Kodak shares plummet

Eastman Kodak Co shares lost two-thirds of their value on Friday as the company hired a restructuring advisory firm, triggering speculation that the photography pioneer was about to file for bankruptcy.

Kodak, which delivered the first consumer camera in 1888, denied it had a bankruptcy plan, saying it was committed to meeting its obligations and is still looking for ways to "monetize" its patent portfolio.
The company, whose name was once synonymous with photography, has struggled with the move to digital cameras and has not made a profit since 2007.
Rochester, New York-based Kodak has been exploring a sale of its technology patents. But some investors are wary of making a bid because they could risk being pursued by Kodak creditors in the event the company files for bankruptcy, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Bloomberg also said that Kodak was weighing options including bankruptcy, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the process.
Kodak confirmed that it has hired advisory firm Jones Day but did not explain why, beyond saying it was "not unusual for a company in transformation to explore all options."
Kodak lost 57 percent of its market value this week as its capitalization plunged to close to $200 million from $468.2 million at the start of the week. Investors were spooked when the company tapped a credit line but refused to divulge its cash position.
One analyst said the company urgently needs to reach a deal to sell the assets.
"I don't believe bankruptcy is inevitable. This is a pretty valuable portfolio, they should get a good price," said Mark Kaufman, analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets. "They need to get this (sale) out of the way. They need to sell this portfolio, raise some type of cash."
The company said in July it had hired Lazard to advise on strategic options for its patents, which have increasingly been perceived as a lucrative area. Bankrupt Canadian company Nortel fetched $4.5 billion in a patent sale in June and Google Inc agreed in August to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion primarily for its patent portfolio.
Kodak stock fell as much as 68 percent to 54 cents a share on Friday before recovering slightly to close at 78 cents, down 54 percent on the day.
Investors have voiced displeasure with Kodak's top management. One shareholder asked the company's board on Thursday to start a sales process while others said they were unhappy with Chief Executive Antonio Perez.
The company's board is not considering replacing Perez at this time, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal, which cited two people familiar with the matter.

China Mobile team up on 4G

China Mobile Communications Corp and Clearwire Corp have teamed up to develop high-speed mobile devices and infrastructure, potentially giving the cash-strapped U.S. 4G operator a technological boost.

Shares of Clearwire were up 8 percent at $2.76 after a brief trading suspension.

Under their agreement, the world's largest telecoms carrier by users will work on chipsets and devices for TD-LTE, a 4G wireless technology, that should be available by 2012.

Clearwire announced in August it was looking for almost $1 billion in funding to help upgrade its network with Long Term Evolution (LTE) -- an emerging high-speed technology. TD-LTE is a variant on that standard.

Sprint Nextel Corp has held talks with cable partners about supporting their loss-making Clearwire wireless venture in the face of increasing competition from bigger rivals, sources have said.

Nintendo's 3DS rescue

Nintendo's attempt to rescue its failed 3DS handheld games gadget with a raft of new games content fell short of expectations and left investors pessimistic about the outlook for the long-time industry champion.

Nintendo's shares slid 5 percent on Tuesday in a strong broader market as investors said content would not enable the 3DS to fight off growing competition from smartphones and tablets.
The Kyoto-based company has already been forced to slash prices to try to boost slumping demand, leaving only its famed content, never made available on other firms' hardware, to revive sales.
At a subdued event held two days ahead of the Tokyo Game Show, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata unveiled what he said was an unprecedented range of games, including some featuring the company's much-loved Mario character and others aimed at attracting women customers.
Analysts said the line-up lacked a "wow" factor, while investors said it was largely irrelevant.
"I don't think the new games will make any difference," said Mitsuhige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment.
"Nintendo succeeded by pulling in people who weren't gamers and their needs now are no longer being filled by Nintendo, they are happy playing games on their mobile phones," he said.
With sales of its DS and Wii fading, Nintendo was relying on the new 3D model to revive profits and fend off renewed competition from motion-gaming peripherals of Sony Corp and Microsoft. Many casual gamers are also flocking to devices such as Apple's blockbuster iPhone and iPad.
As of Monday's close, Nintendo's shares had sunk 46 percent since the start of the year, hit by the slump in sales of its glasses-free 3D-capable games device and doubts that it can replicate the success of its Wii home console.