Fed Chair Powell Signals a Rate Cut is Coming

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at a rate cut later this month as he told Congress on Wednesday that trade tensions and concerns about global growth have slowed U.S. business investments.In his semi-annual monetary report to Congress, Powell said that based on incoming data and othe...

By Lauren Muskett • July 10, 2019

DOJ Puts C-Suite Execs in Crosshairs

In the spring, in its latest effort to make good on its promise to hold individuals accountable for corporate misconduct, the Department of Justice indicted two senior executives of prominent pharmaceutical distributor Rochester Drug Co-Operative (RDC). Breaking from past practices, the U.S. atto...

By Vincent Ryan • July 10, 2019

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

ICO Proposes $124 Million Fine Against Marriott

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has proposed a fine of $124 million against Marriott International over a data breach in its Starwood hotels reservation system involving up to 383 million guests.Regulators said the Starwood system was compromised in 2014 and hackers had access to...

By Lauren Muskett • July 9, 2019

Cisco to Buy Acacia Communications in $2.6B Deal

Cisco agreed on Tuesday to acquire Acacia Communications for $2.6 billion ($70 per share in cash), on a fully diluted basis, net of cash and marketable securities. The price is about a 46% premium to Acacia’s $48.06 closing price yesterday.Cisco’s stock was trading at $56.49 a share, up 53% on Tu...

By Lauren Muskett • July 9, 2019

British Airways Faces Fine Over Data Breach

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has proposed a fine of $230 million against IAG, the owner of British Airways, over thefts of customer data that occurred in August and September 2018.In a statement, the ICO said data for approximately 500,000 customers was compromised after hacke...

By Vincent Ryan • July 8, 2019

Deutsche Bank Slashing 18K Jobs as Part of Massive Restructuring

Germany’s Deutsche Bank announced plans on Sunday to cut 18,000 jobs by 2022, in what is being called “a radical transformation of the bank.”As part of the bank’s ongoing “commitment to improve long-term profitability and returns to shareholders,” the bank’s management board announced in a press ...

By Vincent Ryan • July 8, 2019

The Future of Finance

Changing demands on financeThe finance function must disrupt itself to meet the demands of its customers, including regulators, corporate boards, sales and marketing departments, suppliers, and internal and external auditors. These stakeholders increasingly expect finance to serve as a true busin...

By KPMG • July 8, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending July 5

Paul Orban has been promoted to head finance at DISH Network. He joined the company in 1996 and had been chief accounting officer, principal financial officer, and controllerMarathon Petroleum has named Donald Templin finance chief. He takes over from Timothy Griffith, who has been promoted to pr...

By Joan Urdang • July 5, 2019

U.S. Trade Deficit Jumps to Five-Month High

The U.S. trade deficit jumped 8.4% to $55.5 billion in May according to the latest figures from the Commerce Department. It is the biggest trade gap since December of last year.The increase likely was driven by businesses building up inventories ahead of an increase in Chinese tariffs and a jump ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 3, 2019

Trump to Nominate Judy Shelton and Christopher Waller to Fed

President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that he plans to nominate Christopher Waller and Judy Shelton to the Federal Reserve Board.Waller is executive vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Shelton is the U.S. director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ...

By Lauren Muskett • July 3, 2019

Five Ways CFOs Can Use AI — Today

There’s been plenty of hype over artificial intelligence, no question. But there are highly practical ways that CFOs can use AI right now to bring new efficiencies to the enterprise. Here are five of them.Customer Data and Predictive Pricing The CFO sits at the center of customer data flows: sale...

By David McCann • July 3, 2019

Lease Accounting Post-Adoption

It has been just over six months since the initial deadlines for the new lease accounting standards went into effect. In the first 180 days, approximately 400 of the S&P 500 filed an interim statement (Form 10-Q). The result has been a transfer of more than half a trillion dollars’ worth of o...

By Vincent Ryan • July 3, 2019

S&P Cuts Oracle Rating on Stock Buyback Worries

S&P Global Ratings has lowered Oracle’s credit rating due to the software giant’s aggressive program of stock buybacks.S&P downgraded the rating on Oracle’s long-term debt to A+’ from ‘AA-‘, noting that the company has “significantly ramped up” buybacks since the passage of U.S. tax refor...

