Ascena Retail to Close All Dressbarn Stores

Ascena Retail Group, which has been conducting a “comprehensive portfolio review,” announced it will shutter all of its Dressbarn casual wear stores due to their lack of profitability.The closure of the roughly 650 Dressbarn stores follows Ascena’s announcement in March that it would sell its maj...

By Matthew Heller • May 21, 2019

Disney Takes Over Hulu in Deal With Comcast

Disney will immediately assume full operational control of Hulu as part of a deal with minority partner Comcast/NBCU aimed at cementing its streaming strategy.Under the terms of an agreement announced on Tuesday, Comcast will retain its 33% interest in Hulu for at least five years and continue li...

By Matthew Heller • May 14, 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

Sanders, AOC Call for Cap on Credit Card Rates

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have teamed against the credit card industry, proposing a 15% cap on interest rates to protect consumers from the “economic brutality” of big banks.The high-profile Democratic lawmakers unveiled the rate cap proposal on Thursday as part of the...

By Matthew Heller • May 10, 2019

Siemens to Spin off Power and Gas Business

Germany’s Siemens AG has decided to spin off its power and gas unit as part of a restructuring aimed at building up its automation, industrial digitalization, and smart infrastructure businesses.Under the plan announced on Tuesday, Siemens Gas and Power, which includes oil and gas, gas turbines, ...

By Matthew Heller • May 8, 2019

Unemployment Dips to Lowest Level in 50 Years

U.S. employers kept hiring at a robust pace in April while unemployment dipped to the lowest level in half a century.The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 263,000 jobs last month with gains across nearly all sectors. Economists had expected nonfarm payrolls rising by 185,000 j...

By Matthew Heller • May 3, 2019

U.S. Productivity Surges to 3.6% Gain in Q1

U.S. worker productivity rose at the fastest pace in more than four years in the first quarter, a possible sign that the economy can continue to grow without sparking inflation.The Labor Department reported Thursday that nonfarm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, increased at ...

By Matthew Heller • May 2, 2019

It’s Unanimous: Firms that ‘Know’ Bots Will Expand Their Usage

Every company that’s currently using robotic process automation and aware of the key issues around it will be using more RPA before long.Does that sound like an extreme statement? Not according to a new survey by consulting firm Protiviti. Each of the 450 participating companies — all of which us...

By David McCann • May 2, 2019

Fed Resists Pressure for Interest Rate Cut

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday shrugged off growing pressure for an interest rate cut, saying current economic conditions still require a “patient” approach to monetary policy despite weak inflation.After four interest rate hikes in 2018, Fed policymakers have held steady on rates so far t...

By Matthew Heller • May 1, 2019

U.S. Consumer Spending Surges 0.9% in March

U.S. consumer spending jumped to its biggest gain in 9-1/2 years in March though inflation pressures remained muted, keeping the economy in what one expert called a “sweet spot.”The Commerce Department said Monday that spending rose 0.9% last month as consumers stepped up motor vehicle purchases....

By Matthew Heller • April 29, 2019

Activist Elliott Bets $1.3B on SAP Profit Growth

Activist investor Elliott Management is adding its clout to the push for change at SAP, disclosing it has built up a 1.2 billion euro ($1.35 billion) stake in the German software giant.The disclosure came as SAP unveiled plans Wednesday to improve its performance with a focus on positioning the c...

By Matthew Heller • April 24, 2019

GE’s Subprime Loan Business Files Chapter 11

General Electric has put its defunct subprime mortgage business into bankruptcy to help resolve remaining legal liabilities over defective loans.WMC Mortgage has already settled 13 lawsuits in which investors alleged it misrepresented the quality of the mortgages it sold, agreeing to pay a total ...

By Matthew Heller • April 24, 2019

The Key to Regional Investment: Understanding Complexity

A new regional investment fund focused on technology startups across Latin America is looking to take advantage of expectations that the region is poised for robust economic growth. At the same time, the fund is subject to weighty risks that face any initial entry to geographic markets.With fundi...

