Mercer plans to file for prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy, exchanging $1.1 billion of senior notes for equity. In related news: GILLFOR finalized acquisition of Teal-Jones Group; Drax makes plans for a biomass-powered data centre; Nippon Dynawave’s president retires, as the company appeals a safety fine; Boise Cascade reported Q3 earnings of $36M; Vietnam approved a pulp and paper expansion strategy; and US homebuilding faces rising costs, while construction spending weakened. Meanwhile: how Trump plans to govern if Democrats take Congress; and US Secretary Lutnick pushed to revive trade talks with Canada.

In Forestry/Bioenergy news: Canada sought to advance biodiversity at COP17; Yukon received funding to improve timber access; Parks Canada job cuts raised concerns in Jasper; Greenpeace criticized IKEA’s wood sourcing; Fort Frances received support for biomass energy; an Alberta-Pacific engineer was recognized for STEM advocacy; and Michigan researchers studied the conversion of storm-damaged timber into biochar.

Finally, registration opened for the 2027 COFI Convention; and Calgary’s Wood Solutions Conference opens this week.

Kelly McCloskey, Tree Frog News Editor