The Latest Headlines from CFO
For a spell last year American banks seemed poised to reattain the sort of double-digit returns that have largely eluded them since the financial crisis. A robust market for takeovers and public offerings was producing a flurry of fees. Credit quality, which had collapsed in the crisis, was “pristine,” according to Jamie Dimon, the boss of JPMorgan Chase, America’s biggest bank by assets — something that was allowing banks to reduce the provisions they had made to cover soured loans.
The rash of swingeing fines that had been disfiguring profits had largely dissipated (although Goldman Sachs recently agreed to pay $5 billion to settle charges that it knowingly peddled dodgy mortgage-backed securities). And then there was the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade, which held out the prospect of a growing margin between the rates banks pay depositors and those they charge borrowers.
Read: “American Banks: Not Yet Out of the Woods”
Sotheby’s Reshuffles Cash to Fund Share Buyback
The auction house is eliminating its dividend and repatriating foreign earnings as it increases its share repurchase program by $200 million.
Firms Slow to Implement New Revenue Standard
Less than 29% of corporate financial preparers polled by KPMG say their companies have a clear plan to make the change in revenue recognition.
American Banks: Not Yet Out of the Woods
The good times are ending before they had really begun.
Johnson Controls Makes Inversion Deal With Tyco
The $20 billion combination is likely to revive the “vexed political debate” over U.S. firms using inversions to reduce their taxes.
Google Settles U.K. Tax Probe for $185 Million
European tax authorities have been cracking down on U.S. tech firms who they say have not been paying their fair share of taxes in Europe.
All-Day Breakfast Boosts McDonald’s Sales
U.S. comparable store sales rose 5.7% in the fourth quarter as McDonald’s turnaround strategy gained traction.
American Apparel Wins Bankruptcy Showdown
A judge says the retailer can proceed with its bankruptcy exit plan, leaving founder Dov Charney out in the cold.
Halliburton Pushing to Keep Baker-Hughes Deal Alive
The oilfield services supplier has taken another step to ease the concerns of regulators who fear the merger would be anticompetitive.
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