Tag: USA

Letter Carriers Set July 1 Picketing in New Jersey to Oppose 'Contracting Out' by Postal Service

Posted by | Jun 19, 2007 | |

Members of Paterson Branch 120 of the National Association of Letter Carriers will engage in informational picketing on Sunday, July 1, at the Paterson Post Office to protest a growing policy of the U.S. Postal Service to contract out to private firms and individuals the delivery of mail in urban and suburban areas, the postal union announced today.

NALC Branch 120 President Joseph Murone said the Paterson demonstration is one of many planned throughout the nation to bring attention of the public to this new policy that will diminish service to postal customers and endanger the future viability of the Postal Service.

The NALC’s effort to fight privatization of mail delivery has gained strong support in Congress. Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record) (D-IA) has introduced legislation (S. 1457) to outlaw most contracting out, and in the House of Representatives, Rep. Albio Sires (news, bio, voting record) (D-NJ) has authored H. Res. 282 which would condemn the practice and urges the Postal Service to halt the practice immediately. The entire New Jersey House delegation has joined as cosponsors of the Sires resolution.

The NALC represents 298,000 active and retired letter carriers of the U.S. Postal Service is all 50 states and U.S. jurisdictions.

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Technology keeps reshaping Postal Service

Posted by | Jun 19, 2007 | |

Q. A Sebastian resident would like to know why the Post Office has changed its hours, closing earlier than it had in the past.

A. The U.S. Postal Service is an independent government agency that relies on postage and fees to fund its operations. It is legally defined as “an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States,” therefore, it is wholly owned by the government and controlled by appointees and the Postmaster General.

There are 11 members of the board that oversees the USPS, nine of which are appointed by the president of the United States. The presidential appointees then select the postmaster general or chief executive officer, who oversees the day-to-day activities of the service, and those 10 members then nominate a deputy postmaster general of chief operating officer.

There is a statutory monopoly on delivering non-urgent letters, but the USPS faces competition for package delivery services. Interestingly, the USPS does not have to make a profit, it merely has to break even, which it has continually done since 1984, says Joseph Breckenridge, USPS spokesperson.

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Postal Regulatory Commission approves USPS request for sticky notes extension

Posted by | Jun 18, 2007 | |

The Postal Regulatory Commission on June 14 approved the U.S. Postal Service’s request for another one-year extension to test the market desirability of repositionable notes.

The USPS’s repositionable notes -“sticky notes” to some – allow mailers of First-Class Mail, Periodicals and Standard Mail to affix a Post-It-type note to the outside of a mail piece for a fee, in addition to postage for the host piece.

This service was introduced on a provisional basis for a one-year period beginning April 3, 2005, and renewed for an additional year. Fees, which are based on a “value pricing” concept, are one-half cent for First Class and 1.5 cents for Standard Mail and Periodicals.

The USPS filed for the one-year extension request on April 2, the day before the April 3 expiration date. If the USPS Governors approve this recommendation, rates can remain at their current levels through April 3, 2008.

The PRC said its favorable recommendation on the requested change in the RPN expiration date marks its agreement with the USPS that another extension is justified based on limited RPN usage; the minor impact on revenue (USD 1.6 million) and volume; continuity and certainty for mailers; and the need to focus on the transition to a new ratemaking system envisioned by the Postal Accountability and Enforcement Act.

The PRC also noted that the USPS’s filing of the requested extension triggered an automatic stay of the April 3 expiration date, so RPN service has not been interrupted while this case was pending.

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Earnings Preview: FedEx Corp

Posted by | Jun 18, 2007 | |

The company is predicting earnings per share for the fourth quarter between $1.93 and $2.08, and full-year earnings of $6.45 to $6.60 per share. Full-year earnings per share include the impact of costs associated with a pilot labor contract. Excluding those charges, the company expects to see earnings of $6.70 to $6.85 per share.

Analysts expect a quarterly profit of $1.98 per share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial, and full-year earnings per share of $6.76.

In a note to investors, Bear Stearns analyst Edward Wolfe on Monday said he expects FedEx to report fourth-quarter results below Wall Street’s consensus, due to the weak freight economy and increasing fuel costs. He reduced his own earnings per share estimate to $1.85 from $1.98, and expects full-year earnings per share at $6.62.

Wolfe said the company’s international small package business has slowed in the first half of the fiscal year after a slowdown in the trucking industry and reduced rail volumes.

Comparatively, United Parcel Service Inc., the company’s chief competitor, in May reported a 13.5 percent decrease in first-quarter profit. Officials with UPS also cited trouble in their small package business during the year, but the world’s largest shipping carrier said in March it does expect earnings per share growth of 6 percent to 10 percent for 2007.

FedEx shares fell nearly 4 percent during the quarter. The stock hit its 52-week high on Feb. 26, and has slowly declined since to close Monday at $109.92.

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TNT completes delisting from New York Stock Exchange

Posted by | Jun 18, 2007 | |

Following its announcement on 25 May 2007, TNT N.V. announces that the delisting of its American Depositary Receipts (‘ADRs’) from the New York Stock Exchange is effective as from today.

TNT’s American Depositary Receipt facility continues as a Level I program with Citibank, N.A. as depositary. TNT’s ADRs will be traded on the over-the-counter market. TNT has not arranged for the listing of the ADRs or its ordinary shares on any other national securities exchange or for the quotation of its shares in a quotation medium in the United States. TNT’s ordinary shares will continue to be traded on Euronext Amsterdam.

Furthermore, today TNT has filed a Form 15F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to deregister and terminate its reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘Exchange Act’). TNT’s obligations under the Exchange Act are suspended as from today. By operation of law, the deregistration will become effective 90 days after the filing, i.e. September 16, 2007. TNT reserves the right to withdraw the Form 15F for any reason prior to its effectiveness.

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