Monsanto to Cut 2,600 Jobs in Restructuring

Monsanto on Wednesday reported wider losses for its fiscal fourth quarter and said it was cutting 2,600 jobs and restructuring operations to combat a slumping commodity market.The St. Louis company said part of the restructuring would entail “streamlining and reprioritizing” some commercial and r...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 7, 2015

4 Steps for Assessing Product Profitability

When you close the books each month, are you getting a true analysis of the profitability of your products? If not, your most crucial business decisions may be misguided. Using the following four steps to assess product profitability for each of your products or product groups will ensure that yo...

By Matt Freeman • Oct. 7, 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

IMF Cuts 2015 Growth Forecast to 3.1%

The International Monetary Fund has cut its global economic growth forecast for this year, reflecting a continuing slowdown in emerging markets and a weaker recovery in advanced economies.In its latest World Economic Outlook, the fund now projects growth at 3.1% for 2015 as a whole, 0.2 percentag...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 6, 2015

Wendy’s CFO Penegor Tapped for CEO Spot

After selling off most of Wendy’s restaurants to franchisees and revamping the fast-food chain’s menu, the company’s president and chief executive Emil Brolick has announced his retirement.The Dublin, Ohio-based company on Monday said that Brolick, 67, would retire in May, 2016, to be succeeded b...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 6, 2015

Merrill Can’t Ditch Suit Over Advice to Zale

A Delaware judge has ruled that shareholders challenging Zale Corp.’s $690 million takeover by rival Signet Jewelers can sue Merrill Lynch for failing to disclose a possible conflict of interest to Zale’s board during the sale process.Zale agreed in February 2014 to be acquired by Signet for $21 ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 2, 2015

J.C. Penney Cuts Pension Plan Liability by Up to 35%

In moves to reduce its $5 billion pension obligations, J.C. Penney announced Friday that about 12,000 of its retirees have accepted a lump-sum offer and it has reached an agreement with Prudential Insurance to buy annuities for other retirees.The lump-sum offer was to plan participants who began ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 2, 2015

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending October 2

AAR, a global aftermarket solutions company serving commercial aviation and government customers, has appointed Michael Sharp to the top finance role, effective Oct. 5. The 19-year company veteran currently is controller and chief accounting officer, and served as interim CFO from October 2012 to...

By David McCann • Oct. 2, 2015

City Finance Officers’ Optimism Near Its Highest

Amid a continuing post-recession improvement, eight in 10 city finance officers are optimistic about the fiscal condition of their communities, according to a new report from the National League of Cities.However, despite three consecutive years of growth, city budgets are still feeling the effec...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 1, 2015

C-Suite Gender Parity Will Take a Century: Survey

Women are still underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline, and it will take 25 years to reach gender parity at the senior-vice president level and more than one hundred years in the C-suite, according to a survey of 118 companies and nearly 30,000 employees. The survey, by McKinse...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 1, 2015

First Data’s $3.2B IPO Expected to Be 2015’s Largest

First Data wants to raise as much as $3.2 billion in what will likely be the biggest U.S. initial public offering of 2015.The New York-based payments processor on Thursday announced the launch of its IPO of 160 million shares, with the offering price expected to be between $18 and $20 per share. ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Oct. 1, 2015

CFOs’ China Concerns Dampen Growth Hopes

China’s economic woes are affecting U.S. companies’ expectations for growth, with only 4% of CFOs describing the Chinese economy as good, according to Deloitte’s third quarter CFO Signals survey.The survey’s key performance metrics were all at or near historic lows in the third quarter. Capital s...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 30, 2015

Home Prices Continue to Rise

Home prices continued to rise in July, one reason the housing market may be slowing slightly, as would-be home buyers wait until prices cool a bit.The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a slightly higher year-over-year gain with ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 29, 2015

Alcoa to Break up Into Two Companies

Alcoa said Monday it plans to break into two, separating its struggling raw-aluminum operations from newer, bigger-ticket businesses that serve markets such as aerospace and automotive.The new raw, or upstream business, would operate under the Alcoa name and consist of five of the current enterpr...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 28, 2015

EU Opens Probe of Staples’ Deal for Office Depot

Staples’ pending $6.3 billion acquisition of Office Depot is facing another obstacle as the European Union announced Friday it had opened an “in-depth investigation” of whether the takeover could lead to price increases and less consumer choice.In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission has indica...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 25, 2015

Total SA Faces U.S. Probes of Commodity Trading

U.S. regulators have accused a subsidiary of Total SA of manipulating the price of natural gas in the southwestern United States, but the French oil company has denied any wrongdoing.On Tuesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission disclosed it had preliminarily  determined that traders with ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 25, 2015

‘Life Coach’ Accused of P.F. Chang’s Insider Trading

A “life coach” who worked for Panda Restaurant Group has been charged with tipping off friends to a possible acquisition of P.F. Chang’s China Bistro as part of an insider trading scheme that generated more than $300,000 in illicit profits.In a civil complaint filed Wednesday, the U.S. Securities...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 24, 2015

Prosper Marketplace Buys Finance App Provider

Peer-to-peer lender Prosper Marketplace in San Francisco is buying BillGuard, an Israel-based personal finance app provider, said a BillGuard founder on the company’s blog Thursday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.“This is the culmination of BillGuard’s founding mission to empower consum...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 24, 2015

Durable Goods Orders Fall In August

Expected drops in orders for cars, airplanes, and military hardware caused durable goods orders in August to fall for the first time in three months, the Commerce Department said Thursday.New orders for manufactured durable goods in August fell 2%, to $236.3 billion, following two consecutive mon...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 24, 2015

Currency Volatility Costs Highest In Three Years

North American multinationals in the second quarter suffered the highest negative impact due to currency volatility since the fourth quarter of 2012, according to FiREapps.The consulting firm reported that the average negative impact per company was $177 million, with 170 companies reporting nega...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 23, 2015

Line of Insight

As companies strive to preempt competitors, reduce risks, and make better-informed decisions, CFOs are now taking a hard look at their financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams.Similar to the kinds of changes being made in other areas of finance, the FP&A organization needs to embark o...

By Josh Hyatt and David W. Owens • Sept. 23, 2015

Several U.S. Sectors at Risk From China Slowdown

U.S. companies in the metals and mining, oil and gas, chemical, steel, auto manufacturing, and gambling sectors are the most vulnerable to the economic slowdown in China, according to Moody’s Investors Service.China accounted for about half of global consumption of key base metals in 2014, sugges...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 23, 2015

Groupon to Slash 1,100 Jobs, Close in 7 Markets

Groupon announced Tuesday it is cutting about 10% of its workforce and shutting down its operations in Puerto Rico and six countries as part of its strategy for long-term growth.The company said in a regulatory filing it would take a pre-tax charge of $35 million in connection with eliminating ab...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 22, 2015

Number of Carbon Pricers Triples

The number of companies that are “pricing” their carbon emissions has tripled over the past year, as more companies include the expense of complying with regulations and other related costs into their budgeting and strategic planning processes, according to CDP.A London-based nonprofit that gathe...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 22, 2015

Two Charged With Stem Cell Microcap Fraud

A Massachusetts stock promoter and a Colorado man have been charged with making more than $1.2 million by manipulating the stock of a microcap company that claimed to be in the business of stem cell therapy.In a civil complaint filed Monday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said promot...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 22, 2015

SEC Proposes Liquidity Rules for Mutual Funds and ETFs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has submitted a plan to require mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to develop programs to better manage their liquidity, now that many invest in less-liquid securities such as high‑yield bonds, emerging market equity, and debt funds.The SEC proposal, rel...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Sept. 22, 2015