Consumer Spending Rises 0.6% in November

U.S. consumer spending surged in November on strong demand for recreational goods and utilities but savings dropped to their lowest level in more than nine years and inflation remained benign.The Commerce Department said consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic ...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 26, 2017

JPMorgan Avoids Fine in Malaysia Fund Scandal

Switzerland’s financial regulator has concluded JPMorgan Chase’s Swiss unit violated anti-money laundering rules in transactions related to a Malaysian government investment fund, but the bank avoided any monetary sanctions.1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) has been the focus of money-launderin...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 25, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

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

Amazon: Good for Business, Won’t Dominate World

Boy, do we ever read a lot of headlines about Amazon these days. And they are so polarized: either breathless stock-pickers claiming Amazon is going to dominate the world, or breathless doom-mongers claiming the same.Nicholas Farhi The truth is less newsworthy: Amazon has been a positive force fo...

By Nicholas Farhi • Dec. 21, 2017

U.S. Shale Surge Drives up Global Oil Supply

Global oil supply rose in November at the fastest rate in a year amid a surge in U.S. shale production, possibly complicating OPEC’s efforts to restrain output.The International Energy Agency said global supply rose 200,000 barrels per day to 97.8 million bpd last month while OPEC production fell...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 15, 2017

Core Consumer Prices Rise 0.1% in November

Core U.S. consumer prices increased only slightly in November, reflecting a sharp, weather-related decline in apparel prices.The weakness of underlying inflation has been a concern for some Federal Reserve officials, with the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, the core personal consumption expend...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 14, 2017

Producer Prices Increase 0.4% in November

U.S. producer prices posted the biggest annual gain in six years in November, a possible sign that inflation is picking up steam after weakness through the first half of the year.The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand increased 0.4% last month after identical gains in...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 13, 2017

Tech Upgrade Commands CFO’s Focus

The privately held financial-market utility that settles and clears transactions for all 15 U.S. option exchanges and 3 futures exchanges has a problem: Its technology is woefully outdated.Amy Shelly That’s not quite the disaster it may seem. Options Clearing Corp.’s existing, 20-year-old system ...

By David McCann • Dec. 12, 2017

Wholesale Inventories Drop 0.5% in October

U.S. wholesale inventories may not provide much of a boost to economic growth in the fourth quarter.The Commerce Department reported on Friday that wholesale inventories dropped 0.5% in October after edging up 0.1% in September. The department had initially estimated that wholesale inventories de...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 8, 2017

Interim CFO Firm Succeeds by Keeping Sights Narrow

If you’re a CFO, you know the option is always out there: shed the nerve-jangling life of a full-time finance chief, hang a shingle, and begin providing finance services to multiple clients on an interim or part-time basis.Many experienced finance leaders have made that transition, in some cases ...

By David McCann • Dec. 8, 2017

Shedding Surplus Real Estate Should Be Prioritized

CFOs of large industrial companies may be sitting on a gold mine that they rarely think about.As counterintuitive as that may sound, such companies are likely to own real estate properties that are ripe for disposal — from a few dozen to hundreds or, in extreme cases, even thousands of them. And ...

By David McCann • Dec. 6, 2017

U.S. Factory Orders Decline 0.1% in October

U.S. factory orders declined less than expected in October, indicating continuing strength in the manufacturing sector.The Commerce Department said factory orders fell 0.1% after an upwardly revised 1.7% increase in September. Economists had expected a 0.4% drop in October.“These data remain cons...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 5, 2017

CFO Delegates Key Roles to Finance Staff

Vic Chynoweth is trying to shed his job. Not that the CFO of enterprise software firm Planview wouldn’t then have a job; it would just be somewhat different from the one he has now.Vic Chynoweth The company, which sells software and provides professional services that help companies optimize thei...

