Study: Companies Run by Billionaires Outperform

Companies that are controlled by billionaires have significantly outperformed global market averages over the last fifteen years, according to a report from UBS and PwC.The report, which looked at 603 public companies controlled by billionaires, said the companies’ annualized gain was 17.8% over ...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 8, 2019

New York Tech Company Charged with Selling Chinese Equipment to U.S. Military

Seven current and former executives and employees of Aventura Technologies were arrested early Thursday after agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Internal Revenue Service, and other agencies raided the headquarters of the company on Long Island...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 7, 2019

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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

Papa John’s CFO to Depart Amid Executive Shakeup

The chief financial officer of Papa John’s International, Joe Smith, is leaving the company as part of a shakeup in the top ranks under new chief executive officer Rob Lynch.Smith will leave the company next year after nearly 20 years at the company. He was promoted to CFO from senior vice presid...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 6, 2019

McDermott CFO Resigns After $1.9 Billion Loss

A day after reporting a $1.9 billion quarterly loss, oilfield services company McDermott International announced Tuesday that CFO Stuart Spence had resigned from his post.Spence, an energy industry veteran, left McDermott to “pursue other opportunities,” the company said in a news release. He was...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2019

OPEC Cuts Demand Forecasts

OPEC cut its outlook for global oil demand for the medium-term and long-term citing a “challenging” 12 months for energy markets. The group said it forecast global oil demand of 104.8 million barrels per day by 2024 and 110.6 million barrels per day by 2040.“Signs of stress have appeared in the g...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 5, 2019

U.S. Economic Indicators for Next 12 Months Point Down

The outlook for the U.S. economy has significantly deteriorated since July, judging by the results of the latest quarterly business conditions survey from the National Association of Business Economics.In the poll of 101 NABE member business economists, 69% of the panelists said they expected rea...

By David McCann • Nov. 5, 2019

Companies Move to Limit Employees’ Health Costs

Health care costs will top $13,000 per employee this year, according to Mercer’s annual National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.The average total health benefit cost per employee grew 3.0% to reach $13,046, following a rise of 3.6% in 2018. This is the eighth consecutive year of health...

By David McCann • Nov. 4, 2019

Why an Investor Soured on Softbank

“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.”This old Buddhist saying suggests that we need to be able to destroy our most cherished beliefs. We can grow only if we are able to reassess our belief system. To do this we need to detach ourselves from our beliefs and examine them, and if we are wr...

By David McCann • Nov. 1, 2019

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending November 1

Stephen Ma Stephen Ma will become finance chief of Nissan on December 1. Ma has been with the car manufacturer since 1996 and is currently corporate vice president, global controller, accounting. Ma was CFO of DongFeng Motor, the Chinese business of Nissan, from 2012 to 2018. He will replace Hiro...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 1, 2019

Google to Buy Fitbit for $2.1B

Google parent company Alphabet reached a deal to buy wearable fitness device-maker Fitbit for $7.35 per share, or about $2.1 billion in cash, the companies said.Fitbit shares jumped 16% on the news. Shares of Alphabet were up 0.8%. Reuters reported Alphabet had made an offer for Fitbit Monday.Fit...

By Lauren Muskett • Nov. 1, 2019

The Two Faces of Private Equity

The story of private equity is really two stories. One is about PE firms investing in and enhancing the value of their portfolio companies. The other is about slashing expenses to the bone in the quest for a bottom line that may appeal to certain gullible potential acquirers.Both are abundantly t...

By David McCann • Oct. 31, 2019

EA’s Strong Quarter Overshadowed By ‘Battlefield’ Pushout

Electronic Arts turned in an unexpectedly strong second quarter with revenue and earnings beating expectations. But analysts’ enthusiasm was limited by the company’s unexpected decision to push the next title in its “Battlefield” franchise out a year to 2022, leaving questions about growth in 202...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 30, 2019

Why Procurement Savings Get Lost in Translation

It’s a frustrating scenario at many companies: The procurement chief announces major savings from a new initiative, but the gains never make it to the bottom line.The problem is pretty obvious: two accounting systems that don’t mesh.David Schannon Procurement departments calculate savings based o...

