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Presents news briefs on structured finance in Europe as of November 2002. Information on the launch of the first securitization of Finnish forests from Stora Enso; Plan of DZ Bank to start marketing a securitization of leases to German small and medium-sized enterprises for VR Leasing; Reason for downgrading tranches of two securitizations from ABN Amro Bank.

Provides information on shareholder-friendly companies in Europe for 2006. Vivendi has been rated by leading European fund managers as the best company in the media sector for attending to the needs and interests of its stockholders. Finnish paper products maker Stora Enso takes access to the executive board by organizing investor conferences with top managers of each of its main divisions. The distinct approach of Dublin, Ireland-based CRH to investors is integrity and consistency. INSETS: Picking the team;Who's best at investor relations?.

The article offers information on an initiative taken by Northern European paper firms that looking into an initiative to convert black liquor, a byproduct of papermaking, into industrial chemicals. Topics discussed include Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) evaluating approaches for making high-value chemical products, Finnish paper producer Stora Enso looking to extract chemicals from black liquor and Lignin, the largest constituent of black liquor.

The article reports on the plan of Stora Enso to close some of its paperboard mills in Europe in 2008. It states that the move is part of the company's cutback plan which aims to enhance profit and increase annual production. Among the areas affected, include its carton board facilities in Baienfurt, Germany; Imatra and Varkaus in Finland. It reveals that the plant shutdowns was brought by profitability problems experienced by the company, value of euro and high wood and energy prices.

The article reports on the performance of Europe's high yield market in September 2012. The market recorded 5 billion € of issuance in a fortnight. The Markit iTraxx Crossover index has closed below 500 basis points for the first time since August 2011 as investors have sufficient amount of cash to spend on high yield. Crossover issuers included Renault and Stora Enso.

The article reports on the mixed performance of European paper companies in the bond market during the week of August 3, 2012. Some of these companies included Norske Skog, Stora Enso and Smurfit Kappa. Norske Skog's bonds rose by five points, while Stora Enso's issuance dropped. During the second quarter, Norske Skog's net interest-bearing debt dropped to 6.9 billion Norwegian krone (Nkr) while its cash flow increased to 423 million Nkr.

The article reports that papermaker Stora Enso Oyj has sold €232 million in high yield bonds which is considered to be Europe's first issue to price during the bidding of its bondholders. Stora priced the 12.25% notes which will due in 2018, with an interest of 74.099, which allowed Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corp., the sole arranger, to upsize it from €100 million to €232 million.

This section offers news briefs on the converting industry as of September 2009. The spare parts facility of Bobst Group at Redditch, England is now part of the Common Inventory Management system which is designed to increase local stock availability. The Label Release Liner Industry seminar will be held at the NH Hotel du Grand Sablon in Brussels, Belgium on September 22. A license agreement has been signed between Stora Enso and Enestia Belgium regarding the contract packaging of pharmaceutical products in Pharma DDS cartons.

The article reports on the trends in the European paper industry. UPM Kymmene claims to be the largest paper manufacturer in the world in terms of the number of plants, sales and distribution companies and number of employees. The company had a restructuring and on September 2008 it plans to reduce its newsprint capacity in Europe. Stora Enso, on the other hand, plans to close its assets that are poor-performing and this is expected to affect its employees.

This section offers news briefs on the packaging industry in Europe. A campaign was launched in Great Britain to print the corrugated recycles logo in every corrugated container to raise awareness about the material. In Finland, Stora Enso has concluded a resale agreement with South African technology company Authentech regarding Packagent software. In Switzerland, Collano reported a sales increase of 13.3 percent in the first half of 2007 and still expects improvement by the end of 2007.