Hackers grab Comcast’s Web portal
Published 10:52 pm Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hackers took over Comcast Corp.’s Web portal for several hours overnight, denying 14.1 million subscribers access to the cable company’s site for e-mail, news and technical support. The front page of Comcast.net went down shortly before 8 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday and was replaced with a note saying the hackers had “RoXed” Comcast, according to postings at BroadbandReports.com. Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury said Thursday that the hijacking had been reversed in the morning, but that it was possible some users were still unable to access Comcast.net and Web-based e-mail.
Shipping line may be for sale
Weyerhaeuser says it may sell its shipping line and four regional short-line railroads. The Westwood Shipping Line subsidiary has four ships that carry forest products and containers to 20 ports in Japan, Korea, China and North America. The line serves the Port of Everett as a regular customer. In Thursday’s statement the Federal Way-headquartered forest products company says it has not confirmed a timetable for completing what it calls an exploration of strategic alternatives as part of its asset restructuring.
$37 billion banked for bad mortgages
Federally insured banks and thrifts set aside a record $37.1 billion to cover losses from soured mortgages and other loans in the first quarter, when profits were nearly halved, regulators said Thursday. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data show that Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and about 8,500 other institutions earned a combined $19.3 billion in the January-March period. That was a drop of 45.7 percent from the $35.6 billion earned a year earlier.
Overseas sales help U.S. economy
The economy logged slightly better growth in the first quarter, spurred by improved sales of U.S. products overseas. While that’s heartening, the country is still far from being out of the woods. In fact, a closer look behind the 0.9 percent increase in the gross domestic product during the January-to-March period revealed caution on the part of consumers hurt by the credit, housing and financial debacles.
Ex-EADS chief still under investigation
Noel Forgeard, a former co-chief executive of Airbus parent EADS, appeared Thursday before a French judge investigating alleged insider trading at the company, a judicial official said. Forgeard’s appearance before the judge made it likely that he could face charges and possibly be jailed, the official said.
Boeing orders now past 400 for 2008
On Thursday, the Boeing Co. added orders for 30 single-aisle 737 jets and revealed Air France as a 777 customer. Boeing surpassed the 400-order mark this week, listing 408 net orders to date in 2008. In its weekly update on its orders and deliveries Web site, Boeing attributed an order or orders for 30 Renton-built 737 jets to an unidentified customer. The jetmaker also revealed that Air France previously had ordered four Everett-built 777s.
From Herald staff and news services
