddad; since 1984 when I last collected this subspecies, research by others has shown that the butterfly is much more widespread than indicated and certainly has never been in any danger of extinction.
The Smithsonian Maqgazine is not setting any good examples by cutting people down and making gross exaggerations to glorify paid researchers like Nick Haddad - indeed there are some who are profitting from my discovery of the St. Francis Satyr.
Thomas Kral
Posted by Thomas Kral on November 10,2011 | 09:11 PM
We've corrected the error and posted the following correction: Editor's Note, November 9, 2011: We apologize for an error in the original version of this story. Thomas Kral was sentenced to community service, fined and placed on probation, but he was not jailed for butterfly poaching.
Posted by Brian Wolly on November 9,2011 | 05:05 PM
Dear Editor, With regard to the article published in the Smithsonian Magazine on October 7, 2011, Who Can Identify the World's Rarest Butterfly, I must address the sheer libelous and slanderous aspects of this article after it was called to my attention by several shocked readers. First, I was never jailed for butterfly poaching. In federal court proceedings back in 1995 (Case No. CR-93-20137-JW), the judge recognized that I had "shown extraordinary acceptance of responsibility and that the law was confusing" in giving me a probationary sentence in recognition that most violations that were illegal insect collecting under the Lacey Act and other obscure laws were in fact infractions made by myself and a host of other "un-indicted" collectors that included many university and museum researchers and even an employee of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, as is fully proven and documented in these court proceedings. I discovered Neonympha mitchelli francisci purely by accident when I was a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg. There was never any intent or action whatsoever to collect specimens to sell, instead many were donated to museums, including the holotype that I had donated to of all places, the Smithsonian Museum. I never made a single cent from my discovery of this subspecies, but this is how the Smithsonian Magazine decides to repay the services of a veteran! Do you even use fact-checkers? These false and slanderous comments could easily be dismissed if they were from the Tabloids or other journalistic rags, but this is the Smithsonian! People expect truth, honesty and accuracy from a magazine that is directly identified with the United States of America. Thus, I will also contact members of the US Congress and Senate to fully investigate this matter in order for Congress, government agencies, and legal councils to determine appropriate apologies, disciplinary, and terminations for the comments made by Nick Haddad, Rob Dunn and all perpetrators.
Posted by Thomas W. Kral on November 6,2011 | 02:18 PM
There appear to be several other colonies of something that appears to be this butterfly. These are scattered from N Alabama to Central Texas in inadequately studied wetlands. Future DNA analysis may make it possible to unravel relationships in this group if the colonies survive habitat destruction from peat extraction, pasture improvement and regional drought. These insects are easily confused with two very similar species that are more widespread.
Posted by C. J. Durden on October 17,2011 | 10:17 AM
The article is flawed in that this entire discussion revolves around one very-weakly differentiated colony of Mitchell's Satyr on Fort Bragg, N.C. The butterfly occurs in several sites on Fort Bragg and has even been reported outside the base, though the details are a closely-held secret among local biologists. Note that two counties are listed for the butterfly's North Carolina distribution on the Butterflies and Moths of North America maps, reflective of known distribution around Fort Bragg. Neonympha mitchelli has now been reported from many sites in northern Alabama and northeastern Mississippi, where it can be widespread and numerous in the region's wooded wetlands. All reports indicate that these populations resemble the North Carolina population, so the range of the St. Francis Satyr extends well beyond the borders of Fort Bragg.
Second point: Tom Kral was never jailed for his poaching conviction. Kral was sentenced to a relatively small fine and community service.
Posted by Harry Pavulaan on October 16,2011 | 03:56 PM
No doubt that one of the rarest of the rare is the Palos Verde Blue. The species only know locality is on a small portion of a military fuel dump near San Diego. The population is being augmented through a captive breeding program managed through Moorpark College.
Posted by Mitch Magdich on October 12,2011 | 08:53 AM
The St. Francis Satyr used to come to east Texas to dine on Lantana Flowers in the 1960's. :D
Posted by Sondra Anderson on October 7,2011 | 04:45 PM


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This deep red-marroon cabernet sauvignon reserve has a complex nose and intense vanilla profile surrounded by cassis, licorice, black pepper and dark chocolate tones. Its full mouth feel, layered tannins and adequate acidity, guarantees to be a nice complement to a steak or red sauce pasta dinner.
