Schwab customers were unable to trade online for two hours Tuesday and again intermittently on Wednesday because of cyber attacks. But Schwab says the problem has been resolved.
By Reuters / April 24, 2013
A man walks past a Charles Schwab Investment branch in Washington in January. After two days of cyber attacks that interrupted its customers' online trading, Schwab says the problem has been resolved.
Jim Young/Reuters/File
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Charles Schwab Corp said it was the target of a cyber attack that prevented access to its website intermittently for about an hour on Wednesday, the second such attack in as many days, but that the problem had been resolved.
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Schwab, one of the largest U.S. brokerages, said on Tuesday afternoon it was that target of a distributed denial of service attack - an attack that floods websites with traffic in order to block access - that left clients unable to trade through the site for two hours.
Phone service was available during both attacks, although responses were slower than usual due to the large number of people calling in, said Schwab spokesman Greg Gable.
He said clients who believe they were affected by the outage can call 1-800-435-4000 to talk with a Schwab representative.
The attacks did not impact client data or accounts, Gable added.
Schwab said it is actively investigating the attacks but could not provide further information.
The San Francisco-based company had 8.9 million active brokerage accounts and $2.1 trillion in total client assets at the end of the last quarter.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The funding shortfall bedeviling the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension funds rose for a second straight year in 2012, as a strong stock market and hefty plan contributions failed to offset damage done by persistently low interest rates, according to an analysis by Towers Watson released on Monday.
The gap between what these corporations, all publicly traded, will owe retired workers and how much they have put aside jumped 17 percent, from $252.7 billion at year-end 2011 to $295.2 billion at year-end 2012. By comparison, these companies had a pension surplus of $86 billion in 2007.
Companies are required to calculate the present value of the future pension liabilities by using a so-called discount rate, based on corporate bond yields. As those rates fall, the liabilities rise.
An unprecedented level of lump sum buyouts and annuity purchases partially offset the increases in both assets and liabilities - due to lower interest rates. Without the buyouts and annuity purchases, obligations would have increased by 12 percent.
Since the 2008 financial crisis, corporate pension plan assets have increased, owing to the double-digit gains in stock markets and large contributions. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed more than 13 percent in 2012.
"However, four consecutive years of declining interest rates pushed liabilities 40 percent higher, leaving companies with larger deficits than before," said Alan Glickstein, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.
According to the Towers analysis, employers contributed $45.1 billion to their pension plans in 2012. That is a 16 percent increase from 2011 and the largest contribution employers have made in the past five years. The analysis noted that the companies contributed more than twice the amount of benefits accrued last year to keep funding levels up.
Over the last few years many corporations have been gradually adjusting their portfolios to reduce investment risk relative to liabilities, shifting from public equities to fixed-income and alternative investments.
Since 2009, average allocations to equities have fallen 10 percentage points, while allocations to fixed-income investments have risen by eight percentage points. However, the shift away from equities slowed in 2012, according to the report.
"Of the 95 companies that reported target asset allocation strategies for 2012 and 2013, only three reduced their target equity allocations by 10 percent or more, versus 16 for 2011," Towers Watson's report said.
"Obviously, there is a long way to go until the end of the year, but funding ratios are moving in the right direction," said Dave Suchsland, a senior consultant at Towers Watson.
"If interest rates don't continue their rise and equity returns weaken, plan sponsors may need to pour more cash into their plans to improve funded status for the full year."
(Reporting by Manuela Badawy; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
After months and months of build-up, UFC 159 is (almost) here. The light heavyweight championship is on the line, along with other fights that have some animosity behind them. We want your picks, but we're doing things a little differently this time.
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Apr. 23, 2013 ? From the T-101 to Data from Star Trek, humans have been presented with the fictional dilemma of how we empathize with robots. Robots now infiltrate our lives, toys like Furbies or robot vacuum cleaners bring us closer, but how do we really feel about these non-sentient objects on a human level? A recent study by researchers at the University of Duisburg Essen in Germany found that humans have similar brain function when shown images of affection and violence being inflicted on robots and humans.
Astrid Rosenthal-von der P?tten, Nicole Kr?mer, and Matthias Brand of the University of Duisburg Essen, will present their findings at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association conference in London. Rosenthal-von der P?tten, Kr?mer and Brand conducted two studies. In the first study, 40 participants watched videos of a small dinosaur-shaped robot that was treated in an affectionate or a violent way and measured their level of physiological arousal and asked for their emotional state directly after the videos. Participants reported to feel more negative watching the robot being abused and showed higher arousal during the negative video.
The second study conducted in collaboration with the Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Essen, used functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI), to investigate potential brain correlations of human-robot interaction in contrast to human-human interaction. The 14 participants were presented videos showing a human, a robot and an inanimate object, again being treated in either an affectionate or in a violent way. Affectionate interaction towards both, the robot and the human, resulted in similar neural activation patterns in classic limbic structures, indicating that they elicit similar emotional reactions. However, when comparing only the videos showing abusive behavior differences in neural activity suggested that participants show more negative empathetic concern for the human in the abuse condition.
