Telecoms: Qwest books reviewed
Qwest Communications may announce this week plans to retract about US$1 billion in revenue booked from swaps of capacity on its fiber-optic network, a source said Saturday. The announce-ment, initially reported in Saturday editions of the Rocky Mountain News, would likely come before the House Energy and Commerce Committee begins hearings on the deals tomorrow, a source familiar with the company's discussion told AP. Qwest's audit committee went over the plan this week, the News reported. Qwest spokesman Tyler Gronbach on Saturday said the committee and full board of directors met this week but would not say what they discussed. "We're continuing our analysis of accounting issues and hope to finish that soon," Gronbach said. He declined to comment further. Regulatory filings show Qwest recognized US$953 million in revenue from so-called swaps in 2000 and 2001 in which it nearly simultaneously bought and sold network capacity with another telecommunications company.
Software: Microsoft repairs defect
Microsoft has announced a solution to the series of unexplained crashes that has begun to afflict computers running the Windows operating system. Microsoft is releasing a patch that will fix a recently discovered security hole in all versions of Windows, says the Hamburg-based computer magazine c't. The hole allows for a Denial of Service attack, which in turn enables the possibility of a third computer bringing the computer to a standstill. As long as the hole exists, Microsoft cannot rule out the possibility of unauthorized access to the affected computers, and for this reason recommends that users download and install the patch as soon as possible. The latest version of the patch can be found at www.windowsupdate.com.
Icann: Contract gets extended
The US Commerce Department extended by one year the right of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), to oversee the Internet address system, the New York Times reported. The non-profit corporation has been under government contract to manage the Internet address system for four years and ``no obvious alternative exists'' to extending its contract despite dissatisfaction with how it has handled its responsibilities, the paper reported, citing a statement by Nancy Victory, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information.
US Economy: Home construction drops
US home construction fell for a third straight month in August, hurting an economic recovery. Builders began work on new homes at an annual rate of 1.609 million units last month, the Commerce Department said. That was down 2.2 percent from July's 1.645 million pace due to a slump in the Midwest. Initial jobless claims held above a level that suggests a sluggish labor market, the Labor Department said. "Weaker housing starts and persistently high jobless claims continue to point toward a modest economic recovery," said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer at PanAgora Asset Manage-ment, where he helps manage US$15 billion. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to a 41-year low. Slower home construction means fewer jobs and less demand for building materials and appliances.
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