Plasma TVs are just about dead

It's the end of the line for Samsung's plasma TV's.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Samsung confirmed Thursday that it was shutting down its plasma TV business "due to changes in market demands," choosing instead to focus on curved and ultra-high-definition models that use LED technology. The news was first reported by Reuters.

Samsung's announcement follows news last year that Panasonic had decided to stop making plasma panels. Seoul-based LG, the last major international plasma TV manufacturer, is also planning on shutting down plasma production, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Manufacturers are increasingly looking to LED and LCD screens as they develop the next generation of TV sets. Veronica Thayer, a consumer electronics analyst with IHS, said the last shipments of plasma TVs for American retail shelves will come by the end of this year.

There are still a few Chinese companies producing plasma TVs, Thayer added, but those too will likely be gone by 2016.

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Plasma TVs are composed of pixels filled with gas that light up in different colors when they're hit with an electrical current. LED and LCD televisions uses screens made of liquid crystals that are lit up from behind to create images.

Plasma TVs offered what many considered to be the best picture quality on the market in the past few years, albeit at higher prices than LCDs. They gained favor thanks to their brighter images, warmer tones and wider viewing angles.

But plasma screens are now being supplanted at the high end of the market by LED technology, which offers comparable picture quality on thinner screens that use less power.

IHS reported last month that plasma TV shipments dropped 16% globally in the first quarter versus a year prior, and that they "are on their way out of the industry permanently."

First Published: July 3, 2014: 12:00 PM ET

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Subaru recalls 660,238 vehicles over brake lines

Subaru is recalling more than 660,000 vehicles for potential corrosion of the brake lines.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The recall covers vehicles that are currently, or have ever been registered, in what Subaru calls the "20 salt belt states" - where salt is used to melt ice and snow in the winter months.

The Japanese automaker said brake lines in some vehicles run the risk of corrosion and may affect the driver's ability to stop.

The models affected are 2005 through 2009 Legacys and Outbacks, 2008 through 2011 Imprezas, 2008 through 2014 Impreza WRX/STIs, and 2009 through 2013 Foresters.

Related: General Motors recalls 8.4 million vehicles

Subaru says it discovered the potential problems in its own testing. Brake lines could perforate after exposure to seven or more winter driving seasons. In a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the automaker says the perforations could cause brake fluid to leak and that in turn could cause the "driver to misjudge the amount of brake pedal travel required to achieve the desired stopping distance."

Related: Chrysler recalls 696,000 minivans and SUVs

Subaru of America spokesman Michael McHale told CNNMoney, "No accidents or injuries have resulted due to the operation of the vehicles."

First Published: July 3, 2014: 12:15 PM ET

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Obama wants more financial reform

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

He said big banks need additional restraints from making bets that leave taxpayers "holding the bag."

"That's going to require some further reforms. That's going to require us looking at additional steps that we can take," Obama said in an interview with the public radio program "Marketplace."

He suggested some would come from Washington and other changes require "restructuring the banks themselves -- how they work internally."

"We have to continue to see how can we re-balance the economy sensibly, so that we have a banking system that is doing what it is supposed to be doing to grow the real economy, but not a situation in which we continue to see a lot of these banks take big risks because the profit incentive and the bonus incentive is there for them," he said.

Related: It pays well to work in the White House

Meanwhile on Wall Street, many big banks are making their own internal changes, shutting down the profitable but particularly risky speculative trading units.

And regulators have been slow to flesh out how the industry reforms Congress passed in 2010 will work. Just over half of the nearly 400 federal rules required under Dodd-Frank have been finalized, and nearly a quarter haven't even been proposed, a key early step in the rulemaking process, according to Davis Polk, a financial industry law firm.

But federal prosecutors have stepped up their tactics against misbehaving banks, settling charges with guilty pleas for the first time in decades. In May, Credit Suisse (CS) pleaded guilty to tax evasion-related charges, and this week, the French bank BNP Paribas (BNPQF) entered guilty pleas related to sanction violations and agreed to pay nearly $9 billion in penalties.

It seems unlikely additional financial industry reforms would move smoothly through divided Washington, and the majority of Obama's efforts on the economy have focused on wages and college costs. He has pledged what he calls a pen-and-phone approach to accomplish his priorities through executive orders and the bully pulpit.

First Published: July 3, 2014: 1:54 PM ET

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Your commute could get even worse

Transportation chief Anthony Foxx warns that the federal government is going to delay payments for state projects fixing highways and bridges next month.

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney)

The nation's top transportation chief warned governors in all 50 states this week that the federal government will start delaying payments for projects that are currently underway to fix the nation's roads and bridges.

The federal Highway Trust Fund, which finances transportation projects, is about to run out of money.

If Congress doesn't act by Aug. 1, the Department of Transportation will trim and postpone payments to states. That could lead to interruptions in highway construction late this summer, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

"People will see it in traffic and they'll see it in the condition of our roads," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx at a breakfast with media on Tuesday. "I think they'll see it in our lack of authority to fix our bridges and to put new capacity in place that this country needs."

Related: Should you pay a higher gas tax?

The highway fund gets its money mostly from the federal gas tax, but it has been spending more than it takes in for the past decade. So Congress has periodically transferred money from general U.S. tax revenue into the fund -- a total of $54 billion so far.

Starting Aug. 1, the federal agency will have less than $4 billion in its trust fund and will stop making "same-day" reimbursements to states that are improving highways and bridges, the agency warned.

States will instead get money in two installments in August -- some on Aug. 11, and then again two weeks later when gas tax revenue comes in, according to the letters.

