Latest news with #JordanValinsky
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
133-year old Kodak says it might have to cease operations
By Jordan Valinsky , CNN The headquarters for the Eastman Kodak corporation are pictured in Rochester, New York. Photo: James Leynse/Corbis/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Eastman Kodak, the 133-year-old photography company, is warning investors that it might not survive much longer. In its earnings report on Monday (US Time), the company warned that it doesn't have "committed financing or available liquidity" to pay its roughly $500 million in upcoming debt obligations. "These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern," Kodak said in a filing. Kodak aims to conjure up cash by ceasing payments for its retirement pension plan. It also said it didn't expect tariffs to have "material impacts" on its business because it manufactured many of its products, including cameras, inks and film in the United States. "In the second quarter, Kodak continued to make progress against our long-term plan despite the challenges of an uncertain business environment," Kodak CEO Jim Continenza said in the earnings release. In a statement to CNN on Tuesday (US Time), a Kodak spokesperson said it was "confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations." Shares of Eastman Kodak (KODK) slumped more than 25 percent in midday trading on Tuesday (US Time). Two film rolls with the Kodak logo. Photo: NIKOS PEKIARIDIS The Eastman Kodak Company incorporated in 1892, but the company traces its roots back to 1879, when George Eastman obtained his first patent for a plate-coating machine. In 1888, Eastman sold the first Kodak camera for $25. At the time, photography was not a mass business because of the technical skills and equipment needed to do it, but the Kodak camera was designed to make photography more widely accessible. Eastman coined the slogan: "You push the button, we do the rest." The name was largely meaningless, with the word "Kodak," according to the company, being invented by Eastman out thin air: "The letter 'K' had been a favourite with me - it seems a strong, incisive sort of letter." Kodak had a century of success producing cameras and film. At one point in the 1970s, it was responsible for 90 percent of film and 85 percent of camera sales in the United States, according to The Economist. Paul Simon's hit song "Kodachrome" topped the charts in 1973. But that powerful market position would not last because of technology the company invented: Kodak introduced the first digital camera in 1975. Kodak failed to capitalise on the rise of the digital technology. In 2012, it filed for bankruptcy . At the time of its Chapter 11 filing, it had 100,000 creditors and debts totalling $6.75 billion. In 2020, Kodak had a brief moment of reprieve when the US government tapped it to transform into a pharmaceutical ingredients producer. Kodak's stock price rose so fast it tripped 20 circuit breakers throughout the trading session. Despite its recent losses, Kodak recently said it aimed to expand that part of its business. The company continues to manufacture films and chemicals for businesses, including the movie industry, and it licenses its brand for a variety of consumer products. - CNN
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shares of Froot Loops cereal maker soar 50% after reports of Ferrero acquisition
Shares of WK Kellogg, the cereal maker behind Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, skyrocketed as high as 50% after the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Ferrero was nearing acquiring the company for $3 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported the deal, in which the Nutella and Ferrero Rocher maker would acquire WK Kellogg for $3 billion, could be finalized as early as this week. Ferrero, which began as a family business in Italy in the 1940s, has been foraying across the pond into North America. In 2022, it acquired Wells Enterprises, the US-based ice cream company that owned Blue Bunny and and Blue Ribbon popsicles, and had also bought Nestle's US chocolate business. The addition of WK Kellogg, which has a market cap of roughly $1.5 billion and a portfolio of household cereal names from Raisin Bran to Corn Flakes to Apple Jacks, could be its most substantial acquisition yet. In its latest financial year, Ferrero reported a revenue of 18.4 billion euros. WK Kellogg and Ferrero Rocher did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In 2022, Kellogg announced it was spinning off its cereal business, a major shakeup for the more-than-century-old company. Its snack unit was renamed Kellanova. The company said at the time that spinning off the companies will 'better position each business to unlock its full potential,' especially as the company has grown with acquisitions in recent years Last year, Mars bought Kellanova in a deal worth $35.9 billion. The sale of WK Kellogg to Ferrero would be another upheaval in a volatile time for the snack industry, as consumer change preferences and pull back spending amid higher prices. WK Kellogg's CEO Gary Pilnick came under fire last year for encouraging customers to eat cereal for dinner as shoppers grappled with skyrocketing food prices. CNN's Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The McDonald's Snack Wrap is returning next month
