The U.S. Postal Service will deliver more than 15 billion pieces of mail this holiday season. In the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the Postal Service also expects to deliver 850 million packages, which is more than a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year. “The Postal Service is well prepared to meet our customers’ needs during the holiday season, especially as demand for package deliveries continues to grow,” said Megan J. Brennan, Postmaster General and CEO. The Postal Service will be expanding its Sunday delivery operations to locations with high package volumes beginning Nov. 26. The Postal Service already delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities, and anticipates delivering more than 6 million packages on Sundays this December. Mail carriers will also deliver packages on Christmas Day in select locations. Click Read More below for additional information.

Lands’ End and WHP Global on Monday said they are forming a joint venture, with the brand management firm paying $300 million in cash to acquire a 50% controlling stake in the apparel brand. The brand in turn will hand over all of its intellectual property and related assets, including its licensing business, and will continue to be in charge of its direct-to-consumer and business-to-business operations. Lands’ End, which struggled for years and is in the midst of a turnaround, plans to use proceeds from the sale to pay off an outstanding term loan of about $234 million “and for general corporate purposes.” Those purposes include paying royalties to license its own brand; the agreement includes annual minimum royalty payments per year, starting at $50 million for the first year, per the release.

The global debate over what constitutes a publication may have received some clarity in the UK, although it is not likely to make anyone happy. Britain’s top court ruled that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. cannot claim its online publications are “newspapers,” which are not responsible for value-added tax (VAT), Reuters reports. A Murdoch spokesperson told Reuters that "Four courts have now considered the position and all found that the print and digital editions had fundamentally the same public purpose required to justify a zero rating and provided the same content.” This decision effectively negates that. News Corp. hoped to recoup more than 35 million pounds paid between 2010 and 2016,” Reuters continues.