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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.
New York - US stocks edged lower on Tuesday, ending a five-day rally for the S&P 500, as talks to resolve Greece's debt crisis hit a snag and earnings from a number of blue chips disappointed investors.
Greece moved closer to the possibility of a chaotic default as talks to restructure the country's debt stalled. However, the US market has been less sensitive to the Greek drama of late.
"The situation in Greece has raised concerns and the market has pulled back, but I don't think it is impacting the market as much (as before)," said Doug Cote, the chief market strategist at ING Investment Management.
Corporate earnings did not inspire buying. Among the day's earnings disappointments were Verizon Communications and Travelers Cos, which were the biggest drags on the Dow.
According to Thomson Reuters data, 20% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings, with 58% topping Wall Street expectations, down from levels seen before at this point in the earnings season. The average beat rate has been 70%.
This week is one of the busiest in the quarterly earnings season, with 117 S&P 500 companies due to report.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 33.07 points, at 12 675.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.37 points, at 1 314.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.47 points, at 2 786.64.
Travelers reported a smaller-than-estimated profit as it released less money from its reserves than a year earlier, but it also announced its biggest rate increases in eight years. The stock fell 3.8% to $58, but analysts had expected the drop and called it a buying opportunity.
Verizon's profit missed estimates by a penny as its wireless business was hit by the high costs of sales of advanced phones, such as the Apple iPhone.
McDonald's reported stronger-than-expected December sales, but its shares fell on investor concerns its profit may have beat expectations only because of income unrelated to operations.
McDonald's fell 2.2% to $98.77, and Verizon shed 1.6% to $37.79.
The Federal Open Market Committee began a two-day meeting on Tuesday, at the end of which policymakers will start a new practice of announcing their interest rate projections. The Fed hopes the projections, to be released on Wednesday, will give markets and the public greater clarity about its decision-making.