Facebook to study breach of privacy policyFacebook is looking into how third-party applications treat its users' information after the revelation that some applications and games were sending those data to advertisers. The 10 most popular apps -- including such games as FarmVille and Texas Hold 'Em Poker -- were forwarding user identification numbers to advertising companies, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The world's most popular social networking service removed some applications while the issues were being resolved and pledged to introduce new systems that would dramatically limit the sharing of these user IDs. But Facebook said no user's personal information was misused. In a blog post, it blamed "technical details of how browsers work."
Wikileaks founder decries financial cutoffThe founder of Wikileaks was denied a Swedish residency permit on Monday and said his whistleblowing website had been cut off by a company that handled many of its donations. Julian Assange blamed the financial cutoff on the U.S. government, which denied any involvement. The U.S. did tell reporters that it was bracing for the potential disclosure by Wikileaks of hundreds of thousands of secret Iraq war documents, and asked media companies not to publish them. The Pentagon said the group had as many as 400,000 documents from a military database on operations in Iraq but Assange downplayed expectations that a leak was imminent.
Homebuilder confidence is up a shadeConfidence among U.S. homebuilders rose in October to the highest level in four months, a sign residential construction is stabilizing at depressed levels. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index increased to 16, from 13 the prior month, data from the Washington-based group showed Monday. The gauge was projected to rise to 14, according to the median estimate in the Bloomberg survey. Index readings lower than 50 mean more respondents said conditions were poor.
Ray Ozzie to leave MicrosoftBill Gates' successor as Microsoft's chief software architect, Ray Ozzie, is leaving the company after five years. In an e-mail sent to Microsoft Corp. employees Monday, CEO Steve Ballmer said Ozzie will stay with Microsoft for an undefined transition period. Ballmer said the company is not looking for a replacement.
China raises its stake in Treasury securitiesChina, the largest holder of U.S. Treasury debt, increased its holdings for a second straight month in August after two months of declines. China's holdings of Treasury securities rose to $868.4 billion in August, the Treasury Department reported Monday. That's up 2.6 percent and followed a smaller gain of 0.4 percent in July. China's holdings had fallen 2.8 percent in June and 3.6 percent in May.
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