JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's benchmark index ended slightly lower on Tuesday as a pull-back in some of the strongest performers this year cancelled out a rebound in recently beaten-down mining shares.
Investors also refrained from making aggressive bets at the start of the U.S. earnings season.
The blue-chip JSE Top-40 index inched down 0.16 percent to 33,930.95 points after setting a 2013 low of 33,774.82 during the session. The wider JSE All-share index edged down 0.11 percent to 38,540.81.
"We are seeing a bit of a sell-off on some of the shares that have actually been holding up nicely this year," said Ferdi Heyneke, a portfolio manager at Afrifocus Securities.
"At the same time, some can see value in mining shares because they have been hit quite a lot this year."
Global brewer SABMiller, one of the four best-performing stocks on the benchmark index this year, lost 2.5 percent.
Private hospital group Mediclinic retreated 1.87 percent to 63 rand, paring this year's gains to just under 15 percent.
Mining shares restricted the downside momentum, boosted by higher commodity prices and Chinese data suggesting sustained demand from the world's biggest consumer of industrial metals.
Base metals producer Assore, the second-worst blue chip performer this year, jumped 7.03 percent to 293 rand.
Gold Fields, the worst blue chip performer year-to-date with a near one-third drop, climbed 5.28 percent to 67.61 rand.
Elsewhere, Tsogo Sun surged 6.08 percent to 25.99 rand after the hotel and casino operator said it would invest $83 million expanding its two flagship casinos.
TORONTO (AP) -- The maker of the BlackBerry phone said Tuesday that a modern smartphone with a physical keyboard will be available in Canada in the coming weeks as major wireless companies started taking advance orders.
Details on when the BlackBerry Q10 will go on sale elsewhere will be announced soon, Research In Motion Ltd. said. Advance orders are already being accepted in the U.K.
The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, had been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people and other consumers before the iPhone debuted in 2007 and showed that phones can handle much more than email and phone calls. RIM faced numerous delays modernizing its operating system with the BlackBerry 10. During that time, it had to cut more than 5,000 jobs and saw shareholder wealth decline by more than $70 billion.
RIM surprised Wall Street last month by returning to profitability and shipping about 1 million touch-screen BlackBerry Z10 phones in the most recent quarter, which ended March 2. It will take several quarters, though, to know whether RIM is on a path toward a successful turnaround. RIM had just entered the critical U.S. market with the Z10 phone, and the more anticipated Q10 keyboard phone won't be on sale until late May or June because of testing by U.S. wireless companies.
The U.S. delay in selling the new keyboard BlackBerry complicates RIM's efforts to hang on to customers tempted by Apple's iPhone and a range of devices running Google Inc.'s Android operating system. Even as the BlackBerry has fallen behind rivals in recent years, many BlackBerry users have stayed loyal because they prefer a physical keyboard over the touch screen found on the iPhone and most Android devices. The temptations to switch grow with each additional delay, despite favorable reviews for BlackBerry 10 operating system.
Canadian carriers Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. both said Tuesday that advance orders are under way for the keyboard Q10 device, but neither would provide an exact date for when the Q10 would be available. Telus is offering the phone one a $199 with a three-year service agreement or $700 without a contract.
The all-touch-screen Z10 launched in Canada and other markets earlier this year and in the United States last month.
Powerball, the?ubiquitous?lottery game, finally arrived in California on Monday, and began to spread its enticing message of easy, instant fortune to residents of the Golden State. That message appears to have been a success: According to a press release distributed by California's lottery authority, more than 700,000 Californians purchased Powerball tickets in the 24 hours since they went on sale, generating approximately $3.1 million dollars in revenue for the Multi-State Lottery Association, the non-profit outfit which administers lotteries in 33 states. ...
Well, we switched internet services, and I hoped that would give me a stable enough online connection that I could join the wonders of gaming online.
After a promising start, the company ?fixed? our service. Now my computer is like a wet log, sluggishly surfacing to connect and then lolling over under the surface again. The connection is not better than it was before. Maybe we can do something with it, maybe not, but the short version is, no online gaming for Andrew.
Which makes me all the more appreciative of my local game group.
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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Six foreigners and an Afghan were killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, local and international officials said.
Six people, including three NATO soldiers, died in a car bomb attack on a convoy of vehicles in Zabul province's capital, Qalat. Provincial governor Mohammad Ashraf Nasery, travelling in the convoy, was unharmed but a local doctor was killed, as were three American soldiers and two foreign civilians, according to local and NATO officials.
The cars were en route to a school and were near to a hospital and a NATO base when the car bomb exploded.
Five Afghans, including a student and two reporters, were also wounded, a local official said.
In a separate attack in Afghanistan's east, a U.S. civilian working with the American government was killed during an insurgent attack, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.
Zabul shares borders with Pakistan to the southeast and the birthplace of the Taliban, Kandahar province, to the south.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Zabul attack via a text message from spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. He said a car bomb killed seven foreigners and wounded five others, though he later revised the toll to 13 foreigners killed and nine wounded.
The Taliban routinely exaggerate casualty figures.