By David McCann • Oct. 30, 2019

Murray Energy Files for Chapter 11

Robert Murray, Founder and CEO, Murray Energy Murray Energy, which was the largest privately held coal company in the United States, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Ohio.The company said it has entered into a restructuring agreement with an ad hoc lender...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 29, 2019

Want to Go “Lean”? First, Understand What It Means

Lean systems are widely misunderstood. Although the term was introduced many years ago to describe an operations philosophy, it has since been summarized, misused, and generalized. It’s become a ubiquitous buzzword — one that Fortune 100 companies and small independent entrepreneurs alike gravita...

By David McCann • Oct. 29, 2019

AT&T’s Three-Year Strategic Plan Appeases Activist Investor

Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T AT&T announced a three-year strategic plan it says will significantly grow EBITDA margins and earnings per share, allow it to invest in growth areas, and pay down debt.Under the plan, the company said it would add two new board members, sell off ...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 28, 2019

Authentic Brands Declares Victory In Barneys Auction; Rivals Don’t Concede

Authentic Brands Group said late Thursday it had won the bidding for bankrupt luxury retailer Barneys New York. But rival bidders Sam Ben-Avraham and David Jackson say they are still in competition for the company, and Barneys maintained nothing is official.Ben-Avraham submitted a bid of $260 mil...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 25, 2019

Fears Over Digitalization Efforts Top Execs’ Worry List

Concerns that digitalization efforts may be poorly conceived, as well as worries over the pace of such efforts, topped business leaders’ concerns in Gartner’s latest Emerging Risks Monitor Report.In Gartner’s third-quarter 2019 survey of 144 senior executives across industries and geographies, so...

By David McCann • Oct. 25, 2019

CFOs On the Move: Week Ending October 25

Julie Mathis Election technology company Hart InterCivic promoted Julie Mathis to president. Mathis will also remain in her current role as chief financial officer, which she has held since 2014. Mathis started her career as an auditor and then spent over 20 years at Dell, where she held successi...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 25, 2019

OCC Cannot Grant Special Bank Charters to Fintech Companies

A federal judge in New York ruled that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) did not have the authority to issue special bank charters to non-bank fintech companies.The decision is a victory for state financial regulators wanting to stop the fintech charter that allowed technology s...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 24, 2019

Annual Waste in U.S. Healthcare System Nears $1 Trillion

It’s not exactly a secret that there’s waste in the U.S. healthcare system. But just how much?How about roughly a quarter of all healthcare spending? So concludes a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The total estimated amount of waste amounts to between $760 ...

By David McCann • Oct. 22, 2019

PR Newswire Owner Cision to Be Acquired for $2.74B

PR and marketing software company and PR Newswire owner Cision has reached a deal to be bought by private-equity firm Platinum Equity for approximately $2.74 billion in cash, or $10.00 per share.The purchase price represents a 34% premium over its 60-day volume-weighted average price at the end o...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 22, 2019

Infosys Investigating CEO’s ‘Unethical Practices’

India’s second-largest IT services provider Infosys saw its shares drop by more than 12% on the New York Stock Exchange and 16% on the National Stock Exchange of India between Monday and Tuesday.According to Reuters, it was the worst intraday drop Infosys has seen in six years.What HappenedThe dr...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 22, 2019

Legacy Banks Are Threatened – Unless They Fight Back

This summer, online-only banks from Germany and the United Kingdom began operations in the United States, offering streamlined digital apps, simplified fees, and supposedly great customer service.Yet in reality, these neobanks are red herrings, deflecting American banks from the real challenges a...

By Vincent Ryan • Oct. 21, 2019

Coty Explores Sale of Professional Beauty Business

Beauty company Coty announced that is exploring the sale of its professional beauty business­ as part of its ongoing turnaround plan. The company’s professional beauty business includes hair and nail care brands such as OPI, Clariol, and Wella.The company also said it was exploring alternatives f...

By Lauren Muskett • Oct. 21, 2019