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 slow pace of economic recovery has not appeared to have slowed down spending on fashion.

That is the verdict according to the latest just-style Apparel Industry in 2010 report, which found that fast and value fashion operators will be the most likely businesses to succeed in 2010, leading the way in profit forecasting.

The report  claimed that retailers who offer fashion collections at low prices are in the best position to take advantage of the current consumer climate in the UK, with organisations such as Primark set to  boom thanks to their strategy  of high volumes at low prices.

 The just-style survey also found that in the value fashion sector, where Primark is joined by the likes of New Look, the growth rate was at a high 59 per cent, while respondents also suggested that chains such as Mango and Zara, which are classified as fast fashion, could also expect to see growth of 56 per cent.

However, it was traditional favourite H&M that was seen as being the retailer who will see the greatest levels of growth in the remainder of 2010. 26.5 per cent of those polled said they expected H&M to top growth tables, while Zara was second with 20.6 per cent of the vote. In the five company query, Primark was third on 14.4 per cent, ahead of New Look on 7.5 per cent and Mango at 6.6 per cent.