McDonald's is bringing back a long-requested, cult favorite food item: the Snack Wrap. 'It's back,' the company said in a two-word statement Tuesday, echoing the words of another Chicago symbol, Michael Jordan, in his NBA comeback fax. The wrap will return to McDonald's menus on July 10 as the company struggles to turnaround a sluggish start to the year. It's a simple formula: Chicken, lettuce, cheese and a tortilla. The fast food giant removed Snack Wraps from its lineup in 2016 after franchisees reportedly complained they were too complicated to make. However, some locations continued to serve the wraps until 2020 when McDonald's eliminated the item completely. The opening in the snack wrap market allowed competition to jump in, such as Wendy's grilled chicken ranch wrap in 2023 (at the time, its global chief marketing officer told CNN the chain 'didn't want to mess around with a McBland snack wrap dupe.') But fans never forgot the original Snack Wrap. A petition to bring the item back to menus has almost 19,000 signatures, with fans signing on as recently as two months ago. 'To my beloved McDonald's Snack Wrap… you were the ideal snack, the perfect meal on the go, the comfort food I didn't know I needed until you were gone. McDonald's, why did you take away such perfection?' one petitioner commented. A rush of fans clamoring to get their hands on a returning favorite could provide a much-needed boost for McDonald's. In May, the restaurant chain reported a sales decline for the second straight quarter – its worst loss since Covid – as customers pulled back spending on purchases like eating out as they feel shaky about the economy. So McDonald's is going all out with the Snack Wrap hype. The company posted a more than 350-word X post, allegedly penned by a social media manager who 'made 486 decks on 'reasons why to bring back the Snack Wrap.'' Regardless if the post is entirely true, it did underscore how dedicated the fanbase is toward the Snack Wrap. 'Your endless comments, tweets, and posts were the fuel i needed to keep on going,' the post said. 'you created a movement.' CNN's Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- RNZ News
Fired Disney employee gets 3 years in prison for hacking and changing menus
By Jordan Valinsky , CNN Photo: AFP A former Disney employee who hacked into the company's servers to alter its restaurant menus, including falsifying allergen information and printing profane language, has been sentenced to three years in prison. Michael Scheuer, a Florida resident, was sentenced last week in federal court and ordered to pay nearly US$690,000 ($1.1 million) in restitution, with most of that going to Disney. He pled guilty in January to one count of computer fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. "Scheuer remains remorseful and apologetic to his former co-workers. We are grateful that the judge heard all of our arguments and mitigation when fashioning a sentence that was half of what the government was seeking," said David Haas, Scheuer's lawyer, in a statement to CNN. Scheuer worked as a menu production manager for Disney and was fired last June for misconduct, according to the original complaint. He had access to, and also used, secure internal servers for creating and publishing menus for all of Disney's restaurants as part of his job at the company. However, Disney identified and removed all altered menus before they were shipped to restaurants. The company didn't immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Scheuer hacked into Disney's menu creation servers multiple times to manipulate and disrupt the menus, such as changing prices and adding profane language. He then made changes to the menus that "threatened public health and safety," the complaint said, including altering allergen information to indicate certain menu items with peanuts were peanut-free, posing a fatal risk to individuals with peanut allergies. Disney employees discovered the disruption when Scheuer altered menu text fonts to become icon symbols, known as wingdings. "This change was so substantial that it caused the Menu Creator system to become inoperable while the font changes were made to all of the menus," the complaint said. Disney was also "forced to take the Menu Creator application offline while they reverted to backups to regain the ability to operate." The DOJ said in a press release last week that the "computer intrusions" also included altering "menu information related to wine regions to reflect locations of recent mass shootings." Additionally, Scheuer allegedly disabled employee accounts during his hacking campaigns. He locked at least 14 Disney employees out of their accounts by continually attempting to log on to their accounts with incorrect passwords. He also used a bot to attempt over 100,000 logins to their accounts, rendering them unusable. -CNN
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
100,000 eggs were stolen from a trailer in Pennsylvania, police say
The theft of approximately 100,000 eggs from the back of a distribution trailer in central Pennsylvania is under investigation, authorities say, as the grocery staple has become scarce in some areas due to an avian flu outbreak and prices are reaching near-record highs. The eggs, worth an estimated $40,000, were stolen from egg producers Pete & Gerry's Organics in Greencastle Saturday night, according to a report from Pennsylvania State Police. 'Pete & Gerry's is aware of a recent incident in Franklin County, Pennsylvania and we are actively working with local law enforcement to investigate,' the company said in a statement to CNN Tuesday. 'We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible. Due to the ongoing investigation we cannot comment any further on this matter,' the statement said. The egg industry has faced considerable challenges in recent months with the resurgence of an avian flu outbreak that has killed millions of egg-laying hens. Nearly half of all birds killed by the virus in 2024 were egg-laying hen deaths that occurred in November and December, according to the USDA. The national average price of eggs was a hot-button issue in the leadup to the US presidential election in November, and consumers and restaurants continue to feel the pinch of higher prices with a shortened supply. The average price of a dozen large, grade-A eggs was $4.15 in December, up from $3.65 in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Egg prices were also up more than 36% year-over-year in December, according to the Consumer Price Index. Waffle House, the ubiquitous diner across the South, is adding a 50-cent charge per egg because of the 'nationwide rise in cost of eggs,' according to signs posted at its restaurants. The restaurant cited the ongoing egg shortage for the surcharge, in a statement to CNN. The surcharge will be later adjusted or removed based on market conditions, the statement said. CNN's Auzinea Bacon and Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.
