why can't I highlight text in the new OS X Mavericks?

Hi all,

I purchased a new Mac book Pro Retina display yesterday. Does anyone have this problem? When I try to highlight text on a webpage or in the search bar the curser is static and I can't drag to highlight text. For example even when typing this question I can't select a section and delete. I can double tap and it will highlight a single word only or the entire text - great if needed but if you want a specific phrase highlighted to delete or copy and paste etc. it's very frustrating. I'm also having the same issue in Pages.

Can anyone help?