 | Good afternoon |  |  | Eastman Kodak, the photography icon that invented the hand-held camera, filed for bankruptcy protection and planned to shrink significantly after a prolonged plunge for one of America's best-known companies. The Chapter 11 filing may give Kodak the ability to find buyers for some of its 1,100 digital patents, a major portion of its value. According to papers filed with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan, Kodak had about $5.1 billion of assets and $6.75 billion of liabilities at the end of September. Kodak now employs 17,000 people, down from 63,900 just nine years ago.
Kodak's long decline can be traced back to one source: the former king of photography's failure to reinvent itself in the digital age, writes Ernest Scheyder. Kodak's film dominated the industry but the company failed to adopt modern technologies quickly enough, such as the digital camera -- ironically, a product it invented. "Kodak was very Rochester-centric and never really developed a presence in centers of the world that were developing new technologies," said Rosabeth Kanter, a professor at Harvard Business School. "It's like they're living in a museum."
Apple unveiled a new digital textbook service called iBooks 2, aiming to revitalize the U.S. education market and quicken the adoption of its market-leading iPad in that sector. The move pits Apple against Amazon.com and other content and device makers that have made inroads into the estimated $8 billion market with their electronic textbook offerings. Apple has been working on digital textbooks with publishers Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a trio responsible for 90 percent of textbooks sold in the United States.
Some members of Congress switched sides to oppose anti-piracy legislation as protests blanketed the Internet on Wednesday, turning Wikipedia dark and putting black slashes on Google and other sites as if they had been censored. Several sponsors of the legislation, including Senators Roy Blunt, Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch and John Boozman and Marco Rubio, said they were withdrawing their support. Some blamed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for rushing the Senate version of the bill.
Rovio, the Finnish creator of the global smash-hit Angry Birds video game will not join the stock market this year but still aims to eventually seek a listing, its marketing chief said. "We are not in a rush. This year is way too early for an IPO, there are too many open things, and we are in a very early stage of the Angry Birds lifecycle," marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka told Reuters. | | | LATEST NEWS | | Google revenue misses Wall Street targets | | January 19, 2012 04:44 PM ET | | (Reuters) - Google Inc's net revenue jumped more than 27 percent in the fourth quarter but fell short of Wall Street targets, sending shares down sharply in after hours trading on Thursday. | Full Article | | Intel quarterly revenue forecast meets expectations | | January 19, 2012 04:45 PM ET | | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Intel Corp forecast quarterly revenue in line with Wall Street's expectations as a shortage of hard drives disrupts PC production in a market already hurt by a shaky economy and a growing preference for tablets. | Full Article | | U.S. accuses website, execs of copyright infringement | | January 19, 2012 03:49 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A major Internet content hosting website, Megaupload.com, its founders and employees have been charged by a U.S. grand jury over a massive copyright infringement scheme, the latest skirmish in a battle against piracy of movies and music. | Full Article | | IBM quarterly EPS up 11 percent, sees 2012 growth | | January 19, 2012 04:28 PM ET | | IBM Corp, the world's largest technology services company, reported an 11 percent increase in fourth quarter profit, beating estimates and underscoring signs of confidence that economic worries had crimped tech spending. | Full Article | | | BUSINESS NEWS
| | Momentum to drain from world economy in 2012: poll | | January 19, 2012 03:33 PM ET | | LONDON (Reuters) - The world economy will lose momentum in 2012 but it will keep moving in the right direction, according to Reuters polls of around 600 economists who said crisis-hit Europe would drag on global growth. | Full Article | | Economy improves but recovery hurdles persist | | January 19, 2012 04:43 PM ET | | WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for new jobless benefits dropped to an almost four-year low last week, and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic expanded moderately, suggesting the economy carried some momentum into the new year. | Full Article | | Wall Street shed 2,000 jobs in December | | January 19, 2012 03:56 PM ET | | (Reuters) - Wall Street axed 2,000 workers in December as poor profits led companies to slice expenses, the biggest reduction since last summer when the industry released its summer interns, James Brown, a labor market analyst with the New York Department of Labor, said on Thursday. | Full Article | | | | U.S. TOP NEWS | | | | | RELATED VIDEO | | |  |  | | A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today. |  | | Your daily briefing on the latest tech developments from around the world from Reuters expert tech correspondents. Register Today. |  | | The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day.. Register Today. | | | » MORE NEWSLETTERS | | | ODDLY ENOUGH | | | | | | |
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