Sequoia Holdings to Offer Cryptocurrency Payments to Employees

Software development and engineering firm Sequoia Holdings said it would allow employees to be paid in part in cryptocurrencies. In a statement, the company said it was beginning a program that would allow employees to defer portions of their salaries into bitcoin, bitcoin cash, or Ethereum.Sequo...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 21, 2021

7 SPACs to Play the Rise of Bitcoin, Crypto Stocks

The rise in the value of Bitcoin and media coverage of cryptocurrencies could make the industry ripe for startups going public in 2021. One of the methods for cryptocurrency companies to go public could be through a special purpose acquisition company.Coinbase is considering a 2021 initial public...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 21, 2021

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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

Low Rates, Fewer Loans Cut BofA’s 4Q Profits

Bank of America reported Tuesday that quarterly profit fell sharply amid rock-bottom interest rates and a shrinking loan portfolio.For the fourth quarter, the bank’s net interest income declined 16% from a year earlier to $10.25 billion, contributing to a 22% drop in profit to $5.47 billion from ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 19, 2021

The Board’s Role in Crisis Response

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to reevaluate their operations and execute contingency plans in an attempt to weather the economic crisis. But what about the next crisis? Boards and management should have crisis plans at the ready.As noted at the 2018 Harvard Law School Forum ...

By Jonathan F. Foster • Jan. 19, 2021

Poshmark Pops in Latest Big Market Debut

Shares in online fashion reseller Poshmark soared in their trading debut Thursday as investors showed a healthy appetite for secondhand merchandise.The Poshmark pop continued a spectacular run for IPOs, with the stock jumping more than 140% to $101.50. The offering on Wednesday valued the company...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 15, 2021

What Good Looks Like in Cybersecurity

We live in insecure times, and it’s not for lack of trying to develop effective cyber defenses. Naturally, C-level executives want to know what good looks like and how to measure it. Penetration tests, internal vulnerability scans, and IT control checklists remain go-to tactics, but a new generat...

By Craig Callé • Jan. 14, 2021

Massive Short Squeeze Sends GameStop Soaring 80%

GameStop shares skyrocketed more than 80% on Wednesday before pulling back in what is likely the largest short squeeze of 2021 so far.What Happened: GameStop reported no major news on Wednesday, suggesting the massive rally in the stock was simply a textbook short squeeze.Why It’s Important: On M...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 14, 2021

Weighing COVID-19 (and Other Macro Factors) in Bankruptcy Valuations

Valuation plays a key role in financial restructuring, whether out of court or in Chapter 11. Valuation determines, among other things, the recovery for creditors. Pending that, it is a determinant in obtaining financing and in keeping secured creditors at bay. Failure to give proper weight to ma...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 13, 2021

Visa Calls Off $5.3B Merger Deal With Plaid Over DOJ Lawsuit

Payment solutions provider Visa and fintech company Plaid have called off their merger plans originally announced in January last year.What Happened: The U.S. Department of Justice had filed a lawsuit to stop the $5.3 billion merger deal in November — claiming that the transaction would eliminate...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 13, 2021

Intel CEO Bob Swan to Depart

Intel’s chief executive officer Bob Swan is stepping down in February.In a statement, the company announced its board appointed Pat Gelsinger as its new CEO, effective Feb. 15. Gelsinger will also join the Intel board of directors.Pat Gelsinger The move follows weeks of pressure from activist inv...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 13, 2021

Top U.S. Banks to Remove Hong Kong Listed Products

Top U.S. banks like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley will delist structured products listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, according to a Financial Times publication on Sunday.What Happened: Removal of these 500 structured products is the outcome of outgoing President Donald Tr...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 11, 2021

Staples Offers to Buy Office Depot

Office-supply company Staples has offered to buy Office Depot for $40 per share in cash.In a letter to the board of directors of Office Depot’s parent company, ODP Corp., Staples’ parent company, USR Parent, proposed acquiring 100% of the outstanding common stock of ODP in an all-cash transaction...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 11, 2021