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"That would be a lot less common, but theoretically it would be a possibility," the doctor said.
Moments later, the pregnant woman asks: what would happen if she went into labor and the fetus emerged alive.
"It won't," the doctor said.
"But if it, if it does survive, like what would you do, like?" the woman asks.
"Nothing," the doctor responds. "So at this gestational age, um, there's really not the possibility. A fetus is not developed enough that it can survive outside of the uterus, at this point."
"So you wouldn't like resuscitate it, or like give it anything to help it survive?" the woman asks.
"No," the doctor says. "Even if you were pregnant at the same time with a very desired pregnancy, and you had the exact same thing happen, spontaneously on your own at 23 week two days in the hospital, we would still say, 'Do you want us to try to resuscitate? Our chances aren't good.' But it's kinda one of those things that if it makes the parents feel better, we'll give it a shot between 23 to 24 weeks."
Later on tape, another women identified by Live Action as a counselor, makes similar comments.
Rose said her group wants investigations.
"We're looking for prosecutions where there may be criminal acts going on. We're looking for the de-licensing of these so-called doctors and their clinics so they're no longer allowed to operate. And we're also looking for the de-funding of any federal or state or local taxpayer dollars that are going to these acts," she said.
CNN spoke with Mercer on Wednesday. She acknowledged previously doing a resident rotation at Family Planning but was not aware of the existence of the video or any role in it.
When informed about the video, Mercer responded, "That's interesting," adding that she'd need to go back and look over records of a conversation with the pregnant woman in question.
Mercer was familiar with laws that mandates a doctor must work to save a fetus that emerged alive during an abortion.
"You have to evaluate for the ability to do so. Absolutely," Mercer said.
Asked if she could recall ever saying otherwise, Mercer responded: "No. Not that I remember."
Mercer is a physician resident in training at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. Bill Byron, vice president of public relations, spoke with CNN in a phone interview.
"The issue of what, let's say Dr. Mercer, would or wouldn't do, according to Live Action -- she's a resident. And a resident is not going to do anything without being supervised, obviously, in any decisionmaking from the perspective of the attending physician in the office," Byron said.
"The second thing is that, when you look at Arizona, some of our statutes ... is that, by law, if a fetus was deemed as viable or showed signs of viability, a second physician has to be in the room who's going to assume the care of that fetus."
Byron added that "nowhere do I see where she says that 'Hey, if your baby comes out alive, I'm ... going to let it die.'"


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Welcome to Oprah.com
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6 Foods You Only Think You Don't LikeIf you can't stand beets, salmon or tofu (or any of three other commonly disliked foods), these recipes will turn you around.
Lynn Andriani
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Learn to Love Your EnemiesSome ingredients are disliked by so many people that we had to ask ourselves: Why? Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, co-authors of The Flavor Bible, say, "It's not that they're inherently unlovable. Sometimes their weaknesses (whether flavor or texture or intensity) are simply their strengths carried too far"—a trait that goes for people as much as food. Here are new ideas for cooking six unpopular ingredients that will turn almost anyone into a fan. Related ResourcesKeep ReadingCooking with CabbageChef Aine McAteer discusses the healing and therapeutic benefits of cabbage and shares her expert ideas for how to cook with different types of cabbage, from red cabbage to bok choy. Rachael Ray's Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Drizzle RecipeTry this savory recipe for Rachael Ray's Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Drizzle. 4 (Totally Surprising) Life Lessons We All Need to LearnResearcher Bren Brown (the woman behind the TED video seen round the world) explains why things we believe will turn around everything are...well...just plain wrong Advertisement
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IT-services and support
LiU e-GO - more than e-mail
The email system for students at LiU is called e-GO and is a partnership between LiU and Google Apps.
If you have lost your activation key, forgotten the password to your e-mail account or had your LiU-ID deleted, please contact the Student Service Desk.
Computer Halls
All over campus there are public computer rooms/Knutpunkten open for all students at Linköping University. In these computer rooms, you can write your reports, essays, read your e-mail, surf on the Internet, and make print outs.
This is the students' IT-support unit. The Helpdesk will help you if you have problems with e-mail, passwords, or if you have other questions about public computer rooms and programmes.
There are two types of wireless network at Linköping University, Netlogon and Eduroam.
Netlogon is very easy to get started with, but it will require you to log on each time you connect. Eduroam is a bit complicated to configure, but, in return, this only needs to be done once. After that, you will be automatically logged in when you have access to an Eduroam network.