By David McCann • Nov. 30, 2017

U.S. GDP Growth Revised Upward to 3.3% for Q3

The U.S. economy grew in the third quarter at its fastest rate in three years, maintaining its momentum despite the damage from two major hurricanes.In its second of three estimates, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that gross domestic product increased at a 3.3% annual rate in the July-Sep...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 30, 2017

OECD Raises 2018 US Growth Forecast to 2.5%

U.S. tax reform will give a temporary boost next year to economic growth, buttressing business investment, but slowing labor force growth will reduce consumption in 2019, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.In its latest Economic Outlook, the OECD predicted U.S....

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 29, 2017

Online Shoppers Spend at Record Holiday Pace

U.S. consumers kicked off the holiday shopping season with an online frenzy, breaking spending records over Thanksgiving and on Cyber Monday.As of 10 a.m. Monday, Americans had spent nearly $14 billion online since Thanksgiving Day, when many companies started their Black Friday sales, according ...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 28, 2017

VW Charges up Spending on Electric Vehicles

Volkwagen is beefing up its bet on electric cars, approving a 34 billion euro ($40 billion) spending plan that will accelerate its shift away from combustion-engine vehicles.The world’s largest automaker by unit sales will spend the money on electric cars, autonomous driving and new mobility serv...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 20, 2017

Retail Sales Point to Strong Holiday Season

U.S. retail sales exceeded expectations in October and indicated stronger consuming spending in coming months, including the holiday shopping season.The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.2% last month following a revised 1.9% gain in September. Economists had expected no change the big...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 16, 2017

OPEC Sees Minimal EV Impact on Oil Demand

Even if one in four passenger vehicles is electric by 2040, up from less than 0.2% last year, OPEC does not expect global oil demand will drop “meaningfully” over the next 23 years.In its 2017 World Oil Outlook, OPEC predicts consumption will rise from 95.4 million barrels per day in 2016 to 111....

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 8, 2017

Job Growth Gets Back on Track After Hurricanes

After taking a beating in September from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the U.S. labor market rebounded in October with the biggest monthly jobs gain in more than a year, though the increase fell below economists’ expectations.The Labor Department said employers added 261,000 jobs last month, follow...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2017

Thinking Thin

The idea of lean started with Sakichi Toyoda, a Japanese inventor and industrialist who pioneered the idea of “autonomation,” otherwise known as “intelligent automation” or “automation with a human touch,” according to Wikipedia.Sakichi applied this idea to looms — weaving devices used to make cl...

By Kerry Maruna • Nov. 3, 2017

US Economy Surges 3% Despite Hurricanes

The U.S. economy posted another solid quarter in the July-September period, defying expectations that the recent hurricanes might knock it off track.The nation’s gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3% in the third quarter following a 3.1% gain in the previous quarter. It was the ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 30, 2017

Fund Adviser Accused of $229K Expenses Fraud

A former senior partner at Apollo Management has been charged with defrauding private-equity fund clients he advised by billing them for about $290,000 in personal expenses, including family vacations and visits to a hair salon.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Mohammed Ali Rashid,...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 25, 2017

What to Expect as a Portfolio-Firm CFO Candidate

An experienced CFO can join a middle-market private equity-backed portfolio company with a base salary between $250,000 to $350,000 plus bonuses and equity. Altogether, with equity, a high-performing CFO could make millions of dollars and then do it again with another firm.Thomas Bonney Given tha...

By Thomas Bonney and David Haslam • Oct. 20, 2017

Housing Starts Fall to Lowest Level in a Year

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma put a damper on U.S. housing construction in September while a decline in building permits raised fears that the housing market recovery is stalling.The Commerce Department said housing starts fell at a 4.7% month-over-month clip fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rat...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 19, 2017

Gas Prices Drive 0.5% CPI Gain in September

U.S. consumer prices continued a mini-surge in September as gas prices soared due to hurricane-related supply disruption but the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure remained weak.The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, or cost of living, increased 0.5% last month, t...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 16, 2017