Wal-Mart Showing Signs of a Turnaround

Wal-Mart on Tuesday reported marginally better-than-expected quarterly earnings, suggesting the turnaround plan for its U.S. stores is gaining some traction.Sales in existing U.S. stores rose 1.5% in the third quarter, the fifth straight quarter of growth after a long period of declines. The numb...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 17, 2015

Consumer Prices Rise Slightly in October

Consumer prices rose slightly in October, but conditions are likely still too weak for the Federal Reserve to finally start raising interest rates, economists say.The consumer-price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in October, after two months of declines, the Labor Department said Tuesday. ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 17, 2015

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Top 5 stories from CFO.com

From CPA licensure changes to undergoing a digital transformation, these are the most popular stories CFOs are reading. 

By CFO.com staff

Oil Companies and Climate Change: Nodding Donkeys

Few symbols of the oil industry are as familiar as the pumpjack, or “nodding donkey.” The technology is little changed since it was invented in 1925, and in some mature onshore fields it serves as a constant reminder of the world’s insatiable thirst for oil — until recently, about one-sixth of Am...

By Economist Staff • Nov. 16, 2015

How ‘Data-Driven’ CFOs are Leading the C-Suite

CFOs and finance professionals are being pressured to deliver value-added services while lowering their budgets, yet may not be working with the systems they should be. Relying on outdated IT software and processes is not providing them the higher value analysis and insights they need. Accurate i...

By Kerry Maruna • Nov. 16, 2015

Postal Service Narrows Loss, Boosts Revenue

The U.S. Postal Service delivered a somewhat improved fiscal picture on Friday, reporting that its net loss declined by 7% and revenue rose 1.6% in 2015.The net loss was $5.1 billion, down from $5.5 billion, last year, while revenue was $68.9 billion, reflecting an 11.4% increase in shipping and ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 13, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Nov. 13

Corporate payment processing provider WEX has named Roberto Simon to fill the top finance spot in February. He replaces Steve Elder, who will become senior vice president of investor relations, a newly created position. Most recently, Simon headed finance at Revlon.Jason Wells Jason Wells has bee...

By Joan Urdang • Nov. 13, 2015

Nordstrom Stock Drops 21% on Earnings Miss

Nordstrom shares took a beating in after-hours trading Thursday after the retailer reported lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings and reduced its guidance for the full year.The stock fell more than 21% to $50.05, well below the 52-week low of $61.06 set Wednesday.The upscale department store...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 13, 2015

Government Requests for Facebook Data Up 18%

Facebook has reported that government demands for account data globally jumped 18% in the first half of 2015, with U.S. law enforcement requests accounting for more than one-third of the total.Governments also demanded that Facebook restrict more content than ever because of local laws, the socia...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2015

IMF Urges Caution on U.S. Interest Rate Hike

The International Monetary Fund is apparently trying to slow the momentum toward an interest rate hike next month by the U.S. Federal Reserve.In a report prepared for the upcoming Group of 20 meeting in Turkey, IMF staff said Thursday that the Fed should hold off raising interest rates until ther...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2015

Hike in Health-Care Costs Sinks to 20-Year Low

So, your health-care costs are still rising? Take heart: things could be worse. A lot worse.According to a new study by Aon Hewitt, the rate of cost increase for large companies in 2015, 3.2%, was the lowest since the firm began tracking data in 1996. As recently as 2011, health-care costs spiked...

By David McCann • Nov. 12, 2015

Activist Investor Can’t Dodge Insider Trading Suit

Activist hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has failed to escape a shareholder class action alleging he used inside information provided by Valeant Pharmaceuticals to purchase a stake in Allergan before Valeant made a bid for the drug maker.A California judge rejected arguments by Valeant, Ackman, an...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2015

Apple Adds Jobs in Ireland as Tax Ruling Looms

Even as Apple braces for a European Union ruling on its tax arrangements with the Irish government, CEO Tim Cook said the outcome would not affect its investment in the country, where it is adding 1,000 jobs.Cook was in Dublin on Wednesday as Ireland’s Industrial Development Agency announced the ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 11, 2015