To use the network guides, click on IT help and support on your right.
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Last updated: 2013-11-07


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Defense Infrastructure:
Issues Need to Be Addressed in Managing and Funding Base Operations and Facilities Support
GAO-05-556, Jun 15, 2005
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Accessible Text:
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Concerns have surfaced in Congress and various media regarding the adequacy of funding for base operations support (BOS) functions of military installations as well as the quality and level of support being provided. As requested, this report addresses (1) the historical funding trends for BOS as contrasted with funding for facilities sustainment, restoration and modernization (S/RM); (2) how effectively the Department of Defense (DOD) and the military services have been able to forecast BOS requirements and funding needs; and (3) how the Army's and Navy's reorganizations for managing installations have affected support services, and whether the Air Force and Marine Corps could benefit from similar reorganizations.
Congress has designated increased funding for BOS programs in recent years, sometimes more than requested, but because those amounts were often less than the cost of BOS services provided at installations, hundreds of millions of dollars designated for S/RM and other purposes were redesignated by the military services to pay for BOS. As GAO has previously reported, such funding movements while permissible are disruptive to the orderly provision of services, contribute to the degradation of many installation facilities, and can adversely affect the quality of life and morale of military personnel. The problem appears to be greatest in the Army. Further, in fiscal year 2004, U.S. military installations faced additional pressures in managing available BOS and S/RM funding as the services redesignated varying amounts of these funds to help pay for the Global War on Terrorism. Similar problems are reportedly occurring in fiscal year 2005. While difficult to quantify, installation officials at the locations GAO visited voiced concerns about the potential for these conditions to adversely affect operations and readiness in the future. Moreover, such movements of funds add considerable uncertainty regarding actual BOS requirements and the extent of underfunding. The ability of DOD and its components to forecast BOS funding requirements has been hindered by the lack of a common terminology across the military services in defining BOS functions as well as the lack of a mature analytic process for developing credible and consistent requirements comparable to the model developed for facilities sustainment. The lack of common definitions among the services, particularly where one service resides as a tenant on an installation operated by another service, can lead to differing expectations for installation services, and it obscures a full understanding of the funding required for BOS services. Because the military services have often based future requirements estimates largely on prior expenditures, they do not necessarily know if BOS services were provided at appropriate levels. DOD and the military services have a strategic plan for installations and have multiple actions under way to address these problems, but they have not synchronized varying time frames for accomplishing related tasks. Until these problems are resolved, DOD will not have the management and oversight framework in place for identifying total BOS requirements, providing Congress with a clear basis for making funding decisions, and ensuring adequate delivery of services. While the Army's and Navy's creation of centralized installation management agencies can potentially create efficiencies and improve the management of the facilities through streamlining and consolidation, implementation of these plans has so far met with mixed results in quality and level of support provided to activities and installations. Until more experience yields perspective on their efforts to address the issues identified in this report, GAO is not in a position to determine whether the approach should be adopted by the other services.
Status Legend:
- Open
- Closed - implemented
- Closed - not implemented
Recommendation for Executive Action
Recommendation: To better synchronize the efforts and milestones of the various groups working to improve the management and funding of BOS activities, the Secretary of Defense should update DOD's Defense Installations Strategic Plan to include specific actions and establish time frames first, to resolve long-standing inconsistencies among the definitions of BOS services and, second, to help expedite the development and implementation of an analytically sound and consistently applied model for determining BOS requirements.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: DOD's 2007 Defense Installations Strategic Plan includes specific actions and a general time frame to resolve the longstanding inconsistencies among the definitions of installation support services.
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Make a Case for Your Hope …
The way to get ready to make a case for your hope is to get hopeful. Apply yourself to settling the questions of your own heart.
The way to get ready to make a case for your hope is to get hopeful. Apply yourself to settling the questions of your own heart.
You can't have fullness of joy in Christ if you never tell anybody about it. Declaring the marvelous deeds of God that have brought light into our life is a means to the full enjoyment of that light.
You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.
Your power to give a compassionate witness about Jesus is in direct proportion to how precious Jesus is to you.
How different, how wonderful the use of our mouths would be if we lived by faith in the God who made the mouth and not by sight—by looking at our own clumsy tongue.
It is fitting for those who believe in the sovereignty of God to feel a deep sorrow and for the lost and a deep longing for their conversion.
