I am having some a really annoying problems with Powerpoint 2011 version 14.4.6 on OSX Mavericks 10.9.5

1. I can't delete a text box by clicking the text box boarder and clicking delete it just deletes the last character of the text inside. I am definitely clicking the boarder correctly as the cursor in the text box disappears. If I drag a box around the object I can delete it with the delete key, but this is far form ideal if you have complex slide and want to select and delete only one object.
2. If I add a shape to the slide e.g. a block arrow or triangle, then select it and press the delete key it puts a cursor in the object as if I want to add some text.

3. If I select an object and use cmd+c to copy, if I then do cmd+v to paste it just adds a cursor to the object as if I want to add some text.

Any ideas how I can fix this?