At the end of August or early September, the fund will reach zero. And if there's no bill by Sept. 30, even if the highway fund has gas tax money, it will have no power to spend it, Foxx said.

Related: Deficit expected to be even lower

Foxx couldn't put a specific number on how many projects will be halted, because the decision rests with state governors and local transportation agencies.

There's bipartisan support for improving transportation infrastructure, since it's good for the economy. Better roads and rails mean less wasted time, safer travels and efficiency for trucks and freight trains delivering vital goods across the country.

And infrastructure improvement projects can mean hundreds of thousands of jobs.

So what's the hold up?

Lawmakers don't agree on how much money is needed or where to find it.

Lots of ideas have been proposed. But as yet, there's no common ground in sight.

First Published: July 2, 2014: 3:08 PM ET

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Facebook still won't say 'sorry' for mind games experiment

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

In her first public statement on the matter, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said that the outrage over the company's controversial study was all a big misunderstanding.

"This was part of ongoing research companies do to test different products, and that was what it was. It was poorly communicated," said Sandberg at an Indian Chambers of Commerce event in New Delhi on Wednesday. "And for that communication we apologize. We never meant to upset you."

Internet users were angry earlier this week when Facebook (FB, Tech30) revealed that it intentionally made a subset of its users less happy during a week in 2012. As part of the study, Facebook changed the mix in the News Feeds of almost 690,000 users. Some people were shown more positive posts, while others were shown more negative posts.

In an interview with India's NDTV Wednesday, Sandberg reiterated that the company was sorry for the lack of transparency -- but not for the study itself.

"We clearly communicated really badly about this, and that we really regret," Sandberg said.

Related: Facebook treats you like a lab rat

When pressed if Facebook plans on apologizing, Sandberg came closer to offering a mea-culpa, but still didn't quite get there.

"Facebook has apologized, and certainly never wants to do anything that upsets users -- and particularly for communicating really badly."

But has Facebook really apologized for conducting the mood manipulation study itself? Not quite.

The Facebook researcher who designed the experiment, Adam D. I. Kramer, said in a post Sunday that he was sorry for the way the study was presented and for the uproar it caused.

"I can tell you that our goal was never to upset anyone," Kramer wrote. "I can understand why some people have concerns about it, and my coauthors and I are very sorry for the way the paper described the research and any anxiety it caused. In hindsight, the research benefits of the paper may not have justified all of this anxiety."

Related: Internet outraged by Facebook's 'creepy' mood experiment

Facebook's official statement didn't come close to apologizing. In fact, the company defended the study as a way to "improve our services and to make the content people see on Facebook as relevant and engaging as possible."

"We carefully consider what research we do and have a strong internal review process," a Facebook spokesman said in a statement. "There is no unnecessary collection of people's data in connection with these research initiatives and all data is stored securely."

Facebook did not respond to a request for a comment on whether the company plans on apologizing for the study itself.

First Published: July 2, 2014: 3:48 PM ET

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20 million watch final USA World Cup match

The popularity of soccer on TV underscores the sport's growing popularity among Americans.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Nielsen ratings released on Wednesday showed that ESPN's telecast of the match averaged 16.5 million viewers in the United States, which was second only to the USA-Portugal match on June 22. That earlier match holds the distinction of being the most-watched men's soccer match in the United States ever.

Univision's Spanish-language telecast of USA-Belgium averaged 5.1 million viewers.

Related: The future of media

The viewership totals are incomplete because Nielsen does not measure any viewing at bars, restaurants, offices, or other out-of-home locations.

The totals are impressive nonetheless, and they reflect soccer's growing popularity among the American people.

Online streaming also adds to the totals. ESPN said that its live stream via the WatchESPN app averaged 1.1 million viewers during the match. "WatchESPN also averaged 3,500,000 unique viewers and 190,200,000 minutes viewed during the match, both records for the platform," the network said in a press release.

Overall, the 56 World Cup broadcasts to date on ESPN and its sibling channels have averaged 4.1 million viewers a piece, up 44 percent from the 2010 cup and up 122 percent from the 2006 cup, the network said.

First Published: July 2, 2014: 5:45 PM ET

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Jamie Dimon diagnosed with cancer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The prognosis from doctors is "excellent" and it was caught quickly, he wrote in a memo to colleagues and shareholders.

Dimon, 58, will receive radiation and chemotherapy treatment over the next eight weeks at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York. Although he will curtail his traveling, the bank CEO expects to be actively working during that period.

He made the announcement just before he was about to leave on a previously scheduled trip to five European countries, said spokesman Joe Evangelisti. That trip is now canceled.

"I feel very good now and will let all of you know if my health situation changes," Dimon wrote.

Related: JPMorgan earns $5.3 billion despite legal woes

Dimon previously was president of Citigroup, then chairman and CEO of Bank One Corporation. He joined JPMorgan (JPM) in 2004 through a merger and was named CEO and president in 2006. He successfully steered the bank through the economic downturn.

He was criticized for his handling of the $6 billion London Whale trading loss. The bank had to pay about $1 billion in fines to U.S. and UK regulators for not properly overseeing its traders related to that loss.

JPMorgan also reached a massive $13 billion settlement last fall over allegations it, and two banks it purchased, misrepresented mortgage-backed securities, which played a major role in triggering the crisis.

Dimon saw a pay cut in 2012 because of that issue, but his pay was bumped up again last year. He received $18.5 million worth of restricted stock on top of his $1.5 million base salary.

--CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow contributed to this report

First Published: July 1, 2014: 7:13 PM ET

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