The killings come in the wake of a bloody Taliban assault in the country's west several days ago that killed 44 people. The United Nations says civilians are being increasingly targeted in 2013.
(Reporting by Ismail Sameem; Writing by Dylan Welch; Editing by Stephen Powell)
BOAO, China (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund hailed Japan's unprecedented monetary policy boost this week as a welcome support for a world economy that she said has improved from a year ago.
Christine Lagarde said on Sunday the radical $1.4 trillion stimulus from the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would help strengthen the advanced economies, saying growth in countries such as the United States was gaining speed.
But without referring specifically to Japan, Lagarde warned policymakers against thinking that super-loose monetary policy alone could do the heavy lifting in reviving economies, when growth may instead be stifled by unhealthy private and public finances.
"Monetary policies, including unconventional measures, have helped prop up the advanced economies, and in turn, global growth," Christine Lagarde told a forum in south China.
"The reforms just announced by the Bank of Japan are another welcome step in this direction," she said. "There is, however, a limit to how effectively monetary policy can continue to shoulder the lion's share of this effort."
Central banks still need to heed broken balance sheets that impede lending and plan for and guard against uncertainties arising from any policy change, the IMF chief said.
Japan stunned investors on Thursday by unleashing the world's most intense burst of monetary stimulus, which will pump $1.4 trillion into its economy in under two years. It hopes the shock therapy will end two decades of stagnation.
But the move is a huge gamble. It heavily exposes the BoJ to Japan's mountain of public debt and carries the potential for big losses if inflation spikes and investors lose faith in its viability.
Japan's government debt, at twice the size of its $5 trillion economy, is proportionally the highest among developed nations.
Lagarde said fiscal problems in developed nations such as Japan and the United States marred the global economic recovery and contrasted with emerging economies, where a broadening rebound is brightening the outlook.
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Lagarde said the IMF expected Asian economies to grow by nearly 6 percent this year, "an enviable performance by any measure", as resilient domestic demand and accommodative policies power the region.
She said the impressive growth rate is customary for Asia, which has accounted for two-thirds of global growth in the last five years since the financial crisis struck.
Asia's buoyancy has rubbed off on the rest of the world.
"A substantial portion of the global economy looks better today than it did last year," Lagarde said. "And we are beginning to see momentum pick up in the United States."
In the euro zone, however, she said debt problems are weighing on growth and dragging out a recession.
Lagarde said the main task for the currency zone right now is to push for a banking union, a plan that is meant to put an end to the euro zone's debt troubles by severing the link between sovereign borrowers and banks.
Last month, however, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said European aid for troubled banks is a last resort, which raised doubts about the plan for a banking union.
Dijsselbloem made the comments after a rescue program was agreed for Cyprus that imposed steep losses on depositors, leading to suggestions that the Cypriot deal could serve as a precedent for future bank bailouts in the bloc.
Lagarde said Cyprus was not a model for the rest but that the pecking order for investors to absorb losses including depositors must be respected.
"When a financial institution goes under, a resolution process has to take place that will constantly be shouldered by taxpayers, either in the country or in the region or in the world," she said.
The rise of the "Internet of Things" promises to connect us wirelessly to all the gadgets around us, making our lives easier. That includes some surprising devices that are now networked.
By Rachel Rosmarin
", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/jk/networked-devices-01-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nN/networked-devices-01-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide2", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-2", slidetype: "image", title: "Pet Feeder", description: "Working late? Feed Fido by tapping the screen on your iOS, Android, or Windows 8 app. The Wi-Fi-connected kibble receptacle can hold from 5 to 10 pounds of pet food, and dispense whatever amount you choose\n
\nUsers also can trust Pintofeed to know when their pet wants to eat based on when they\'ve eaten in the past. The device will come up with a feeding schedule and notify you via text, email, Facebook, or Twitter when each meal has been served. Pintofeed is heading into production now; you can reserve one for $129.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/wz/networked-devices-02-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f2/networked-devices-02-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide3", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Weather Cube", description: "A glance at your phone\'s weather app will reveal tomorrow\'s temperature. But it won\'t let you feel it. The thermoelectric element inside this Wi-Fi-connected metal cube can take it down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or up to 100. Touching the temperature you\'ll be feeling tomorrow on the Cryoscope makes it real?you\'ll know for certain whether you need to take a sweater.", credit: "Robb Godshaw", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/fw/networked-devices-03-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/lg/networked-devices-03-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Doorbell", description: "In the Harry Potter books, Mrs. Weasley owns a clock that tells her where her family members are. MIT Media Lab\'s Tangible Media Group envisions something similar: A doorbell that chimes a different sound when each member of the household is nearing home. It pulls data from each family member\'s Google Latitude account, a location-based mobile app that relies on Google Maps for GPS and cell-tower triangulation data. The doorbell alert means you won\'t have to stop cooking dinner when you want an update on your kids\' commute.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0D/networked-devices-04-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/tn/networked-devices-04-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-5", slidetype: "video", title: "Mirror", description: "Flat-panel displays are everywhere?even screens at gas stations and in elevators tell us the weather and the news. But this one by Cybertecture is also a Wi-Fi-connected mirror. Put it in the bathroom and it will relay health data, let you browse social networks, watch video, and even check your form while exercising. The mirror gleans health data from an optional peripheral: a sensor pad that functions as a scale that calculates body fat, muscle mass, and bone mass, in addition to weight.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SW/networked-devices-05-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide6", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-6", slidetype: "video", title: "Piano", description: "\"Play it, @StanleyPiano. Play \'As Time Goes By.\'\"\n
