Direct Mail Giant Valassis Is "Not Paying Its Bills"; Stock Is "Worth $0''

(MoneyWatch)  Valassis Communications, the direct mail giant, has stopped paying its bills and its stock is worth precisely zero dollars, according to separate reports. Fraser Papers recently sued Valassis for nearly $1 million, an unpaid bill for shipping paper to the company between May and June, according to the Bangor Daily News:

The Madawaska firm [Fraser] alleges that Valassis ignored its demands for payment in August and September.

That news came as this Washington Post note on a Morningstar analysis stated Valassis's stock is worth $0 -- yes, that's no dollars whatsoever. Morningstar made the call over the "tough advertising environment, troubling debt load," that Valassis faces.

BNET noted earlier this year that the revenue yield on its operating expenses was so marginal that it came last in a list of 10 publicly traded ad networks. The company already laid off 3 percent (or 165) of its employees. That's not the only trouble facing Valassis. As BNET readers know, the company's profit has been crushed by its massive litigation expenses. (It's suing its main rival, News America Marketing Group, over alleged monopoly practices.) The company has sales of more than $500 million a quarter.

Those stakes -- and Valassis's legal bills -- are getting even higher. A judge just postponed the trial in the case until March.