Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, marking the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago.
Founded by George Eastman in 1880, Kodak was known all over the world for its Brownie and Instamatic cameras and its yellow-and-red film boxes. But the company was battered by Japanese competition in the 1980s, and was then unable to keep pace with the shift from film to digital technology.
The Rochester, N.Y.-based company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said it will phase out the product lines in the first half of this year and instead look for other companies to license its brand for those products. Once the products are phased out, Kodak said its consumer business will focus on photo printing and desktop inkjet printers.
The company will continue to honor product warranties and provide technical support for the discontinued products.
The moves are expected to result in annual savings of more than $100 million. The company didn't say how many jobs would be eliminated as a result of the decision, but did say that it expects to take a charge of $30 million related to separation costs.
Coffee maker recall related to burn risk
WASHINGTON (AP) — Home-brewed coffee lovers, take note: More than a million coffee makers are being recalled after dozens of reports of the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto people.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said there have been 140 reports of problems with the Tassimo single-cup brewers dousing people, including 37 cases involving second-degree burns. In one incident, a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota was hospitalized with second-degree burns to her face and neck.
The coffee maker's "T-disc," the plastic disc that holds the coffee or tea, can burst while brewing, according to the commission. It also announced the recall Thursday of some 4 million packages of Tassimo espresso T-discs.
About 835,000 Tassimo coffee makers are on recall in the United States; another 900,000 are being recalled in Canada. The recall involves brewers made by California-based BSH Home Appliances Corp. that carry the Bosch and Tassimo Professional brand names.
The 4 million packages of Tassimo espresso T-discs, manufactured by Kraft Foods Global Inc., in Illinois, were recalled after 21 reports of problems. About 2 million of the recalled disc packages were distributed in the U.S.; the rest were in Canada.
Consumers can contact the company at 866-918-8763 for more information or visit this website.
Groupon stock falls on growth worries
NEW YORK (AP) — Groupon had a lot to prove with its first earnings report as a public company. The 14 percent slide in its stock Thursday suggests investors wanted more.
The online deals site on Wednesday reported sharply higher fourth-quarter revenue that surpassed Wall Street's expectations. But some analysts worry about the trajectory suggested by its revenue forecast of $510 million to $550 million for the current quarter.
The guidance means Groupon Inc. expects revenue to grow by about 5 percent in the first three months of this year, compared with the last three months of 2011. By that same measure, revenue grew by a double-digit percentage in each quarter of 2011. This suggests growth is slowing down, said Collins Stewart analyst Mayuresh Masurekar.
PepsiCo to cut 8,700 jobs worldwide
NEW YORK (AP) — PepsiCo is trying to put some fizz back into its business. The food and drinks maker announced a restructuring on Thursday that includes cutting 8,700 jobs globally and plowing money into advertising drinks like Pepsi and Mountain Dew in North America.
Pepsi announced its cost-cutting plan Thursday as it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, but also forecast a decline in adjusted 2012 earnings.
In a media briefing, CEO Indra Nooyi said 2012 will be a "transitional year" as economic uncertainty persists.
"When the only certainty is uncertainty the whole guidance thing becomes a challenge," she said. "Anything you do in short term just to meet short-term guidance would be detrimental to the company in the long term."
Nooyi wouldn't say how many U.S. job cuts would be made but said it was under 3 percent of the workforce.
401(k) balances are little changed
BOSTON (AP) — Workers stashed money away in their 401(k) retirement plans at a faster clip last year but didn't get an immediate reward for their savings strategy. Fidelity Investments, the nation's biggest 401(k) administrator, says the average account balance was essentially unchanged in 2011, compared with 2010.
The year-end average for participants in Fidelity Investments plans was $69,100, down $300 from 2010, the company said on Thursday. The average slipped despite a slight increase in employee contributions. The 11.6 million participants in Fidelity's plans set aside an average $5,750 through paycheck deductions, up from $5,680 a year earlier. That's more than 8 percent of their annual pay, on average.
The amount that employers paid in matching contributions also rose slightly, averaging $3,270 last year.
But the balance boost that workers received from higher contributions was offset by factors including investment performance, and fees paid to manage the money and administer plans.
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