Retail Sales Fall 1.1% in Largest Pandemic Drop

U.S. retail sales fell in November by the largest amount since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for what could be a “bleak winter” for retailers before vaccines are widely available.The Department of Commerce reported Wednesday that retail sales dropped 1.1% last month, th...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 16, 2020

Vista Buys Pluralsight in $3.5B Ed Tech Deal

Vista Equity Partners has agreed to acquire online training company Pluralsight in a $3.5 billion deal that highlights the continuing appeal of the enterprise software sector to private equity firms.Utah-based Pluralsight, which was founded in 2004, offers a library of more than 7,500 online cour...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 14, 2020

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Tax policy shifts: What CFOs need to know to stay ahead

Discover how evolving tax policies are creating new opportunities and challenges for CFOs.

By CFO.com staff

Oracle to Move HQ From Silicon Valley to Texas

Oracle is changing its corporate headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas, to give its employees more flexibility amid the shift to remote work from the coronavirus pandemic.The software giant, founded in 1977, is one of the older Valley tech firms, occupying 3.5 million square feet of o...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 14, 2020

Execs Fear Harm Without Further Economic Aid

A majority of business executives expect a negative impact to their organizations if Congress does not pass another round of economic stimulus by early 2021 though optimism about the economy is increasing, according to the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.In its Eco...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 10, 2020

DoorDash Shares Deliver 78% Pop in Market Debut

Investors gobbled up DoorDash shares on their first day of trading Wednesday, reflecting enthusiasm for the company’s food-delivery model as the coronavirus pandemic changes dining habits.The stock opened at $182 on the New York Stock Exchange — a 78.2% pop from the IPO price of $102 — before fal...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 9, 2020

Japan’s Economy Surges 22.9% in Third Quarter

Japan’s economy surged at a 22.9% annualized rate in the third quarter though some economists fear the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic is threatened by rising infections.The third-quarter gain, which was revised upward from the preliminary estimate of 21.4% on firmer consumer spending, was...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 8, 2020

Northrop Sells Federal IT Business to PE-Backed Firm

Northrop Grumman is selling its federal IT unit to an affiliate of private equity firm Veritas Capital for $3.4 billion to focus on its core defense businesses.Veritas plans to combine the Northrop business with its Peraton portfolio company, which provides intelligence, cyber and homeland securi...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 8, 2020

Cisco Buys IMImobile to Boost Call Center Offerings

Cisco Systems said Monday it had agreed to buy U.K.-based communication software firm IMImobile for about $730 million in a move to boost its cloud solutions for call centers.The networking giant’s push into software includes its Webex Contact Center, which uses data-driven artificial intelligenc...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 7, 2020

Warner Bros. to Release 2021 Movies on HBO Max

Warner Bros has announced a radical departure from the traditional model for distributing movies that reflects the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on U.S. theaters.The studio said Thursday it would release its entire slate of 2021 films — including potential blockbusters such as “D...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 4, 2020

3M to Cut 3% of Workforce Amid Virus Slowdown

3M said Thursday it will cut about 3% of its global workforce as it continues to restructure amid slumping demand for its products in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.The announcement of the layoffs, which are expected to eliminate about 2,900 jobs, comes three weeks after the maker of Post-I...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 3, 2020

Salesforce Goes Social With $27.7B Slack Deal

In its largest-ever acquisition, Salesforce is buying workplace messaging app Slack for $27.7 billion, setting up a battle for enterprise social media customers with arch rival Microsoft.The mega-deal will make Slack’s remote communication platform available to users of Salesforce’s Customer 360 ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 2, 2020

Facebook Adds CRM Platform With Kustomer Buy

Facebook has agreed to acquire Kustomer, a customer relationship management startup, in a move to boost its offerings to businesses that communicate with customers through its messaging apps.Kustomer’s omnichannel CRM platform enables businesses to manage customer conversations across multiple se...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 1, 2020

