Accenture Adds Clarity Insights to AI Business

In a marriage of consulting firms, Accenture is buying Clarity Insights to strengthen its artificial intelligence and data analytics capabilities.Chicago-based Clarity, which has about 350 employees, specializes in AI and big data, working primarily with healthcare and financial services clients....

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 16, 2019

U.S. Consumer Prices Hit Highest Level in a Year

U.S. consumer prices rose in November to the highest level in a year but not enough to suggest a surge in inflation.The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that its consumer price index increased 0.3% last month as households paid more for gasoline, health care, and rent. In the 12 months thro...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 11, 2019

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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

U.S. Labor Costs Growth Lowered to 2.5% for Q3

U.S. labor costs grew at a slower rate in the third quarter than previously reported, indicating inflation will remain low.The Commerce Department said Tuesday that unit labor costs, the price of labor per single unit of output, increased at a 2.5% annualized rate in the third quarter. It had pre...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 10, 2019

Morgan Stanley Prepares for 2020 With Job Cuts

Morgan Stanley is ending the year by cutting about 1,500 jobs, or roughly 2% of its workforce, as it prepares for what it expects will be tougher market conditions in 2020.According to CNBC, the layoffs will skew toward technology and operations roles, the source said. Morgan Stanley had 60,532 e...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 10, 2019

BIS Spotlights Role of Large Banks in Repo Shock

Structural issues may be more to blame than a temporary supply-and-demand imbalance for the turmoil that roiled the funding markets in September, according to the Bank for International Settlements.In a report on the lack of liquidity that caused repo rates to spike as high as 10%, the Basel-base...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 9, 2019

U.S. Job Growth Shatters November Forecasts

The U.S. jobs market soared past economists’ expectations in November, belying recession anxieties that had been simmering amid a manufacturing slowdown and trade conflicts.The Department of Labor reported Friday that employers added 266,00 jobs last month, the largest number since January. The u...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 6, 2019

Verint Systems to Spin off Cyber Intelligence Unit

Shares of Israeli-American analytics firm Verint Systems rose in after-hours trading Wednesday after its board approved a plan to spin off its cyber intelligence business into a separate, publicly-traded company.After the spinoff, Verint will consist only of the larger customer engagement solutio...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 5, 2019

Postmates Closes in Mexico to Focus on U.S.

Postmates is pulling out of Mexico and laying off employees in the U.S. as it regroups after shelving its plan to go public.The food-delivery startup on Wednesday confirmed it had closed its Mexico City office and acknowledged there had been other job cuts without specifying the number. According...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 4, 2019

U.S. Factory Activity Drops for 4th Straight Month

A closely-watched measure of U.S. factory activity contracted for a fourth straight month in November and a decline in new orders suggested the manufacturing sector’s slump is far from over.The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity dropped 0.2 point to a read...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 3, 2019

Hostess Buys Voortman in $320M Snacks Move

Hostess Brands — best known for sugary baked treats such as Twinkies — has agreed to acquire the maker of Voortman wafers and sugar-free cookies for $320 million in a move to boost its profile in the fast-growing snacks category.According to Nielsen, Canada-based Voortman Cookies is the market le...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 2, 2019

Online Lending Platform Refines the Science of Underwriting

For lenders, predicting whether potential borrowers are likely to pay them back is the core of their business. That fact, in conjunction with technology advancements, has paved the way over the past several years for the new field of marketplace lending.The term generally refers to companies that...

