Blogs
The RISI Blog contains the latest views and opinions from our economists, engineers and editors. Find out what the RISI economists think about upcoming market trends or see what events our editorial team has been attending this week. Don't miss the additional blog postings from industry experts and leading figures...
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Latest Blog Posts
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Still saying it with a card
By Justin Toland, Contributing Editor, PPI Magazine
CARDIFF, UK, November 18, 2009 - The recent postal strike in the UK has led to much commentary about the effect of industrial action on the greetings card industry both in the run up to Christmas and in the longer term. The Royal Mail would normally deliver some 750 million cards over theRead More
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Did Black Liquor Credits Pave the Way for Healthcare Legislation?
By Dead Tree Edition
USA, November 13, 2009 - The Democrats' healthcare plan hasn't even been approved by Congress yet, but it already seems to be doing wonders for several hundred pulp-mill workers in Baileyville, Maine. Pundits have been expressing surprise the past few days that the House version of healthcare reform includes a seemingly unrelatedRead More
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Argentina’s media quarrel: a history with no heroes or villains
By Fernanda Belchior, Assistant Editor, PPI Latin America, RISI
SAO PAULO, November 13, 2009 - Blockage of some distribution channels of Clarín and La Nación last week was only another episode of the ‘soap opera' about the relationship between the two most important Argentinean daily newspapers and the country's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Accusations for both sides, pinch of media control,Read More
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The route to Copenhagen starts in Brussels
By Teresa Presas, Managing Director, CEPI
BRUSSELS, November 11, 2009 - Even before the motorcades roll in to Copenhagen, it seems the teeth have been extracted from the global summit which was supposed to herald a post-Kyoto era of climate change action. It now seems unlikely that the Copenhagen climate change conference will produce anything more than politicalRead More
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India's log import market heating up
By Bob Flynn, Director, International Timber, RISI
New Delhi, November 10, 2009 - Much of my work over the past several years has focused on China's insatiable demand for wood. Both the softwood and hardwood log markets in Asia have been dominated by China, so I was a bit surprised recently to note how much India's log imports have grown. ForRead More
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No Quick Exit For AbitibiBowater
By Dead Tree Edition
USA, November 6, 2009 - With AbitibiBowater likely to remain under bankruptcy protection well into next year, a Canadian court has approved additional financing for the giant papermaker. The company received permission Friday from a Montreal Superior Court to increase its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from $140 million to $370 million, despite theRead More
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Coated Paper Market: Been Down So Long This Looks Like Up
By Dead Tree Edition
USA, November 3, 2009 - North American coated paper mills were generally busier in September than August, but that ain't saying much. Despite various announcements of price increases on coated freesheet and high-brightness coated groundwood papers, the unanimous word from the trenches is that no prices are moving up except perhaps for someRead More
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Viewpoint - Growth….Finally
By Scott Howard, Economist, Macroeconomics, RISI
BOSTON, MA, November 2, 2009 - After contracting for four straight quarters, the US economy actually grew in 3Q09 at an annual rate of 3.5%, which was half a percentage point higher than our estimate. The Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics ran the headline "Don't Break Out the Champagne Yet: Cause forRead More
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Pulpwood plantations in Brazil: the key to the future
By Bob Flynn, Director, International Timber, RISI
SAO PAULO, November 2, 2009 - I've written a lot lately about the surge in biomass energy plantation investment in Brazil, but there has also been a strong expansion in eucalyptus pulpwood plantations in recent years. This expansion in plantations for pulpwood production is a key indicator of future expansion plans for theRead More
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Russian Log Export Tax Increase Delayed Again
By Bob Flynn, Director, International Timber, RISI
St. Petersberg, Russia, October 27, 2009 - Yesterday (October 25, 2009) Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told an international forestry meeting in St. Petersburg that the log export duty will remain unchanged in 2010, and this same level may be extended into 2011. In April 2008, the duty on unprocessed log exports was increasedRead More