McDonald’s Says REIT Wouldn’t Benefit Investors

McDonald’s will not be spinning off its massive real estate holdings, choosing to focus on engineering a turnaround through cost-cutting and returning cash to shareholders.The burger giant’s CEO Steve Easterbrook said the company had given “serious consideration” to the idea of creating a real es...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2015

Three Charged Over ‘Breathtaking’ Hacking Ring

U.S. prosecutors have accused two Israelis and an American of conducting a three-year hacking enterprise aimed at financial institutions that included the massive 2014 theft of customer information from JPMorgan Chase.A 23-count indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges Gery Shalon, Joshua Samuel Aaron...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 10, 2015

Wholesalers Continue to Build Inventories

While import prices fell more than expected in October, there was a “surprise increase” in wholesale inventories in September, which could result in an upward revision of the government’s third-quarter economic growth estimate.The Labor Department on Tuesday said import prices dropped 0.5% last m...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 10, 2015

Oil Prices to Pick Up Slowly To 2020, IEA Says

While it may take decades for oil prices to recover, the International Energy Agency on Tuesday cautioned that producers should not significantly cut back on long-term investments.Demand for oil could pick up slowly to 2020, adding an average of 900, 000 barrels a day per year, gradually rising t...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 10, 2015

Zynga CFO Lee Quits After 18 Months on Job

David Lee has resigned as CFO of Zynga and Chief Accounting Officer Michelle Quejado will serve as interim CFO while the gaming company searches for a permanent replacement.Lee’s resignation was announced as Zynga reported flat third-quarter earnings on revenue of $196 million. Analysts were expe...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 10, 2015

Cybersecurity: The Cost of Immaturity

The average time between an attacker breaching a network and its owner noticing the intrusion is 205 days. Like most statistics touted by the cybersecurity industry, such as the supposed annual $575 billion global cost of 90 million cyber attacks, it is little more than a guesstimate. But there i...

By Economist Staff • Nov. 9, 2015

Cross-Functional Collaboration Comes of Age

Is cross-functional collaboration finally becoming a key operational priority for companies, after years of talking about and toying with it while functions mostly stayed within their silos? Perhaps, suggests new research from PricewaterhouseCoopers.To some extent, the shift is being driven by ch...

By David McCann • Nov. 6, 2015

A Manual for the Data-Driven Finance Chief

Finance chiefs must perform a balancing act. They have to maintain a constant flow of checks and balances, run the most efficient and effective business possible, and drive economic value for the company — all while working with peers across the business to execute the business strategy. One way ...

By Brian McCarthy • Nov. 6, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending Nov. 6

99 Cents Only Stores has named Felicia Thornton CFO and treasurer. She replaces interim CFO Michael Fung, who will return to his post on the company’s board of directors. Thornton joins the company from DSM, where she was co-CEO, president, and COO.David Heede David Heede has been named interim C...

By Joan Urdang • Nov. 6, 2015

Boeing Settles 401(k) Class Action for $57M

After nine years of litigation, Boeing has agreed to pay $57 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its 401(k) plan offered bad investment options and charged excessive fees.Attorneys for the 190,000 current and retired Boeing employees represented in the class said the payout was the ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 5, 2015

Small Businesses Stopped Hiring Last Month: NFIB

Hiring at small businesses screeched to a halt in October, according to the National Federation of Independent Business’s monthly report released Thursday.Owners added a net zero workers per firm last month, from 0.05 in September, according to the organization’s monthly survey, which polls about...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 5, 2015

U.S. Worker Productivity in Q3 Better Than Expected

U.S. worker productivity in the third quarter was better than expected on increased output, although workers put in fewer hours.The productivity of nonfarm workers, measured as the output of goods and services per hour worked, increased at a 1.6% seasonally adjusted annual rate from July through ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 5, 2015

Expedia Buys HomeAway for $3.9B

Expedia on Wednesday said it would buy HomeAway, an Austin, Texas-based provider of alternative vacation rentals, for $3.9 billion in cash and stock.“We have long had our eyes on the fast growing $100 billion alternative accommodations space and have been building on our partnership with HomeAway...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Nov. 5, 2015