By David McCann • April 23, 2019

Apollo Adds French Stores to Grocery Assets

Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management has agreed to acquire a portfolio of 32 grocery stores from France’s Casino Group for 470 million euros ($529 million), extending a recent series of grocery business acquisitions.The stores include 12 Géant Casino hypermarkets and 20 Monoprix and Casin...

By Matthew Heller • April 23, 2019

U.S. Housing Starts Fall to Near 2-Year Low

U.S. housing starts slipped to their lowest level in nearly two years in March, continuing a slowdown fueled by labor shortages and rising materials prices.The Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.139 million units last month. It was...

By Matthew Heller • April 22, 2019

Campbell Soup to Sell Bolthouse Farms for $510M

Campbell Soup has agreed to sell its Bolthouse Farms business to private-equity firm Butterfly Equity for $510 million, completing its unwinding of a bet on fresh foods that didn’t pay off.Campbell had acquired Bolthouse, known for fruit juices and packaged carrots, in 2012 for about $1.55 billio...

By Matthew Heller • April 15, 2019

Fed Cited Sluggish Growth for Patience on Rates

The majority of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers believe economic conditions warrant no further interest rate increases this year, according to the minutes of their March meeting.As Reuters reports, the Fed “pivoted abruptly at that meeting to a much-less aggressive posture,” agreeing to be “pat...

By Matthew Heller • April 11, 2019

U.S. Consumer Prices Jump 0.4% in March

U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in 14 months in March but the core measure slipped to its lowest level in a year, indicating inflation pressures remain muted.The Labor Department reported Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4%, boosted by increases in the costs of food, gaso...

By Matthew Heller • April 10, 2019

Wells Fargo to Sell Retirement Unit for $1.2B

Wells Fargo said Tuesday it had agreed to sell its retirement plan services business to Principal Financial for $1.2 billion as the bank continues to shed businesses in the wake of its fake-accounts scandal.As of Dec. 31, 2018, Wells Fargo’s Institutional Retirement & Trust division had $827 ...

By Matthew Heller • April 9, 2019

Oil Prices Jump on Risk of Libya Output Shortage

Global oil prices rose to a five-month high on Monday as the threat of a civil war in Libya added to uncertainties over supply.The possible disruption in oil supply from Libya — where rebel forces loyal to renegade General Khalifa Haftar based in the eastern part of the country have been advancin...

By Matthew Heller • April 8, 2019

WTO Rebuffs Trump on ‘National Security’ Claims

In a decision with implications for the Trump administration’s global automobile tariffs, the World Trade Organization has ruled it does have the power to review whether a member nation has properly made national security claims.The Trump administration has said such claims are not subject to WTO...

By Matthew Heller • April 5, 2019

Today’s Purpose for M&A: Gaining Digital Expertise

Last year was a big one for mergers and acquisitions. Many market forecasters point to an equally robust 2019.And who knows — maybe some of the deals will be big category-spanning moves like such recent ones as Amazon leaping into gourmet grocery stores through Whole Foods and AT&T striding d...

By David McCann • April 5, 2019

WeWork Buys Managed by Q Logistics Platform

WeWork is making another move to diversify beyond shared-office leasing by acquiring office management startup Managed by Q.The acquisition combines two companies that, according to Quartz, have taken “different approaches to workplace disruption and the on-demand economy.”Managed by Q, which was...

By Matthew Heller • April 4, 2019

Are Unicorns Ready for Their Close-up?

While Lyft’s long-anticipated IPO last Friday was a big success, the company’s journey in the public markets is just beginning, as evidenced by its stock price this week.As the trend to stay private longer has become pervasive, with easy access to cross-over investors and inexpensive debt, many o...

By David McCann • April 3, 2019

U.S. Retail Sales Take Surprising Dip in February

U.S. retail sales fell for the second time in three months in February, signaling economic growth for the first quarter will be tepid despite a surge in consumer spending in January.The Commerce Department said on Monday retail sales dropped 0.2% in February as households cut back on purchases of...

By Matthew Heller • April 1, 2019

U.S. Current Account Deficit Grows to $134.4B

The U.S. current account deficit widened in the fourth quarter to its highest level in 10 years and increased slightly as a percentage of gross domestic product.The Commerce Department said the current account deficit, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the...

By Matthew Heller • March 28, 2019