A great deal of research in the field of human-robot interaction concentrates on the implementation of emotion models in robotic systems. These studies test implementations with regard to their believability and naturalness, their positive influence on participants, or enjoyment of the interaction. But there is little known on how people perceive "robotic" emotion and whether they react emotionally towards robots. People often have problems verbalizing their emotional state or find it strange to report on their emotions in human-robot interactions. Rosenthal-von der P?tten and Kr?mer's study utilized more objective measures linked to emotion like physiological arousal and brain activity associated with emotional processing.
"One goal of current robotics research is to develop robotic companions that establish a long-term relationship with a human user, because robot companions can be useful and beneficial tools. They could assist elderly people in daily tasks and enable them to live longer autonomously in their homes, help disabled people in their environments, or keep patients engaged during the rehabilitation process," said Rosenthal-von der P?tten. "A common problem is that a new technology is exciting at the beginning, but this effect wears off especially when it comes to tasks like boring and repetitive exercise in rehabilitation. The development and implementation of uniquely humanlike abilities in robots like theory of mind, emotion and empathy is considered to have the potential to solve this dilemma."
"Investigation on Empathy Towards Humans and Robots Using Psychophysiological Measures and fMRI," by Astrid Rosenthal-von der P?tten and Nicole Kr?mer; To be presented at the 63rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, London, England 17-21 June.
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Imagine your craziest girlfriend -- the one who always drinks too much, talks too loud, and ends up embarrassing you. Now imagine that against all odds, said friend becomes an arena-packing pop star. That pretty much sums up Ke$ha -- a free-spirited 26-year-old who's spent the last five years rising to fame on the strength of Top 40 hits like "Tik Tok" and "We R Who We R." Of course, she now has an MTV docu-series that's chronicled that rise. (Who doesn't?) Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life kicks off the first of its six episodes on Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET. Here's the trailer:
Both opiate and barbiturate users suffer the same problems trying to quit and need help. The first step to recovery is to examine the patient?s history. Learning about their past and present physical health can do a great deal towards providing effective treatment. A physical must be done to determine the addict?s state of health. Pale eyes, dilated pupils, nose damage and dry mouth and lips can all be signs of an addict. Drug abusers will usually have an enlarged kidney, liver or spleen, constipation, hemorrhoids, venereal disease and tracks. When opiate users check in for detoxification, they will normally display drowsiness, itchiness, flushed skin and a low blood pressure. Barbiturate users will generally show signs of an unsteady walk, rapid eye moment, poor reflects, slurred speech and sometimes be in a semi-comatose state. During their detoxification, opiate users may be plagued with anxiety, irritability, lack of sleep, sweating, runny nose, dilated pupils, increased pulse, loss of appetite, high temperature, vomiting and diarrhea. Barbiturate users will normally be restless, lack energy, experience nausea, have cramps, twitch, have tremors, vomit and, if untreated, they can die. Because the clinic will not always know whether they are dealing with an opiate or barbiturate user, they will keep an exact sleep log on their patients. If insomnia occurs on the first night, there is a good chance that the patient is a barbiturate. Both types of users will be slowly weaned off drugs by using a smaller and smaller amount of another drug. Once the process is complete, both types are strongly encouraged by their doctors to seek help from counseling if they really want to have a drug-free life. They may no longer be addicted to drugs; but they can easily fall back into the same patterns if they do not make life changes and find counseling after they leave the clinic. See the full length video at: www.qualityinformationpublishers.com
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons - probably nerve gas - in their fight against rebels trying to force out President Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli military's top intelligence analyst said on Tuesday.
Brigadier-General Itai Brun made the comments at a Tel Aviv security conference a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on a visit to Israel that U.S. intelligence agencies were still assessing whether such weapons had been employed.
U.S. President Barack Obama has called the use of chemical weapons a "red line" for the United States that would trigger unspecified U.S. action.
"To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin," Brun said in the most definitive Israeli statement on the issue to date.
Photos of victims showing foam coming out of their mouths and contracted pupils were signs deadly gas had been used, he said.
Forces loyal to Assad were behind the attacks on "armed (rebels) on a number of occasions in the past few months, including the most reported incident on March 19", Brun said.
The Syrian government and rebels last month accused each other of launching a chemical attack near the northern city of Aleppo.
On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces would be a "game changer" and the United States and Israel "have options for all contingencies".
Hagel met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, a day after flying in an Israeli military helicopter over the occupied Golan Heights on the edge of the fighting in Syria that has entered its third year.
"This is a difficult and dangerous time, this is a time when friends and allies must remain close, closer than ever," Hagel, in remarks to reporters before his talks with Netanyahu, said about the United States and Israel.
IMPASSE
Discussions between Syria and the United Nations on a U.N. investigation of possible use of chemical weapons have been at an impasse due to the Syrian government's refusal to let the inspectors visit anywhere but Aleppo, diplomats and U.N. officials said last week.
