Despite an improved second quarter performance, Eastman Kodak continues to struggle.

Wednesday saw the release of a narrower loss than in the first quarter of 2010, but the slight improvement was still short of analyst’s estimates.

The results mean that Kodak, one of the world leaders in printers and cameras, continues to struggle with its years-long battle to restructure since the advent of digital imaging.

Kodak’s share performance on the S&P 500 ranked as the largest decliner by percentage, falling by 15 per cent to just $4.18. The stock has been in continual sale from investors since it peaked at a 12-month high back in April of $9.08.

Erik Kolb, equity analyst with Standard & Poor’s, said that the stock market remained concerned that continued declines in the sales of film would continue to impact on Kodak’s cash flow, with the consumer products market likely to bear the brunt of the decline. Kolb noted that there had been a slight increase in recent times in the sales of inkjet printers, but otherwise the market was forecast to remain stagnant and unprofitable for the foreseeable future.

In keeping with recent trends, Kodak has made a larger push into the inkjet printer market, targeting both individual and business customers. According to Kodak, personal inkjet printer sales have grown by 50 per cent in the past year, while business sales have risen by 18 per cent.

However, this was overwhelmed by the operating loss for the second quarter of $167 million, down from $191 million, or roughly 71 cents per share, compared to the same time last year.

The long-disputed wage structure across garment factories in Bangladesh has at last received some positive news.

After months of protests, many of them ending in violence, the Bangladesh wage board has announced that the minimum wage for garment workers will be almost doubled.

Under the terms of the new arrangement, the average monthly wage will rise from 1,662 taka (£16) to be set at 3,000 taka (£16). A formal announcement of the wage increase will be made by the labour ministry tomorrow. Despite the increase, the wage limit falls short of the 5,000 taka called for by workers.

Leading UK retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Zara, Carrefour and H&M all source their clothes from Bangladeshi factories, where the garment industry is the financial backbone of the country’s economy. The industry accounts for some 80 per cent of the nation’s exports and generates around USD$12 billion per year.

Earlier this year, many western fashion labels pressured the Bangladeshi government into reviewing the minimum wage structure after allegations that the country’s factories were using exploitative labour. As a result, the wage board convened an emergency committee made up of union leaders, garment manufacturers and government officials to address the crisis.

The conflict saw angry workers clash with local police in recent weeks and it is not yet clear if union leaders will agree to the new government offer, which, despite the increase, still leaves the garment industry in Bangladesh as one of the world’s lowest paying.

Leading retailer Asda has introduced a new minimum pricing structure on alcohol.

The group has further declared that it will undertake closer working relationships with the UK government to ensure that it is at the forefront of tackling alcohol misuse and abuse across Britain.

The announcement follows the recent high-profile media case of a Tesco store that sold wine for less than cost price in Scotland, leading health campaigners to claim that supermarket chains could not be trusted to be self-policing when it came to the sale of alcohol.

Asda introduced its new alcohol policy on Tuesday, whereby a floor price of duty plus VAT is set on more than 99 per cent of the alcohol sold by the group. This will result in a minimum price of £8.95 for a 20-pack of 440ml 5 per cent strength cans of beer, which would be made up of a duty of £7.62 plus the VAT of 17.5 per cent on top. Similarly, a 750ml bottle of wine would go for a minimum of £1.99 and a one-litre bottle of spirit such as vodka at £10.49.

Asda has also proposed that the government enforce the same policy throughout the entire retail industry in a letter to home secretary Theresa May from chief executive Andy Clarke. Mr Clarke claims that Asda supports a Responsibility Agreement on Alcohol development agreement to ensure that the previously successful partnership between government and industry would not be wasted, and that in conjunction with the OFT, all those involved would be responsible for establishing a safe retail environment which would openly discuss and tackle the issues of alcohol misuse across the UK.

UK hoteliers are steeling themselves for a slow economic recovery.

Choice Hotels Europe’s UK division has released a new survey which shows that 36 per cent of UK hotel owners claim the slow the pace of economic recovery could continue for some years.

Choice Hotels, which operates the Comfort, Quality and Clarion brands, questioned managers and owners on priorities for the immediate future and also what they deemed the biggest factor to losing business.

The biggest barrier in preventing the highly valued customer loyalty was found to be the attitude of staff, with 50 per cent of those surveyed sating they felt this was the largest contributor to any negative impact. 18 per cent of hotels have subsequently implemented a range of staff training and customer service initiatives designed at making the customer experience as best as possible. In particular, front of house and Reception staff, along with room cleaners, will need to improve performance to prevent a poor image of a property being reflected on the key arrival time.

31 per cent of respondents said the past six months were the most difficult ever faced, with the trading environment unlike anything seen in the past. The Choice ‘Hotelier Pulse-Check’ survey however did manage to find that around a third of those polled held hopes that the 12 months ahead would show signs of a turnaround in fortunes. The main priority for all hotels in this period is to step up marketing and advertising campaigns to attempt to attract new customers to their properties, with 18 per cent of hotels also investing in new or upgraded facilities.

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