Tech Giants Sued Over Photos in Facial Recognition Database

Several leading technology companies in the United States are facing lawsuits filed by two Illinois residents Tuesday on allegations of violating a state law governing biometric privacy.Steven Vance and Tim Janecyk have alleged that Amazon, Alphabet’s subsidiary Google, and Microsoft used photos ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 15, 2020

Tuesday Regulatory Update: The Winds of Fraud

On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged California-based app developer Abra and a related company in the Philippines for offering and selling security-based swaps to retail investors without registration. It also failed to transact those swaps on a registered national exchange.A...

By Vincent Ryan • July 14, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

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

Luckin Coffee Ousts Chairman Amid Accounting Scandal

Luckin Coffee appointed a new chairman and directors to its board following an extraordinary general meeting held Monday.Acting chief executive officer and existing board member, Jinyi Guo, has been appointed the chairman and the CEO of the Chinese coffee chain company.Charles Zhengyao Lu, the fo...

By Lauren Muskett • July 14, 2020

New York & Co. Owner Files for Bankruptcy Protection

RTW Retailwinds, the parent company of New York & Co., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it plans to permanently close most, if not all, of its stores and has begun liquidation sales.It is also considering selling its e-commerce operations and related intellectu...

By Lauren Muskett • July 13, 2020

MultiPlan to Go Public in Merger With Churchill Capital

MultiPlan, on Sunday, reached a merger deal with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Churchill Capital III, which values the company at $11 billion.The merger will allow the healthcare solutions provider to go public without an initial public offering. MultiPlan said its shares would list ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 13, 2020

U.S. Government Considers TikTok Ban

TikTok, a massively popular app known for short videos, is being faced with political heat due to its ties to China.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump Administration was considering banning Chinese social media apps, especially TikTok. Pompeo said that people should only download ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 10, 2020

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending July 10

Kristina Salen Kristina Salen will become finance chief at World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on August 3. Salen served as the first CFO of online marketplace Etsy, where she grew the business from $895 million in gross sales to $3 billion in four years and led and executed the company’s IPO. Sa...

By Lauren Muskett • July 10, 2020

Google Abandons Cloud Initiative in China

Alphabet owned Google will not be offering its new cloud service termed “Isolated Region” in China and other sensitive markets.Isolated Region was an initiative that aimed at helping countries keep control of data within their borders and was thought to be a “massive strategy shift,” according to...

By Lauren Muskett • July 9, 2020

Another 1.3M Americans File for Unemployment

In the week ending July 4, 1.3 million Americans filed first-time unemployment claims, according to the Department of Labor. It was a drop of 99,000 from the previous week’s revised level, but the number of continued claims, which counts workers who have filed for at least two consecutive weeks, ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 9, 2020

Quicken Loans Parent Files Paperwork for IPO

The parent company of Quicken Loans has filed for an initial public offering in a bet on the growth potential of digital mortgage solutions.All the companies under the Rocket Companies umbrella of billionaire Dan Gilbert will be part of the IPO, according to the filing. Industry publications rank...

By Matthew Heller • July 8, 2020

5 Common Misconceptions About the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Process

It has been years since businesses filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the pace they are today. According to data from Epiq Systems, commercial Chapter 11 filings were up 48% in May compared with one year ago, with a total of 724 new petitions. The surge in filings comes as little surpr...

By David G. Dragich • July 8, 2020

Brooks Brothers Files for Chapter 11

Apparel brand Brooks Brothers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware citing the “immensely disruptive” fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.“We are in the process of identifying the right owner, or owners, to lead our iconic Brooks Brothers brand into the future,” a spokesperson...

By Lauren Muskett • July 8, 2020

DocuSign Buys Liveoak for $38M

DocuSign, on Tuesday, announced it had acquired virtual customer engagement and business platform Liveoak for $38 million in an all-stock deal.The purchase comes as the e-signature company looks to launch “DocuSign Notary,” offering remote online notarization as a service.“DocuSign plans to lever...

