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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 opened higher Tuesday, extending Monday's gains after jumps in European and Asian markets and encouraged by Microsoft's $8.5bn deal to buy Skype.
At 1400 GMT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 47.38 points (0.37%) at 12 732.06.
The broader S&P 500 index gained 6.10 points (0.45%) at 1 352.39, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 15.41 points (0.54%) to 2 858.66.
Gold and silver also rose, helping the commodity sector recover after last week's rout, although oil edged lower after Monday's burst upward.
Microsoft announced it is buying Internet phone pioneer Skype from investor group Silver Lake for $8.5bn cash, the Windows creator's largest-ever acquisition.
"Together, we will be able to accelerate Skype's plans to extend our global community and introduce new ways for everyone to communicate and collaborate," Skype CEO Tony Bates said.
Microsoft shares were down 0.15% in early trade, but eBay, which still holds nearly 30% of Skype after selling majority control to Silver Lake in 2009, saw its shares jump 2.65.
"In effect it will have sold Skype twice if you think about it," said Jon Ogg of 24/7WallSt.
Ogg called Google and Facebook losers in the deal -- both had been reported in talks with Skype in recent days. Google shares were 0.42% higher.
Meanwhile shares in Chinese social network leader Renren lost 8.9% to $14.60, just above their week-earlier IPO price of $14.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.16% from 3.14% late Monday, while that on the 30-year bond rose to 4.32% from 4.30%.
Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.