U.N. diplomats said Britain and France had provided Ban's office with what they believed to be strong evidence that chemical weapons also had been used in the city of Homs.
Israel, which has advanced intelligence capabilities that it shares with its Western allies, has voiced concerned that parts of Syria's chemical arsenal would end up in the hands of jihadi fighters or the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, with which it waged a 2006 war.
Israel leaders have cautioned they will not allow that to happen. In an attack it has not formally confirmed, Israeli planes bombed an arms convoy in Syria in February, destroying anti-aircraft weapons destined for Hezbollah.
Brun, who was speaking at the annual security conference of The Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Israel's military was studying a number of future scenarios facing Syria.
"More likely, as time goes by, are the scenarios of chaos and anarchy, or that of (Syria) breaking up into cantons. These pose major challenges for Israel. The chance of a different central government still exists, but it is growing less likely with time," Brun said.
(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Heller and David Alexander; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Alison Williams)
21 April 2013Last updated at 18:05 ETBy Jonathan AmosScience correspondent, BBC News
The Antares rocket blasted off from Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia
A new rocket has launched from the US eastern seaboard to prove its readiness to help service the International Space Station (ISS).
The 40m-tall Antares vehicle lifted clear of the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 1700 local time (2100 GMT).
The apparently flawless 10-minute ascent should lead to it being allowed to propel an unmanned cargo ship towards the ISS later this year.
Antares has been developed by the Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC).
The Dulles-based company is one of a number of commercial outfits that have partnered with the US space agency (Nasa) to create cheaper technologies for getting payloads and astronauts into orbit.
The agency has so far invested some $275m (?180m) in OSC to help it advance its rocket and cargo-vessel concepts.
A contract worth $1.9bn (?1.2bn), covering eight re-supply missions to the station, will be triggered once the company has satisfactorily demonstrated its designs.
Sunday's test-flight required the two-stage Antares rocket raise itself to an altitude of about 255km where it jettisoned a dummy payload.
That 3.8-tonne test mass was intended to simulate the Cygnus cargo ship, which will make its maiden outing on the next launch of the rocket.
Orbital is an established Nasa contractor, which has been building satellites and smaller rockets for more than 30 years.
The company was chosen by the agency to pick up some of the ISS servicing capability lost by America when it retired its space shuttles two years ago.
A second firm, SpaceX of California, is further along in its development schedule, having already completed its test flights and begun commercially contracted missions to the ISS.
OSC packed Sunday's Antares full of sensors to gather as much data as possible on its performance.
Everything on the flight appeared to proceed extremely smoothly. All the major events such as rocket-stage separation, fairing separation, and the ejection of the dummy payload occurred on cue.
"We will obviously go in and analyse it much more carefully in the coming days and replay everything to make sure we get maximum information from the data. But at first glance, it all looked really good," observed Frank Culbertson, an Orbital executive vice-president and a former astronaut.
Nasa too will want to review the flight data before deciding whether to release more seed funding to Orbital, and to clear the company for a Cygnus freighter demonstration mission to the ISS. All being well, this next demonstration could occur in late June or early July.
The early message from the agency was that it was very happy with Sunday's outcome.
"It was an amazing achievement for Orbital today," said Alan Lindenmoyer, the manager of Nasa's Commercial Crew and Cargo Program.
"The flight was just beautiful. It looks like - the preliminary data says - that all the objectives we established for the flight were 100% met."
Italian job
One interesting aspect of the Antares design is its use of two Aerojet AJ-26 engines on its liquid-fuelled first stage.
These are modified, Russian-built power units that were originally developed for the ill-fated Soviet Moon rocket, the N-1.
The Antares second-stage - the segment that deploys the payload at the target altitude - is powered by a solid-fuel motor. This was provided by ATK, the company that used to make the solid-fuelled boosters for the shuttles.
OSC hopes to use the Antares for other ventures besides keeping the space station stocked with food and equipment.
It has worked with an economic development agency in Virginia to bring the Wallops launch facility up to a standard that would permit many more flights from the coastal spaceport, which in the past has been used for small research rockets.
OSC has developed its Cygnus freighter with Italian company Thales Alenia Space (TAS).
The pressurised segment of this cargo ship is based on TAS's Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, or MPLM. This was the "packing box" put in the back of space shuttles when they hauled supplies to the ISS.
Two versions of Cygnus are being built. One can carry two tonnes, the other nearly three tonnes.
Unlike SpaceX's Dragon capsule, the OSC freighter cannot bring materials back to the Earth's surface.
Instead, Cygnus will be filled with rubbish from the ISS and allowed to burn up in the planet's atmosphere.
Sunday's demonstration flight also released three "nano-satellites" controlled by smartphones. These mini-spacecraft, which only measure 10cm across, will operate for a few weeks before falling back to Earth.
The dummy Cygnus will also begin its descent to Earth in about a fortnight.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos
After months and months of build-up, UFC 159 is (almost) here. The light heavyweight championship is on the line, along with other fights that have some animosity behind them. We want your picks, but we're doing things a little differently this time.