By David McCann • Dec. 2, 2019

Schwab Buys Ameritrade in Brokerage Mega-Deal

Charles Schwab has agreed to acquire longtime rival TD Ameritrade for $26 billion in a major consolidation of the discount brokerage industry amid a bruising pricing war.The all-stock transaction announced Monday would create what one analyst called a “true behemoth in the retail brokerage space,...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 25, 2019

New ECB Chief Urges Domestic Demand Push

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has called on euro zone members to boost domestic demand to withstand disruptions in world trade and keep growth trajectories on course.In her first major speech since becoming ECB chief at the start of this month, Lagarde singled out Germany, say...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 25, 2019

PayPal Sweetens Offerings With $4B Honey Buy

PayPal has agreed to buy the owner of browser plugin Honey for $4 billion in a move to extend its interaction with consumers beyond the checkout pages on e-commerce sites.The acquisition of Honey Science Corp. is the largest in PayPal’s story and, according to The Financial Times, is “its most am...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 21, 2019

Kirin Unit to Buy Fat Tire Beer Maker New Belgium

A company owned by Japan’s Kirin beer conglomerate has agreed to acquire New Belgium Brewing, marking another major investment by a traditional brewer in craft beer.Lion Little World Beverages, the largest brewer in Australia, will pay an undisclosed cash amount for the Fort Collins, Colo.-based ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 20, 2019

Coty Makes $600M Beauty Bet on Kylie Jenner

Coty Inc. has agreed to pay $600 million for a majority stake in Kylie Jenner’s high-flying cosmetics startup, betting that the billionaire celebrity’s appeal to a younger demographic can help revive its beauty business.Coty’s acquisition of 51% of Kylie Cosmetics gives it access to two of the fa...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 18, 2019

How SMEs Can Gird Against a Downturn

In times of economic downturns, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are often the last to get paid. With already limited cash flow, a potential recession could spell serious danger for the average SME.This becomes an issue not only for those businesses, but for enterprises and communities a...

By David McCann • Nov. 15, 2019

U.S. Producer Prices Post Biggest Gain in 6 Months

U.S. producer prices rose by the most in six months in October, reflecting in part a big jump in healthcare costs, but the underlying inflation trend remained muted.The Labor Department reported Thursday that the producer price index for final demand rose 0.4% last month, the biggest increase sin...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 14, 2019

Go For a Walk and Boost the Economy

As most people know, exercise is a healthy activity. It lowers the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer, and diabetes, and has been associated with positive effects on mental health.Oh, and more exercise would help the economy, too.If all adults aged 18 to 64 worl...

By David McCann • Nov. 14, 2019

Optimism Plummets for 2020 M&A Market

Expectations for U.S. M&A activity in 2020 have nosedived from those that prevailed late last year looking ahead to 2019, according to the latest annual study by the law firm Dykema Gossett.After the 12-month outlook barely wavered for three straight years, from 2015-2017, optimism soared in ...

By David McCann • Nov. 12, 2019

Anheuser-Busch Raises Bet on Craft Beers

Anheuser-Busch is expanding its push into craft beers by buying out Craft Brew Alliance in a deal that values the owner of Kona Brewing at about $321 million.CBA, whose brands also include Omission Brewing Co., Redhook Brewery and Cisco Brewer, is the nation’s 12th-largest brewer, producing more ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 12, 2019

Adidas to Close Robot-Staffed ‘Speedfactories’

Adidas is closing both of its robot-powered “Speedfactories,” abandoning a strategy aimed at bringing sneaker production closer to Western markets and reducing reliance on Asian suppliers.The footwear giant had described the futuristic factories it opened in Ansbach, Germany, in 2017 and Atlanta ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2019

Blackstone Makes $3B Match with Bumble Owner

Private equity giant Blackstone has found a match for its new growth-investing business, taking a controlling stake in the dating apps startup MagicLab.The MagicLab stable of brands — which includes Bumble, Badoo, Chappy, and Lumen — was put together by Russian-British billionaire Andrey Andreev,...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 11, 2019

SEC Proposal Protects Executives, Hamstrings Investors

Delivering what could be considered a body blow to investor rights, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday proposed rule changes that would limit the ability of public-company investors to hold corporate insiders accountable.Under the proposed rules (see here and here), companies would...

By David McCann • Nov. 6, 2019

Fiat Chrysler, Peugeot to Create No. 4 Automaker

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot have agreed to a merger, sacrificing their independence as a means to reduce the costs of shifting to electric and autonomous vehicles.The proposed combination would create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, with unit sales of 8.7 million vehicles, combine...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 1, 2019