Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/10/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I'm not too sure how influential Kodak could be in the digital arena. American companies once led in all technological areas of innovation and inventions, thus providing the world (not just U.S.) the foundation for further advancement. I can think of areas in electronics, computers, aerospace, telecommunications etc. All these came about as a result of U.S. government's involvment in major projects such as NASA. I'm all for the government taking a leading role in financing as well as managing big projects. Hence the contractors gain in knowledge resources that can be trickled down to the private industry. However, it seems like our government now is cutting back substantially in every technological projects and yet is funding on military conflicts around the world. Leaving it all to private industries is not going to give us the lead technologically. Even U.S. corporate giants such as Kodak have limited resources. At first I thought the might and depth of U.S. corporates can rebound in no time, but now after spending quite some time outside of U.S. in countries that are just emerging, I'm not too sure whether we are not already losing the lead. - --- "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> wrote: > On one hand, we have of course learned over these > past three years or so > just how honest and far-sighted institutional > investors have proven to > be. Was Providence one of the countless such groups > investing in > internet ventures where there was no product, no > real plan to have a > product, and no prospect that any vaguely > intelligent three-year-old > could see of such ventures ever making profits? > > On the other hand, digital photo will indeed be > highly competitive, and > it may well be too late for Kodak to jump in and do > anywhere near as > well as its investors would like it to do. However, > that doesn't mean > that the company's leadership isn't correct in > believing that while > there is still money to be made in film, film will > no longer be able to > sustain the kind of giant it allowed Kodak to > become. > > B. D. > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us] On > Behalf Of Tim > Atherton > Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2003 11:20 PM > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > Subject: [Leica] Kodak Film and Digital: "Kodak's > plans spur (investor) > rebellion" > > > "ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Eastman Kodak Co.'s decision to > bet its future on > digital photography has touched off a battle with a > potent group of > dissident investors. Investors reacted with fury > last month when Kodak > slashed its annual dividend by 72 percent to fund a > major shift away > from its ailing conventional film business and into > the fast-growing but > highly competitive digital arena. > > Institutional investors led by Providence Capital > Inc. are staging a > forum today to examine ways of prodding the world's > biggest photography > company to alter its new course... > > ...Citing doubts about the potential profits in > digital imaging compared > to conventional photography, Standard & Poor's > Ratings Services and > Moody's Investors Service downgraded Kodak's credit > rating last month to > BBB-minus, one notch above "junk" level... more" > > > > http://denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E33%7E1714108,00.html?search=fi > lter > > -- > To unsubscribe, see > http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html