By Lauren Muskett • July 8, 2020

At-the-Market Offerings: A Good Option When Volatility Is High

Following years of generally low market volatility, public companies are now navigating an uncertain and unprecedented market environment as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In this new environment, many public companies are focused on diversifying their capital raising options. Companie...

By Brian Hirshberg and Chirag Naidu • July 7, 2020

Palantir Files for IPO

Data analytics company Palantir Technologies has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue shares in an initial public offering.In a statement, the company said it started a confidential process to list shares. It did not disclose the proposed timing of the offering, how many sha...

By Lauren Muskett • July 7, 2020

U.S. Tech Companies Decline Hong Kong Data Requests

Several United States-based tech companies, such as Alphabet, Facebook, and Twitter, will no longer provide Hong Kong Law enforcement with user data.On Monday, Facebook and WhatsApp, the company’s messaging app, said that they would suspend the review of Hong Kong government requests on user data...

By Lauren Muskett • July 7, 2020

CFOs Are Relying on Banks to Keep Short-Term Cash Safe

Before the panic arising from the COVID-19 pandemic had fully set in, the Association for Financial Professionals conducted its annual corporate liquidity survey. The results from the poll of 375 treasury and finance executives in March showed that “financial professionals could see the gathering...

By Vincent Ryan • July 6, 2020

SoftBank Shuns Call for Board Oversight of Vision Fund

SoftBank Group will not heighten board oversight of its Vision Fund despite the demands of the activist investor Elliot Management.The $100 billion Vision Fund is in the crosshairs of Elliot Management, which wants the Japanese group to create a subcommittee at the board level to supervise the fu...

By Lauren Muskett • July 6, 2020

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending July 2

Naveen Chopra Naveen Chopra will become the new chief financial officer at ViacomCBS on August 10. Chopra will join the company from Amazon, where he is CFO of Amazon’s devices and services business. Previously, Chopra was chief financial officer at audio streaming service Pandora, where he led a...

By Lauren Muskett • July 2, 2020

Coca-Cola to Discontinue Juice Brand Odwalla

Coca-Cola is closing its juice and fruit smoothie brand Odwalla, citing changing consumer tastes.In a statement to CNN Business, the president of Coca-Cola’s Minute Maid business unit, John Hackett, said “every effort” was made to support continued production. “This decision was not made lightly,...

By Lauren Muskett • July 2, 2020

Online Insurer Lemonade Raises $319M in IPO

Lemonade raised $319 million in its initial public offering on Wednesday.The online insurance company sold 11 million shares priced at $29 each. Underwriters for the IPO will have an option to purchase an additional 1.65 million shares in a 30-day window.Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and A...

By Lauren Muskett • July 2, 2020

Metric of the Month: Total Cost to Reward and Retain Employees

In times of economic downturn, it is incumbent on every finance leader to take a hard look at spending and make cuts as needed to keep the business strong. While every cost should be on the table, this month I’m going to advocate a move that may seem counterintuitive. If you have the finances to ...

By Perry D. Wiggins • July 1, 2020

U.S. Treasury Lends $700M to Troubled Trucking Company

Controversial trucking company YRC Worldwide has been given a $700 million loan by the U.S. Treasury Department.In a statement, the company said it was being given the loan under the CARES Act after it was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Treasury Department said the loan was ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 1, 2020

Cirque du Soleil Files for Bankruptcy

The French-Canadian acrobatics and circus company Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group has filed for bankruptcy protection as part of a “comprehensive plan” to restart its business.The company cited the “immense disruption and forced show closures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”Cirque du S...

By Lauren Muskett • June 30, 2020

Shale Oil Company Chesapeake Energy Files for Bankruptcy

Chesapeake Energy filed for bankruptcy on Sunday to carry out balance sheet restructuring.According to CEO Doug Lawler, by filing for Chapter 11, Chesapeake will eliminate $7 billion in debt and address its legacy financial weaknesses. It would also be able to take advantage of its operational st...

By Lauren Muskett • June 29, 2020