Business world this week

Published February 10, 2012
Two of Eastman Kodak's most successful cameras, a Brownie Special Six-20 (L), and the Pocket Instamatic 20 (R), are shown in this photo taken in Washington. Eastman Kodak Co, the inventor of the digital camera, plans to get out of that business in the first half of the year as the bankrupt company looks to cut costs. The decision to stop selling digital cameras along with pocket video cameras and digital picture frames marks the end of an era for Kodak, which also invented the handheld camera. ? Reuters Photo
Two of Eastman Kodak's most successful cameras, a Brownie Special Six-20 (L), and the Pocket Instamatic 20 (R), are shown in this photo taken in Washington. Eastman Kodak Co, the inventor of the digital camera, plans to get out of that business in the first half of the year as the bankrupt company looks to cut costs. The decision to stop selling digital cameras along with pocket video cameras and digital picture frames marks the end of an era for Kodak, which also invented the handheld camera. ? Reuters Photo
An Oscar statuette emerges from the gold plating process during a media tour of the R.S. Owen and Company in Chicago. The Oscars will be handed out during the 84th Academy Awards show on February 26 in Hollywood.  ? Reuters Photo
An Oscar statuette emerges from the gold plating process during a media tour of the R.S. Owen and Company in Chicago. The Oscars will be handed out during the 84th Academy Awards show on February 26 in Hollywood. ? Reuters Photo
Moroccan employees work in the new Renault factory in Melloussa. French car maker Renault opened a sprawling low-cost Moroccan factory on Thursday, taking aim at strong European demand for no-frills vehicles in a bid to buck the overall decline in the region's car market. ? Reuters Photo
Moroccan employees work in the new Renault factory in Melloussa. French car maker Renault opened a sprawling low-cost Moroccan factory on Thursday, taking aim at strong European demand for no-frills vehicles in a bid to buck the overall decline in the region's car market. ? Reuters Photo
Banknotes shredded and compressed into heating fuel are distributed at the Foundation to Help Autism in Miskolc, eastern Hungary. Hungary is the only country to recycle its worn cash for fuel each year, a total of some $1 billion worth of forints. The bricks are then sent to a few charities, covering up to a third of their annual heating fuel supplies. ? Reuters Photo
Banknotes shredded and compressed into heating fuel are distributed at the Foundation to Help Autism in Miskolc, eastern Hungary. Hungary is the only country to recycle its worn cash for fuel each year, a total of some $1 billion worth of forints. The bricks are then sent to a few charities, covering up to a third of their annual heating fuel supplies. ? Reuters Photo
People drink tea from a roadside tea stall in New Delhi. If somebody wanted to enjoy a cup of tea at a cafe devoted to tea in New Delhi, they'd be out of luck. The lack of a single national franchise centred on tea, known in India as chai and served in a glass, has come into especially sharp focus now that coffee giant Starbucks is poised to make its entry into India. ? Reuters Photo
People drink tea from a roadside tea stall in New Delhi. If somebody wanted to enjoy a cup of tea at a cafe devoted to tea in New Delhi, they'd be out of luck. The lack of a single national franchise centred on tea, known in India as chai and served in a glass, has come into especially sharp focus now that coffee giant Starbucks is poised to make its entry into India. ? Reuters Photo
Villagers pan for gold in Wang river in Lampang province, north of Bangkok. The gold rush occurs each year during the drought season (December to March) near the river in the Wang Nuea district, where minerals and gold-bearing sediments erode from nearby hills. ? Reuters Photo
Villagers pan for gold in Wang river in Lampang province, north of Bangkok. The gold rush occurs each year during the drought season (December to March) near the river in the Wang Nuea district, where minerals and gold-bearing sediments erode from nearby hills. ? Reuters Photo
A villager points to pieces of gold after she panned for gold in Wang river in Lampang province, north of Bangkok. One gram sells for 1,350 baht ($44). ? Reuters Photo
A villager points to pieces of gold after she panned for gold in Wang river in Lampang province, north of Bangkok. One gram sells for 1,350 baht ($44). ? Reuters Photo
Boys walk along a street beside a damaged building in Havana. The 50th anniversary of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba on Tuesday was met with little fanfare on the island, where Cubans said it was a failed policy that had succeeded only in making their lives more difficult. ? Reuters Photo
Boys walk along a street beside a damaged building in Havana. The 50th anniversary of the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba on Tuesday was met with little fanfare on the island, where Cubans said it was a failed policy that had succeeded only in making their lives more difficult. ? Reuters Photo
Job seekers sleep outside an entrance to the Yiwu Human Resources Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. Different from their parents, who after working in cities would return home to rural China with their savings, the new generation of migrant workers often prefers to settle down in the bustling hubs where they work. China's urban population has outnumbered rural residents by the end of 2011, with 51.27 percent of the total population living in cities, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. ? Reuters Photo
Job seekers sleep outside an entrance to the Yiwu Human Resources Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. Different from their parents, who after working in cities would return home to rural China with their savings, the new generation of migrant workers often prefers to settle down in the bustling hubs where they work. China's urban population has outnumbered rural residents by the end of 2011, with 51.27 percent of the total population living in cities, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. ? Reuters Photo
Japanese college students shout and raise their fists at a rally wishing for success in their job search in Tokyo. More than 1,000 students from business schools took part in the rally to boost their morale before their job search. ? Reuters Photo
Japanese college students shout and raise their fists at a rally wishing for success in their job search in Tokyo. More than 1,000 students from business schools took part in the rally to boost their morale before their job search. ? Reuters Photo
A worker controls the cast at a blast furnace of German steel manufacturer Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter. The contrast between Germany's record levels of employment and the dire jobs situation elsewhere in Europe is stark. Last year, the number of people in employment in Germany rose above the 41 million mark for the first time. The jobless rate has been falling steadily since 2005 and now stands at just 6.7 percent, compared to 23 percent in Spain and 18 percent in Greece. ? Reuters Photo
A worker controls the cast at a blast furnace of German steel manufacturer Salzgitter AG in Salzgitter. The contrast between Germany's record levels of employment and the dire jobs situation elsewhere in Europe is stark. Last year, the number of people in employment in Germany rose above the 41 million mark for the first time. The jobless rate has been falling steadily since 2005 and now stands at just 6.7 percent, compared to 23 percent in Spain and 18 percent in Greece. ? Reuters Photo

Highlights of the week in the business world, which saw the decline of has-been photography giant Kodak, the gold rush in Lampang, Thailand and other events.

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