By Matthew Heller • July 3, 2019

Brewing Giant Planning Biggest IPO of the Year

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is hoping to raise up to $9.8 billion by listing shares of its Asian Pacific subsidiary on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.This step to tap Asia’s thirst would make it the world’s largest initial public offering in 2019, leapfrogging the $8.1 billion raised by Uber.In...

By Lauren Muskett • July 2, 2019

Coty Outlines Restructuring Plan

Struggling cosmetics maker Coty will take a $3 billion write-down as it implements a turnaround plan to improve margins, drive cash flow, and reduce leverage.Coty, whose products include CoverGirl cosmetics and OPI nail polish, is looking to simplify its operations by cutting down product lines a...

By Lauren Muskett • July 1, 2019

Tee Time: The Quiz

With the United States Open golf championship in mid-June and the warm summer weather driving recreational golfers out to play, it’s a peak season for the U.S. golf industry. Consumer spending on greens fees, golf equipment and apparel, golf tourism, and more combine with the industry’s diverse s...

By CFO Editorial Staff • July 1, 2019

M&A Market Guts Shareholder Value in Second Quarter

Any company contemplating an M&A transaction in 2019 might want to take a long, hard second look.North American deal-making companies lost shareholder value in the second quarter, underperforming the MSCI North American regional index by 3.7 percentage points.That’s according to Willis Towers...

By David McCann • June 28, 2019

Levi Strauss Partners with the IFC to Reduce Emissions

Levi Strauss has signed a $2.3 million cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank Group organization, to help it reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% in its owned-and-operated facilities.The company said it is also looking to use 100% renewable energy in its ...

By Lauren Muskett • June 28, 2019

The Disappearing DB Pension Plan

Governing a defined benefit (DB) pension plan and its investment strategy has always been challenging. Over the past decade it’s also become increasingly complex, not to mention costly, spurring many plan sponsors to reevaluate their pension plan approaches.A new survey of 155 U.S. senior finance...

By Gerry Marletta • June 28, 2019

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending June 28

Mala Murthy Telemedicine company Teladoc Health named Mala Murthy as chief financial officer, filling a six-month vacancy of the role. Most recently, Murthy was CFO of the global commercial services segment of American Express. Prior to that, she held various leadership positions with PepsiCo. Te...

By Lauren Muskett • June 28, 2019

A 10-Step Plan for Digitally Transforming a Company

Most of us have a mental image of technology’s development curve as an unbroken and progressively steep incline.That’s not the way Tom Siebel sees it. The billionaire entrepreneur — who famously founded Siebel Systems and built it into the premier customer relationship management vendor in the 19...

By David McCann • June 27, 2019

Ford to Cut 12,000 Jobs in Europe

Ford is planning to cut 12,000 jobs in Europe by the end of next year, part of what the company called, “the most comprehensive redesign in the history of its business in Europe.”Under the plan, Ford would operate 18 facilities in Europe by the end of 2020, down from 24 at the beginning of 2019. ...

By Lauren Muskett • June 27, 2019

Growth of Federal Debt Slows, but ‘Unprecedented Levels’ Ahead

The nation’s federal debt is projected to rise to “unprecedented levels” over the next 30 years, according to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).CBO’s new report released on Tuesday, The 2019 Long-Term Budget Outlook, said that if policymakers fail to change laws, i...

By Lauren Muskett • June 26, 2019

In Blockchain They Trust

Someday, you may use an app at a supermarket to scan the beef sirloin you plan to buy for dinner, discovering the cow’s life journey. Another app will assure that the pair of handmade Gucci loafers you just bought are authentic. These apps will be connected over the internet to blockchain platfor...

By Lauren Muskett • June 26, 2019

Insurance Alternative Rises

Most insurance payouts compensate for direct losses—and only after what can be a long claims process. But finance executives should know the ins and outs of a growing market segment that is structured differently: parametric insurance. Parametric coverage pays when a certain objective triggering ...

By Lauren Muskett • June 26, 2019