Less e-mail spam gets through, firm says
From January to August, spam accounted for 67 percent of all e-mails sent through MX Logic’s Threat Center servers, down from 76 percent for the same period last year.
That’s according to an MX Logic report released Thursday on the pervasiveness of spam. MX Logic is a provider of e-mail security applications.
Forty-eight percent of all spam filtered in August by MX Logic was sent from “neglected, always-connected broadband” computers hijacked by spammers.
Scott Chasin, chief technology officer for MX Logic, said the numbers indicate that less spam is reaching in boxes. Although spam filters and other technologies are improving, he said, the overall volume of spam on the Internet continues to increase.
Centura Health names new chief executive
Gregory Burfitt, president of Virginia-based Inova Health Systems, will become Centura Health’s new chief executive in late November. Centura is Colorado’s largest hospital system, with 12 facilities statewide, and the state’s fourth-largest private employer, with 12,000 employees.
Before joining Inova, Burfitt worked 11 years for Hospital Corporation of America, or HCA, where he held CEO positions at several hospitals throughout the South, including West Florida Regional Medical Center, HCA’s flagship hospital.
Suit says elderly fell prey to investing scam
The Colorado Division of Securities sued three Kansas businesses and five men Thursday, alleging they bilked elderly Colorado residents into investing up to $50,000 in bogus oil-and-gas ventures.
Named as defendants in the complaint filed in Denver District Court were Key Resource Group, Key Gas Corp. and Key Gas Holding, as well as Dale C. Lucas, Russell W. Kilgariff, Michael J. McNaul and Rodney E. Andersen, all of Wichita, and Michael A. Campa of California.
“Narnia” displays set for Cherry Creek mall
The Cherry Creek mall in Denver will be one of 11 malls operated by Broomfield Hills, Mich.- based Taubman Centers to present an interactive holiday promotion tied to the upcoming movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
The mall will present movie-themed holiday decor, including large snow globes depicting scenes from the movie. The film by Philip Anschutz’s Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures is based on the children’s book by C.S. Lewis.
Lawyer fees appealed in Qwest settlement
The Association of US West Retirees has appealed a Denver district judge’s ruling that plaintiffs’ attorneys are entitled to $16.3 million from a $50 million class-action verdict against Qwest.
Denver District Judge John W. Coughlin ruled last month that plaintiffs’ attorneys can collect 30 percent of the settlement between Qwest and shareholders who didn’t receive a $273 million quarterly dividend they were promised in 2000. He also awarded the attorneys $1.3 million in expenses. The retiree group had objected to the fees, calling them exorbitant.
Refinery blast leads to record OSHA fine
BP Products North America, the owner of a Texas refinery where an explosion killed 15 people in March, was assessed a record $21 million fine Thursday by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The federal agency that oversees workplace safety is also considering whether to refer some violations to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution, said John Miles Jr., regional administrator for OSHA.
Sony CEO offers turnaround plan
Howard Stringer, the new chief executive of Sony Corp., unveiled a turnaround plan Thursday that would cut 10,000 jobs, shed unprofitable products and centralize decision-making at the struggling, sprawling Japanese electronics giant.
In a further sign of tough times, Sony said it expected to post its first annual loss this year in more than a decade. The company said it foresees a loss of 10 billion yen, or $90 million, for the fiscal year ending March 31, down from a previously forecast $90 million profit.
Credit rating drops for Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems Inc., whose server computers run corporate networks, had its credit rating cut to Ba1, or noninvestment grade, by Moody’s Investors Service because of acquisitions.
Moody’s reduced the rating from Baa3 based on higher risk associated with Sun’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Louisville-based Storage Technology Corp. Ratings on $1.1 billion in debt are affected, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement Thursday. The outlook is stable.
Former Tyco execs check in at prison
Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz, the former Tyco International executives convicted of stealing $600 million from the company, arrived at a prison Thursday and were given ID numbers, prison-issued clothing and a brief orientation about life in the New York correctional system.
The two arrived by bus at Downstate Correctional Facility in Fishkill, N.Y. – one of three reception centers where male inmates stay for several weeks while being evaluated and waiting to be assigned a full-time prison.
