OPEC Lowers Demand Forecast on COVID Concerns

OPEC has again lowered its forecast for world oil demand in 2020, reflecting concerns over the market’s recovery amid a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.In its latest monthly oil report, OPEC said Wednesday that demand will tumble by 9.8 million barrels per day this year, up 300,000 bpd from las...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2020

Banks Report Tightening Loan Standards in Q3

U.S. banks tightened standards for business and consumer loans in the third quarter amid continued uncertainty over the economic outlook.The Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers found that significant net shares of banks reported having raised the bar for commercial and indu...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 10, 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

Court Orders Release of PPP Borrower Details

A judge has ordered the Trump administration to provide more detailed information about businesses that received COVID-19 relief loans, ruling that the “powerful” public interest in disclosure “dramatically outweighs” privacy concerns.The decision was a victory for media organizations that sued t...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 9, 2020

U.S. Employers Add 638,000 Jobs in October

The U.S. economy added jobs for a sixth straight month in October and the unemployment rate fell more than expected but the labor market remains well below its pre-pandemic level as coronavirus cases surge.The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by 638,000 last month,...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2020

Bank of England Boosts Bond-Buying Program

The Bank of England increased its bond-buying stimulus program to shore up the U.K. economy as the country entered a second lockdown.As Reuters reports, the BoE’s response to the coronavirus crisis has been “one of the most aggressive among the world’s central banks.” On Thursday, it announced it...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2020

Nebraska Voters OK 36% Cap on Payday Loan Interest

Nebraska has become the latest state to cap interest rates on payday loans that consumer activists say are exorbitant and predatory.In Tuesday’s election, roughly 83% of Nebraska voters approved Initiative 428, which puts a 36% annual limit on the interest payday lenders can charge.Previously, th...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 4, 2020

Arby’s Owner Bets on Fast Food With Dunkin’ Buy

In a major bet on quick-service restaurants, the owner of Arby’s is beefing up its lineup by acquiring the parent of Dunkin’ coffee shops and Baskin-Robbins ice cream stores for $11.3 billion.The sale of Dunkin’ Brands will bring its two restaurant chains under the same roof as Inspire Brands’ Ar...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 2, 2020

WarnerMedia Plans More Layoffs as Virus Bites

WarnerMedia is planning another round of layoffs to reduce costs by as much as 20% as the coronavirus pandemic and streaming continue to reshape the entertainment industry.The overhaul at the AT&T subsidiary, which houses HBO, TNT, TBS, and the Warner Bros. studio, would result in thousands o...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 9, 2020

CFOs Skeptical About Recovery Before Next Year

U.S. finance executives remain more optimistic about the economy than they were in the spring but very few expect to return to pre-COVID levels of employment and revenue until at least 2021, according to The CFO Survey.The report, a collaboration of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 7, 2020

Caterpillar Buys Weir Group’s Oil and Gas Business

Caterpillar said Monday it has agreed to buy the oil and gas division of Scotland’s Weir Group for $405 million, making a bet on the energy sector amid a slowdown in demand for its heavy equipment.The deal covers more than 40 Weir Oil & Gas manufacturing and services locations and about 2,000...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 5, 2020

U.S. Job Gains Slow to 661,000 in September

U.S. employers added fewer jobs than expected in September as the pace of the labor market’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic continued to slow.The Labor Department reported Friday that nonfarm payrolls rose by 661,000 last month and the unemployment rate was 7.9%. The jobs gain was the sma...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 2, 2020

Scripps Goes National With ION Media Buy

Local TV station giant E.W. Scripps is buying independent broadcaster ION Media in a $2.65 billion deal that will give it a national footprint — with an assist from Warren Buffett.ION distributes syndicated shows such as “Law and Order” and “NCIS: Los Angeles” through an “over-the-air” national n...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 24, 2020

Illumina Buys Cancer Test Startup Grail for $8B

Illumina said Monday it had agreed to acquire biotech startup Grail for $8 billion in a move to accelerate its push into clinical applications for its gene-sequencing technology.Grail was founded by Illumina in 2016 as a standalone company to develop early detection tests for cancer using Illumin...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 21, 2020

OECD Revises Growth Forecast Upward for 2020

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has raised its forecast for global economic growth in 2020 but cautioned that the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic remains uncertain and fragile.In its latest interim economic assessment released on Wednesday, the OECD said it now ex...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 17, 2020

Kohl’s Cuts Corporate Jobs to Save $65 Million

Hundreds of Kohl’s employees lost their jobs on Tuesday as the retailer slashed its corporate workforce, citing the COVID-19 pandemic.Kohl’s said it expects to save about $65 million annually through the reduction of its corporate positions by about 15%. It did not release the number of positions...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 16, 2020

Holiday Retail Sales Forecast to Rise 1% to 1.5%

U.S. retail sales for the holiday season will rise only slightly amid “unparalleled uncertainty” due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Deloitte.The consulting firm predicted retail sales will increase between 1% and 1.5% for the November-January timeframe, resulting in sales of between $1...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 15, 2020

Verizon to Buy TracFone in $6B Wireless Deal

Verizon Communications is buying TracFone for more than $6 billion in a deal that will make it the largest provider of wireless prepaid services in the U.S.TracFone, a unit of Mexico’s América Móvil SAB, is the largest reseller of wireless services in the U.S., with 21 million subscribers. It off...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 15, 2020

Gilead to Buy Cancer Drugmaker for $21 Billion

Gilead Sciences has agreed to acquire Immunomedics for about $21 billion, giving it a potential blockbuster breast cancer drug to add to its oncology pipeline.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval in April to Immunomedics’ Trodelvy treatment for patients with metastat...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 14, 2020

Moody’s Pushes Turkey Debt Rating Down to B2

Moody’s Investor Service downgraded Turkey’s credit rating further into junk territory, citing its depleted foreign-exchange reserves and the policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.With its Moody’s sovereign issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings now down to B2 from B1 — five n...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 14, 2020

Discount Legend Century 21 Files for Chapter 11

Off-price retail pioneer Century 21 Stores filed for bankruptcy on Thursday with a plan to close all its stores, citing the refusal of its insurers to cover its losses from the coronavirus pandemic.The liquidation of Century 21’s assets through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process would end a run of...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 10, 2020

GM Takes 11% Stake in EV Truck Maker Nikola

General Motors said Tuesday it is taking an 11% stake in electric vehicle startup Nikola in a move to commercialize its Ultium all-electric battery system and hydrogen fuel cell technology.Under the terms of the deal, GM will receive $2 billion in Nikola stock in return for providing Nikola with ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 8, 2020

Unemployment Dips to 8.4%, Job Gains Slow

U.S. unemployment fell more than expected in August but the pace of job growth continued to slow, fueling concerns about the strength of the economy’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers added 1.4 million jobs in August, the fourth conse...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 7, 2020

Business Optimism Rebounds From Virus Shock

U.S. business executives are feeling a bit better about their companies’ prospects but are still deeply concerned about the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.In the AICPA Economic Outlook survey for the third quarte...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 3, 2020

KKR Sells Epicor Software to CD&R for $4.7B

Epicor Software is moving to a new private-equity home, with KKR agreeing to sell the business software firm to Clayton Dubilier & Rice for $4.7 billion.The deal comes four years after KKR acquired Epicor from British private-equity firm Apax Partners for $3.3 billion.Austin, Texas-based Epic...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 31, 2020

SEC Expands Investor Pool for Private Offerings

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved a final rule allowing financially sophisticated investors to participate in private placements even if they do not meet thresholds for income or net worth.Since 1982, the SEC had limited eligibility to participate in private offeri...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 26, 2020