Correction:

Stilgherrian writes: Re. “Fairfax’s hypocritical web ‘spying devices’ beat-up” (yesterday, item 14). In yesterday’s description of how tracking cookies work, I wrote: “Log into your Google Gmail account and your personal data can be correlated with everything collected from networks using DoubleClick’s advertising.”

While this is a theoretical possibility, Google says they don’t do it.

A Google spokesperson writes: “When a user visits websites that display ads provided by Google’s AdSense program, or watches a video on YouTube, Google stores a random, unique number in the user’s browser (the DoubleClick cookie) to remember the browser’s visits. Only these visits — and not searches on Google or Google account information — are associated with the DoubleClick cookie.”

Big companies and banks:

John Band writes: Re. “BHP 3rd most valuable company as Liberal bank holdings hit $28m” (yesterday, item 19). Stephen Mayne wrote:

“Australia is the only country in the world where banks represent four of the five most valuable listed companies, courtesy of their net profits exceeding $20 billion a year. By way of contrast, no bank ranks in the top seven in the US.”

I’m assuming he missed the bit where the US banking system went disastrously bust and the Australian banking system didn’t…? Meanwhile in Canada, the only comparable country where the banks didn’t explode, they represent — erm — seven of the top seven.

Duane Robinson writes: The list of the 10 biggest US-based listed companies by market cap seems incorrect. Do names like P&G (180bln) and Johnson & Johnson (178bln) not count? I’m well aware that there is a good chance I’m missing something…

Hillary Clinton:

Arley Moulton writes: Re. Yesterday’s Editorial. You’re editorial was spot on. When the media weren’t talking about Hillary’s Orange jumpsuit they were talking about her “embarrassing” mistake by calling Kevin, “Prime Minister Rudd”. Ex presidents keep the title for life. “President Bush” and “President Clinton” are still valid titles. Even I know that.

Clive Hamilton explained this on Insiders Sunday morning yet Channel Nine ran the story all day. I was greeted every hour with a bulletin from Heather Ford telling me outright lies.

CSL:

Mary Sinclair writes: Re. “Top-value CEOs — here’s five of the very best” (yesterday, item 21). Hasn’t Adam Schwab left out some key information about CSL and its success in terms of federal government subsidies of the company particularly in its early stages. Weren’t the tax payers of Australia supporting the shareholders of CSL?