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May 27 2012 11:21
There's a price war raging between South Africa's cellphone networks after Cell C lowered the rates of its prepaid calls by more than 34%.
May 28 2012 07:53
The City of Cape Town has spent R175m running the Myciti bus service since the Soccer World Cup compared to an income of R35m, a report says.
May 27 2012 13:09
The oversupply of golf estates has claimed another victim.
Hong Kong - Asian stock markets were mostly higher in cautious trade on Thursday, with gains limited by gnawing worries about banks after Morgan Stanley reported worse-than-expected results.
A number of markets fluctuated and volumes were lacklustre as a run in global equities showed more signs of stalling. Crude oil prices fell, while the dollar slipped against the yen.
News of US investment firm Morgan Stanley's disappointing quarterly report rattled investors already nervous about the US government's upcoming "stress tests" of banking health. Reports that Nomura, Japan's leading brokerage, may post disappointing results also weighed.
Analysts said the markets were due for a technical bounce after falling sharply earlier this week. Still, many investors have begun looking for reasons to book profits following a six-week rally, a shift in sentiment that could lead to more declines, analysts said.
"People are starting to get nervous and we're going see people starting to take money off the table," said Andrew Orchard, Asian strategist for Royal Bank of Scotland in Hong Kong. "Most investors still have concerns about the economy, and I don't think many are ready to believe we're in the next phase of a bull market."
Japanese shares fell before rebounding to trade higher by 30.97 points, at 8,758.27. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0.9% at 15,012.13, and South Korea's Kospi added 0.5% to 1,362.24.
Elsewhere, markets in Australia and Taiwan gained. Shanghai's main index lost 1%, while India's Sensex declined 0.2%.
Overnight on Wall Street, an early rally fizzled after Morgan Stanley's report, and the Dow lost 82.99, to 7,886.57.
Broader market measures were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 6.53, to 843.55, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.27, to 1,646.12.
Wall Street futures suggested a slightly higher open in the US on Thursday. Dow futures rose 9 points, to 7,825 and S&P 500 futures gained 0.4 to 837.30.
Oil prices were lower, with benchmark crude for May delivery down 44c to $48.41 a barrel, as rising US crude inventories and a grim demand forecast by the IMF hurt sentiment. The contract rose 30c on Wednesday to settle at $48.85.
The dollar weakened to ¥97.79 from ¥98.03. The euro was flat at $1.3002.
- AP