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending January 8

Nick Giovanni Online grocery platform Instacart appointed Nick Giovanni as finance chief, effective January 27. Giovanni worked for more than 20 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as head of its global technology, media, and telecom group. At Goldman Sachs, he advised clients on some of the la...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 8, 2021

Acacia Breaks Merger With Cisco

Semiconductor maker Acacia Communications said it has terminated its $2.6 billion merger agreement with Cisco, saying it had not received approval from China’s State Administration for Market Regulation before the January 8 deadline.“The proposed merger, announced in July 2019, was conditioned on...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 8, 2021

Starbucks Names New CFO

Pat Grismer Starbucks has named Rachel Ruggeri chief financial officer, replacing Pat Grismer, who is retiring February 1.Grismer is staying with the company as an adviser to CEO Kevin Johnson through May 2. He had been CFO since 2018.“I want to thank Pat for his leadership and his many contribut...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 7, 2021

A New Year’s Resolution: The CFO Should Own Digital Transformation

PE (and other business owners) have a DX ROI problem.Let me translate the acronym-speak: Private equity (PE) partners and, in a similar way, boards of directors and shareholders at public companies, are struggling to see the investment return from expensive digital transformation (DX) initiatives...

By Sanjay Purohit • Jan. 7, 2021

Roblox to Go Public Through Direct Listing

Online gaming platform Roblox disclosed Wednesday that it raised $520 million in a Series H funding, primarily led by investment firms Altimeter Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group. Other investors included The Group of Santa Barbara and Warner Music Group.What Happened: Along with the Series ...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 7, 2021

Finance Bots: Overcoming the Hesitation

Many finance and accounting teams, under immense pressure and facing resourcing challenges stemming from the pandemic, are turning to automation for answers. The automation space, which grew at a compound annual growth rate of 30% from 2017 through 2022, must now also contend with COVID-19 as an ...

By Scott Szalony • Jan. 6, 2021

Trump Issues Ban on Chinese Payment Apps

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued an executive order prohibiting transactions that use the popular Chinese payment app Alipay. Trump said the “pace and pervasiveness” of Chinese technology presented a continuing threat to the U.S. national security, foreign policy, and economy.“The United St...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 6, 2021

AMC Still Needs $550M to Stay Afloat Through 2021, CEO Says

Adam Aron, CEO of the world’s biggest chain of theaters – AMC Entertainment Holdings, disclosed Tuesday that the company had raised $200 million in funding, but the proceeds were still $550 million short of the targeted $750 million threshold, reports CNBC.What Happened: The pandemic forced the t...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 6, 2021

Square CEO Opposes FinCEN’s Proposed Crypto Rules

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twiter and financial services company Square, on Monday, raised concerns over proposed regulations for certain digital asset transactions in a comment letter addressed to the policy division of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).What Happened: Under the proposed...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 5, 2021

Brand Evangelists Can Boost Your IPO Price

Many analysts are scratching their heads as to why DoorDash and Airbnb exploded in value on their first days of trading, leaving billions of dollars on the table. Yet, there is really a simple explanation. They forgot about the little guy when they priced their initial public offerings.Profession...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 5, 2021

10 IPOs to Watch Out for in 2021

The $150 billion raised by IPOs in 2020 was the best since the dot-com boom era. Data from PricewaterhouseCoopers shows companies raised money through 183 traditional IPOs and over 240 SPACs in 2020.Here is a look at 10 companies expected to IPO in 2021.AffirmFintech company Affirm was scheduled ...

By Lauren Muskett • Jan. 4, 2021

2020’s Best Advice for CFOs

CFO publishes more than 200 columns from experts, consultants, and finance chiefs of operating companies each year. Of the wealth of advice our authors dispensed during 2020, we assembled some of the best from 10 articles published during the year. These pieces not only struck a chord with reader...

By Vincent Ryan • Jan. 1, 2021

Short Sellers Fleeing Netflix, Alphabet, and Other Tech Names

Since the beginning of November, undervalued market sectors like the energy sector and the financial sector have outperformed the high-growth tech sector in the U.S. market. This is leading some investors to wonder whether tech’s more than decade-long leadership position may finally be coming to ...

By Lauren Muskett • Dec. 23, 2020