The Federal Reserve said Monday that banks loosened lending standards modestly for certain business loans over the past three months but kept tight standards on consumer loans.
The Fed said 12 percent of the banks responding to its latest survey had somewhat eased standards on commercial and industrial loans. However, the survey found little change in the tight lending standards imposed on consumer loans since the housing market collapsed.
For business loans, banks said the slight easing in standards reflected a less uncertain economic outlook and increased competition from other banks to make business loans.
The Fed’s survey covered 57 domestic banks. That included all of the nation’s largest institutions, which represent the bulk of lending activity in the country.
Android tablets gain on iPad in 4th quarter
Google’s Android software boosted its share of tablet computers almost tenfold in the fourth quarter, narrowing the lead of Apple’s iPad, market researcher Strategy Analytics said Monday.
Android devices captured 22 percent of global tablet shipments in the three months to Dec. 31, up from 2.3 percent in the preceding quarter, the Boston-based researcher said in a statement. The iPad accounted for 75 percent of shipments in the period, down from about 95 percent, it said.
Apple’s iPad, which has sold more than 14.8 million units worldwide since its introduction in April, faces intensifying competition from Android tablets made by Samsung, Motorola Mobility Holdings and Acer. Google gives away Android for free to boost revenue from services such as mobile advertising and expand the market for its search engine.
Cheaper devices with Google features including YouTube and Google Maps will probably erode the iPad’s market dominance, an analyst said.
Intel finds chip error, expects $1 billion cost
Intel Corp. on Monday said it has found a design flaw in a recently released chip, and it is working with laptop makers to replace affected computers. Sales lost while the company rushes out a replacement chip, and the cost of replacing computers with the flawed chip, will cost the company $1 billion, it said.
Intel said it has shipped 8 million of the defective chips, but complete PCs with those chips have only been on sale since Jan. 9, so “relatively few” of them have reached consumers. The main processing chips in these computers are branded “Core i5” and “Core i7.”
Intel said consumers can “continue to use their systems with confidence, while working with their computer manufacturer for a permanent solution.”
N.J. man admits theft, resale of ITT radio gear
A former engineer for defense contractor ITT Corp. has admitted stealing a piece of radio equipment that has military applications and selling it online.
Union City, N.J., resident Vincent Corey was charged in November with stealing a $50,000 frequency generator used to mimic radio frequencies of surface-to-air missiles.
The U.S. attorney’s office says Corey used his Department of Defense clearance to steal the generator, then used a fake name to sell it to another company on eBay for $20,000.
Corey pleaded guilty. The count carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.
