Report: $3.1 billion paid in mortgage settlement

A new report says homeowners have received about $3.1 billion in cash under a federal settlement with 13 big banks over alleged misconduct in processing mortgages that may have resulted in wrongful foreclosures.

The report by the Federal Reserve released Monday says 83 percent of the 4.2 million borrowers covered by the January 2013 settlement, or about 3.4 million, had cashed checks as of April 25. The 13 banks include Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs.

Uber cuts fares to compete with New York City taxis

Uber Technologies says it is temporarily cutting its prices in New York City with the aim of making its service cheaper than an average taxi ride, the car service app announced Monday.

The San Francisco start-up said it is reducing fares by 20 percent for its UberX service, which allows smartphone users to hire drivers of livery cars. It does not apply to customers using the app to e-hail a yellow cab.

Tablet shipments predicted to exceed PCs by 2015

Don’t be surprised if you start to see more people with tablets than laptops: A report Monday said tablet shipments will exceed PCs by 2015.

Research company Gartner said worldwide tablet shipments – meaning units sold from manufacturers to retailers – will climb from 256 million in 2014 to nearly 321 million next year. Shipments of desktops and laptops will fall from 276 million this year to less than 262 million in 2015, Gartner said.

The shift would be the first time tablet shipments surpass PCs, a monumental change in the tech landscape. The late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs predicted the shift in 2010, calling it the “post-PC” era, comparing desktops and laptops to trucks.

Emerging markets and interest in lower-price devices are driving tablet growth, said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner.

Atwal said consumers should expect to see more tablets available for less than $100.

– From news service reports

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