To recognize and receive Christ for who he really is, God the Father must reveal it to you.
The great obstacle to recognizing the truth of Christ is not deficient resources but deep rebellion against God.
The use of money can make or break your eternal destiny.
God prepares a person to receive Christ by stirring up a longing for consolation and redemption that can come only from Christ.
Giving the gospel away is one of the best ways of experiencing its power in your own life.
God wants people who welcome his strategic interruptions and surprises.
Every hour of your life brings a situation that can be bought up for eternity or missed.
The lesson of tragedies is "Get right with God."
Pray with steadfastness, with watchfulness, and with thanksgiving.
We are not big. But we are part of something big.
God has yet more wonders to show us in the work of evangelism and world missions than we can imagine.
Without seeing Christ, the burden to show him to others becomes slave labor.
The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. He sought them, he received them, he ate with them, and he saved them.
Jesus is the seeking heart of God going out after sinners and winning our repentance.
When sinners turn from their sin and accept Jesus' fellowship as the joy of their lives, they have come home to God. And God is glad.
The gospel elicits shaming behavior in those who will not believe it and it gives freedom from shame to those who do.
Regeneration / New Birth Missions Christian Hedonism The Gospel Church Planting


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The Flying White House
Presidential airplanes, past and present.
- By Rebecca Maksel
- AirSpaceMag.com, November 06, 2008
In January 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to the Casablanca conference in Morocco on board a Boeing 314 Dixie Clipper (similar to the one shown here), marking the first time a sitting president had flown in an airplane. An escort of 36 fighters protected the presidential transport as it made its way toward the wartime meeting. The trip consisted of three legs: the first, covering 1,600 miles, took Roosevelt from Miami, Florida, to Port of Spain, Trinidad. The second leg covered the 1,200 miles to Brazil, and the third leg took the president and his staff 2,500 miles across the Atlantic to Gambia. From there, the group took a C-54 to Casablanca. Other conference attendees traveled less luxuriously: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill flew in an unheated B-24 Liberator, sleeping on a mattress in the rear of the bomber.
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Comments (1)
Thanks for the interesting article on presidential planes, well done. It is by accident I learned of President Franklin Roosevelt's trip to the Casablanca Conference by seaplane, and if I have done my homework correctly the first trip by airplane by a sitting president. My uncle was in World War 2 and I was reading a letter he had sent to his parents. He said he was preparing for an inspection and recalled that his previous inspection was by the president. I thought it a bit strange that the president would be inspecting a Navy unit in Brazil. After doing a little research I learned that Roosevelt's plane had landed at Natal on his trip home from the conference and had indeed inspected the VP-74 Squadron. According to squadron members he met with some of the officers following the inspection and talked to them about the war. The few remaining squadron members still take a great deal of pride that they were inspected by President Roosevelt. I found it fascinating that a small piece of American history would become a part of our family history.
Posted by Bill DeArmond on December 28,2008 | 01:50 PM
When I was 18 years old, I had the priviledge of flying in the Sacred Cow as A Civil Air Patrol Cadet. Myself and five other cadets had won a trip to Mexico on the Cadet Exchange program in 1957. We flew from Andrews AFB to Mexico City. We were allowed to sit in the Presidential compartment with its bullet proof picture window and play cards with a deck provided by the sergeant who had been assigned to the plane from the beginning. The cards had the presidential seal on them. I don't recall whether we were shown the elevator, but it was such a pleasure to fly on the plane. You can probably verify my story through CAP records. Glad to hear the plane is now at the Air Force Museum. My CAP Squadron at Gentile AF Depot in Dayton had a small part in the initial fund-raising for the Museum.
By the way, our return from Mexico was on a C-47 flown by Air Force Reserve pilots who had never flown out of a 7,000-foot-high airport. They attempted to take off too soon, and our plane came up, dropped back down on the right wheel, bounced across the runway and hit a landing light with the left wheel, which shattered. We made it back into the air, then proceeded to Brownsville for customs, then on to Maxwell AFB for an overnite. Then we flew to Andrews, where I caught at C-119 to fly back to Wright-Patterson. I'd taken pictures throughout the trip. When we arrive at WPAFB, I snapped a picture of the C-119. An Air Policeman grabbed my camera and rolls of film and exposed them, scolding me for taking pictures in a classified area. Oh well.
Posted by Tom Suitts on May 18,2009 | 06:06 PM