\nSeattle agency Digital Kitchen created a player piano that receives tweets of song titles. It then takes MIDI files of those songs and turns them, via a USB interface, into ivory-tickled keynotes using a hardware controller. There\'s no satisfaction quite like commanding an old-school analog instrument to strike up a tune via your smartphone.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/F6/networked-devices-06-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide7", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Lightbulb", description: "Another Kickstarter success story, the energy-efficient Lifx bulb (available for preorder at $69 apiece) screws into existing sockets and is controlled via Wi-Fi on an iOS or Android app. You can tell it (or them, if you install multiple bulbs) to turn on and off at different times, dim and brighten slowly, change colors, flash in patterns, and more. The manufacturer also promises \"robot dancing.\" While the prospect of an Internet-enabled living-room rave sounds fun, the lazy comfort of dimming the lights from the couch or turning on the light in the basement before heading down the steps is even more appealing.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/kr/networked-devices-07-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0m/networked-devices-07-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Environmental Sensors", description: "In Star Trek, the Tricorder is the ultimate environmental sensor and data-analysis device. Curious earthbound types who\'ve wished for one may soon be able to play-act with the Sensordrone, a gadget with built-in sensors that sends data directly to smartphones in real time. The phones can then relay data to the Web via tweets and other social media. This is the Swiss Army Knife of data gathering.\n
\nSensors include temperature, humidity, light, IR barometer, blood alcohol level, carbon monoxide, and gas. Blood-pressure monitors are expected soon, but no word on whether a radiation detector is in the works. You can set your smartphone to automatically tweet data gathered from the sensors.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nq/networked-devices-08-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Hn/networked-devices-08-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide9", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-9", slidetype: "image", title: "Gardening Assistant", description: "Attention hydroponic gardeners: Not sure about optimum light, water, and temperature levels for your plants? Sensors placed in your planters can measure water, temperature, humidity, brightness, pH, and nutrient concentration, and can help to yield a better crop. Bitponics\' gear, currently in development, takes measurements from the air and soil and uploads them automatically to a Web interface for analysis, helping to turn your black thumb to green.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/9D/networked-devices-09-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/TX/networked-devices-09-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide10", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-10", slidetype: "image", title: "Paper-Craft Toys", description: "ReaDIYmates are pattern kits for paper-craft toys (monsters and sculptures). Each one comes with a paper body, a built-in motor and speaker, and a tiny processor with some flash memory and a Wi-Fi radio. Thanks to this hardware, you can turn these bits of paper and wire into amiable creatures by using your creative touch.\n
\nWith simple Web commands, for example, teach them to dance using your iPhone\'s accelerometer, tweet, or send voice memos. Have them holler and shimmy when someone likes your latest Facebook post. Or use these highly personalized toys to entertain someone, even from a Web browser half a world away.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SI/networked-devices-10-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f7/networked-devices-10-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide11", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-11", slidetype: "image", title: "Music Box", description: "Miss the tactile feel of mix tapes, but don\'t want to store your music on flimsy disposable media? The Spotify box, a prototype built by designer Jordi Parra, appeals to nostalgic types who\'ve lamented the Internet-only aspect of modern music consumption but don\'t want to eschew the endless variety available online. Tiny RFID tokens link directly to Spotify music playlists or artist tags that play when you place them on the Web-connected box.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/d5/networked-devices-11-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/A0/networked-devices-11-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide12", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-12", slidetype: "image", title: "Lamps", description: "The Good Night Lamp is a beautifully designed light fixture shaped like a house. It comes with a larger and smaller version of the same design. Turning on the big lamp at your home also turns on the little one, which might be in your daughter\'s dorm room. The two users decide what on and off mean; turning the light off could mean \"I\'m asleep,\" or turning it on could mean \"I have time to talk on the phone now.\"\n
\nSure, people could send these messages by text. But the Good Night Lamp\'s designers think of it as a way to feel the presence of someone located far away. The lamp failed to meet its Kickstarter goals, but its creators still plan to move forward with the project.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/sV/networked-devices-12-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/R0/networked-devices-12-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };
Air Quality Egg
Air-quality levels monitored and reported by the government don't take into account the conditions right outside your doorstep. If you knew that nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in your neighborhood or near your child's school were especially high on any given day, you might choose to keep young lungs inside.
The Air Quality Egg gives you exactly this information. Sensors measure air quality outside your front door, and then an RF transmitter sends the data to an egg-shaped base station in your house. The Egg, which turns different colors to alert you to changes in the air quality, sends the data on to a service that graphs it for the public.
The collective information from Eggs around the world could ultimately help researchers studying the environmental causes for a variety of diseases, such as heart and lung disease.
