Lower costs help MasterCard handily beat profit estimates

MasterCard Inc , the world's No. 2 debit and credit card company, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as costs fell and shoppers spent more on its cards. MasterCard's shares rose about 3.6 percent to a record-high of $93.59 in early trading on Wednesday. Larger rival Visa's shares also rose 1.7 percent. "We are managing well, despite a mixed economic environment and challenging currency situation," Chief Executive Ajay Banga said in a statement.