Exxon to Take Record Writedown, Slash Spending

Exxon Mobil announced it would take its largest-ever writedown and slash capital spending amid the continuing fallout from the sharp decline in oil demand and prices from the COVID-19 pandemic.The biggest U.S. oil producer by volume said it would write down the value of natural gas properties in ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 1, 2020

U.S. Consumer Spending Growth Slows to 0.5%

U.S. consumer spending started the fourth quarter with another gain but economists expect the pace of growth will slow as the coronavirus surges and federal aid expires.The Department of Labor reported that spending rose 0.5% in October — the sixth straight monthly increase but the smallest since...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 30, 2020

Core Capital Goods Orders Rise 0.7% in October

A key measure of U.S. business investment rose for a sixth straight month in October, fueling optimism over the health of the manufacturing sector despite the current surge in coronavirus infections.The Department of Commerce reported Wednesday that orders for non-defense capital goods excluding ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 27, 2020

Merck Buys OncoImmune in COVID Treatment Move

Merck has agreed to acquire biotech firm OncoImmune for $425 million to add a promising treatment for serious COVID-19 infections to its assault on the virus.The acquisition comes two months after a late-stage clinical study showed OncoImmune’s CD24Fc drug, also known as Saccovid, reduced the ris...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 23, 2020

Mnuchin to Let Emergency Credit Programs Lapse

Over the objections of the Federal Reserve, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has decided to allow several emergency lending programs to expire, prompting warnings of market instability amid the worsening of the coronavirus pandemic.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell had urged Mnuchin to extend ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 20, 2020

China’s Negative Yield Bond Gets Positive Response

China’s first-ever sale of a negative-yield bond drew strong demand from investors seeking exposure to an economy that is returning to pre-pandemic growth rates.The five-year, 750 million euro bond offering a yield of minus 0.152% was part of a 4 billion euro sale of debt by the Chinese governmen...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 20, 2020

Norwegian Air Files for Bankruptcy in Ireland

Norwegian Air has filed for the Irish equivalent of bankruptcy after struggling to make its low-cost business model viable even before the coronavirus pandemic.Norwegian’s filing for examinership in Ireland, where its aircraft assets are held, makes it Europe’s biggest airline casualty yet from t...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 19, 2020

U.S. Housing Starts Increase 4.9% in October

U.S. housing starts rose more than expected in October as low mortgage rates continued to fuel construction, particularly in the single-family home sector.Reuters warned, however, that the housing market’s “momentum could slow amid a resurgence in new COVID-19 infections that is putting strain on...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 18, 2020

Retail Sales Growth Slows to 0.3% in October

U.S. retail sales advanced for the sixth month in a row in October but hopes for a strong holiday shopping season may be fading amid the surge in coronavirus infections.The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.3% last month. It was the smallest gain since the economic recovery fr...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 18, 2020

Airbnb IPO Filing Shows Rebound From Virus Shock

Airbnb filed paperwork for an initial public offering that says it has rebounded strongly from the initial shock of the coronavirus pandemic, showing the resilience of its business model.In its IPO prospectus, the home rental startup said its business declined by nearly 80% as the pandemic disrup...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 17, 2020

Home Depot Eyes Pro Market With HD Supply Buy

Home Depot said Monday it will acquire HD Supply for about $8 billion in a major move to boost its offerings to professional customers.HD Supply is a wholesale distributor of electrical, plumbing, janitorial and other supplies that Home Depot sold in 2007 to a consortium of private-equity firms i...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 16, 2020

Inflation Flat in October as Coronavirus Surges

U.S. consumer prices were unchanged in October, indicating the spike in inflation over the summer has receded amid a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic.The flat reading for last month followed four straight months of gains in the consumer price index as states lifted pandemic-related business...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2020

Main Street Program Gets First Nonprofit Borrower

The $4.4 million loan that a college sports conference received last month was just a drop in the ocean of funds available from the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion Main Street Lending Program. But it was a milestone of sorts, marking the COVID-19 relief program’s first extension of credit to a non...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2020