Tuesday Morning Joins Retail Chapter 11 Parade

Discount home-goods retailer Tuesday Morning filed bankruptcy on Wednesday as its in-store sales only business model left it unable to weather the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.As USA Today reports, “The company joins a growing list of retailers that have tumbled into Chapter 11 bankruptc...

By Matthew Heller • May 27, 2020

Equipment Finance Borrowings Dip 7% in April

New business volume for equipment finance companies dropped 7% in April as companies lowered capital spending amid the coronavirus crisis.The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said the 25 companies it surveys for its Monthly Leasing and Finance Index signed up for $8.2 billion in new loan...

By Matthew Heller • May 27, 2020

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

Merck Enters Race to Develop COVID Vaccine

Merck is adding its muscle to the battle against COVID-19, announcing moves to develop a vaccine with an Austrian biotech firm and a research nonprofit.The world’s largest vaccine maker said Monday it will acquire Vienna-based Themis, which has been working with the Institut Pasteur on a COVID-19...

By Matthew Heller • May 26, 2020

Another 2.4M Workers File First-Time Jobless Claims

The U.S. labor market experienced another wave of first-time unemployment claims last week, indicating layoffs are continuing at a high rate even though some states are reopening their economies.The Labor Department reported Thursday that 2.44 million Americans filed for first-time benefits in th...

By Matthew Heller • May 21, 2020

JCPenney Files Chapter 11 Despite Turnaround Gains

After 118 years in business, JCPenney has filed for bankruptcy protection, saying the coronavirus pandemic has “wiped out” the progress it had been making in its “Plan for Renewal” transformation strategy.The iconic retailer entered the Chapter 11 process after reaching a restructuring agreement ...

By Matthew Heller • May 18, 2020

Core Inflation Posts Record 0.4% Drop in April

U.S. underlying inflation declined by a record amount in April as the coronavirus crisis sent consumer prices into a “disinflationary shock.”The Labor Department reported Tuesday that the core consumer price index, which excludes food and fuel costs, fell 0.4% in April — the largest monthly drop ...

By Matthew Heller • May 12, 2020

KKR Makes $750 Million Beauty Bet on Coty

Private-equity giant KKR is making a bet on cosmetics maker Coty that could ultimately total $4 billion and give it a majority stake in such hair care brands as Wella and Clairol.As part of a deal announced on Monday, Coty will sell preferred stock to KKR for $750 million, giving it a cash infusi...

By Matthew Heller • May 12, 2020

7.7% of U.S. Mortgages Now in Forbearance

The U.S. mortgage forbearance rate rose to nearly 7.7% of all active mortgages last week as Americans continued to seek relief from payments amid the coronavirus crisis.According to data firm Black Knight, 225,000 more borrowers took advantage of government and bank mortgage forbearance programs,...

By Matthew Heller • May 11, 2020

Virus Slams U.S. With Massive April Job Losses

The U.S. economy shed 20.5 million jobs in April, driving the unemployment rate up to a post-World War Two high and underscoring the devastating toll of the coronavirus pandemic on the labor market.The job losses were the steepest since the Great Depression, with the pain spread broadly across in...

By Matthew Heller • May 8, 2020

Neiman Marcus Takes ‘Stunning Fall’ to Chapter 11

Neiman Marcus filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday with its plans for a turnaround having been derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.CNBC said the Chapter 11 filing was a “stunning fall” for the luxury department store chain, which “had been struggling with competition from online rivals an...

By Matthew Heller • May 7, 2020

U.S. Treasury Shifts to Longer-Duration Debt

The U.S. Treasury Department will offer a 20-year bond for the first time since 1986 to fund its increased borrowing due to the government’s coronavirus relief spending.The 20-year bond is part of Treasury’s shift from bills to longer-duration securities as it seeks to borrow a record $3 trillion...

By Matthew Heller • May 7, 2020

U.S. Consumer Spending Plunges Record 7.5%

U.S. consumer spending fell by a record amount in March, reflecting the seismic shock to demand from coronavirus-related lockdowns.The Commerce Department reported Thursday that personal consumption expenditures declined by 7.5%, or $1.13 trillion, last month — the sharpest monthly drop on record...

