Briefs for Thursday

Clearwater Paper Corp. has reported a rise in second quarter earnings, primarily driven by strong performance and improved pricing in paperboard and tissue markets.

The Spokane-based tissue and paperboard supplier’s net income for the second quarter was $15 million, or 86 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $52 million, or $3.10 per share, for the second quarter of 2021.

Clearwater Paper will continue its efforts to offset inflation with operational improvements, Kitsch said.

For the first six months of 2022, Clearwater Paper reported net sales of $1 billion for the first six months of 2022, a 22% increase compared to net sales of $832 million for the first six months of 2021.

Services sector shows growth

Growth in the U.S. services sector unexpectedly strengthened to a three-month high in July on firmer business activity and orders, easing concerns of a broader economic slowdown.

The Institute for Supply Management’s index rose to 56.7 from 55.3 a month earlier, data showed Wednesday.

Readings above 50 indicate growth and the July result exceeded the most-optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The median projection was 53.5.

The group’s gauge of business activity, which parallels the ISM factory production index, rose to the highest level since the start of the year, while new orders growth was the healthiest in four months.

The services data stand in contrast to a separate ISM report on Monday that showed manufacturing grew at the slowest pace in just over two years as more factories dialed back production in the face of shrinking orders and rising inventories.

From staff and wire reports