In corporate news, Target edged up 0.1% on solid quarterly figures, as Wal-Mart fell 0.4% on concerns about its profit forecast and expansion of an internal bribery probe past Mexico to Brazil, China and India.
Getting Windows 2000 out of the door is not only a huge relief, but will also free resources for other things and give Microsoft's operating income the kick that this week's solid, but unsensational, second-quarter earnings figures suggest it needs.
But PriceStats' methods are based on solid, peer-reviewed research and have proved an impressive match for (dependable) official figures in countries such as Brazil and Venezuela.