By Matthew Heller • April 30, 2020

U.S. GDP Sinks 4.8% As Virus Ends Expansion

The longest economic expansion in U.S. history came to a shuddering halt in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic sent GDP tumbling into negative territory — with economists expecting far worse to come.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that gross domestic product contracted 4.8% ...

By Matthew Heller • April 29, 2020

CMX Files Chapter 11 Amid Theater Shutdowns

CMX Cinemas, the eighth-largest U.S. movie theater operator, has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy only a month after it called off its proposed acquisition of Texas chain Star Cinema Grill.CMX cited the economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic that has shuttered theaters throughout the...

By Matthew Heller • April 28, 2020

Embraer, Boeing Clash Over $4B Deal Collapse

Brazil’s Embraer said Monday it has initiated an arbitration proceeding to recover damages against Boeing for scuttling a $4.2 billion deal between the two companies.After two years of negotiations, Boeing on Saturday cited an inability to agree on final terms in terminating its proposed acquisit...

By Matthew Heller • April 27, 2020

SBA Clarifies PPP Loan Guidelines Amid Uproar

The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued new guidance for the federal government’s small business relief program amid an outcry over publicly-traded companies receiving loans.To obtain funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, applicants must certify that “current economic uncertainty ...

By Matthew Heller • April 23, 2020

SunPower Idles Production as Virus Hits Demand

Shares in SunPower Corp. tumbled after the solar panel maker said it was temporarily shutting down production at all five of its factories due to the coronavirus crisis.In a regulatory filing, SunPower announced it was idling the factories in France, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, and the U.S...

By Matthew Heller • April 21, 2020

Over 1.6M Small Firms Get Corona Crisis Loans

Around 1.66 million U.S. small businesses have secured $342 billion in loans under a federal coronavirus relief program, with construction companies taking the largest share.The Paycheck Protection Program is the centerpiece of the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed last month, offering p...

By Matthew Heller • April 20, 2020

Jobless Claims Hit Record 22M Over Four Weeks

U.S. weekly jobless claims soared for a third straight week as the coronavirus pandemic effectively wiped out all the jobs added to the economy since the Great Recession.The Labor Department reported Thursday that 5.2 million Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance in the wee...

By Matthew Heller • April 16, 2020

U.S. Retail Sales Plunge Record 8.7% in March

U.S. retail sales plunged by a record amount in March as coronavirus lockdowns kept consumers out of stores in almost all sectors, leaving only grocers, pharmacies and home centers posting gains.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales fell 8.7% last month, the biggest decline...

By Matthew Heller • April 15, 2020

IMF Predicts Worst Slump Since Great Depression

The global economy will likely suffer its worst contraction this year since the Great Depression due to the coronavirus pandemic, with prospects for a recovery in 2021 shrouded in “extreme uncertainty,” the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday.In its latest World Economic Outlook report, th...

By Matthew Heller • April 14, 2020

U.S. Consumer Prices Tumble 0.4% in March

U.S. consumer prices fell by the most in more than five years in March as the coronavirus pandemic pummeled demand, fueling concerns that the economy is heading toward deflation.The Labor Department reported Friday that the consumer price index dropped 0.4% last month amid a sharp decline in the ...

By Matthew Heller • April 10, 2020

Fed Offers More Support for Loans, Corporate Debt

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a new $2.3 trillion package of measures to support the coronavirus-battered economy, including a $600 billion loan program for small and mid-size businesses.In addition to launching the Main Street Lending Program, the Fed is expanding its backstops...

By Matthew Heller • April 9, 2020

Saudi Investment Fuels Rally in Carnival Shares

Carnival Corp. shares continued to rally on Wednesday as news of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the world’s largest cruise operator raised investor hopes that it can stay afloat through the coronavirus crisis.The Saudi kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund disclosed on Monday that it had built an 8.2% st...

By Matthew Heller • April 8, 2020

SoFi Buys Payments Processor Galileo for $1.2B

SoFi has made a major move to add payments functionality to its personal finance platform by agreeing to acquire software company Galileo for $1.2 billion.Galileo specializes in application programming interfaces (APIs) that power functionalities including account set-up, direct deposit, ACH tran...

By Matthew Heller • April 8, 2020