Duly Noted

Friend or affiliate? The Federal Trade Commission approved a final rulemaking on affiliate marketing that requires a company using consumer information provided by an affiliate to give consumers notice and a reasonable opportunity to opt out of receiving marketing materials. The final rule is an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and will be effective January 1, 2008. It applies to information obtained from the consumer's transactions or accounts, credit reports and other third-party sources.

Buy-outs pay off. InfoUSA reported record revenue of $185 million for the Q3. The report marks a $79 million increase in net sales for the company. Chairman/CEO Vin Gupta, attributed the increased revenue to growth in core businesses, integrating Opinion Research and the acquisitions of Guideline Inc., NWC Research and Northwest Research Group - all three of which increased infoUSA's market research capabilities. The marketing research group contributed $56.3 million of the quarter's revenue. Gupta said infoUSA will continue to make acquisitions.

WPP numbers in. WPP reported revenues rose to $3 billion for the third quarter of 2007, a 4.9% increase over the previous quarter, continuing a growth pattern over the past year. Branding and identity and healthcare and specialist communications showed the strongest growth, with revenues up more than 16%, driven by a growth in direct, Internet and interactive in the US and Europe. WPP acquired ad network firm 24/7 Real Media, which closed in July, for $649 million.

Shipping volumes on the UP(S). UPS reported a total package volume increase for third quarter to an average daily total of 15.25 million. The company claimed an operating profit of $1.75 billion, with total revenue of $12.21 billion - a 4.7% gain. Third-quarter revenue in 2006 was $11.6 billion. Total domestic volume increased nearly 1%. Export volume increased 9.3%.