Newsprint prices are still declining, even though Catalyst Paper Corp. pushed a hike of $25 a tonne for Oct. 1 and SP Newsprint Co. is having a go at it, with a $30 increase slated for Nov. 1, Deutsche Bank says. And in the first signs that tier two and three players are pushing the envelope ahead of the Abitibi-Bowater merger, the brokerage points out that Tembec Inc. is planning to idle a newsprint making machine at Kapuskasing, Ont., with  Kruger Inc. taking out a machine in Newfoundland and also curtailing some production in Quebec next month. Declining newspaper ad revenue has led to a steady decline in newsprint consumption over the past two years, with demand down more than 10 per cent in the first half this year.