OECD Urges Immediate Action on Coronavirus

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on Monday urged governments to act immediately to address the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, predicting the disease could slash growth in half this year.In its latest interim economic assessment, the OECD said growth would sl...

By Matthew Heller • March 2, 2020

U.S. Consumer Spending Increases 0.2% in January

U.S. consumer spending slowed in January while inflation remained low, possibly setting the stage for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates amid concerns that the coronavirus outbreak could trigger a recession.The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending, which accounts for ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 28, 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

Airlines Brace for Profit Hit From Coronavirus

The coronavirus outbreak is raising fears of a broad slowdown in travel that could bring the U.S. airline industry’s long run of profitability to an end.U.S. airlines in 2019 posted their 10th consecutive year of profitability but their shares have already taken a hit as investors worry about the...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 27, 2020

Sizing Up the U.K.’s Flatlining Productivity

Most of the world may think we’re long past the financial crisis of 2008. But new research suggests that in the United Kingdom, and perhaps elsewhere, the harm has been much more lasting — and still needs correcting.According to new data that only makes the timing of Brexit more worrisome, during...

By David McCann • Feb. 27, 2020

Salesforce to Buy Vlocity in Vertical CRM Move

After months of speculation about a possible deal, Salesforce has agreed to buy Vlocity for $1.33 billion as it seeks to build its industry-specific CRM software business.Vlocity’s solutions for industries including communications and media, energy and utilities, health, insurance, and financial ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 26, 2020

Intuit Eyes Millennials With $7B Credit Karma Buy

Intuit is buying credit score app Credit Karma for about $7.1 billion in a move to expand its financial product offerings.The acquisition, the largest ever for Intuit, will give the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks financial software access to one of the most popular financial applications for yo...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 25, 2020

Wexner Sells 55% of Victoria’s Secret for $525M

Leslie Wexner’s L Brands company is selling its controlling stake in Victoria’s Secret to private equity firm Sycamore Partners for $525 million, having failed to turn around what was once a lingerie behemoth.The turnaround effort had been led by Wexner, a retail legend whose decision to part way...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 20, 2020

Dell Sells RSA for $2B to Streamline Portfolio

Dell Technologies has agreed to sell RSA for $2.075 billion to a consortium of investors led by private equity firm Symphony Technology Group in another move to streamline its security offerings.The deal will bring the consortium five security products — RSA Archer, RSA NetWitness Platform, RSA S...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 19, 2020

Chinese Province Offers Coronavirus Coverage

China’s Hainan province has teamed up with a consortium of insurers to try to ease the disruption for businesses hit by the country’s coronavirus epidemic.According to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the Hainan government will provide China’s first insurance policy against ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 17, 2020

Nasdaq Offers Exclusive Home for Small Cap Issuers

Nasdaq is seeking to become the exclusive trading venue for the small cap companies that are listed on the exchange.Currently, small caps have “unlisted trading privileges” (UTP), which allow their shares to be traded on any of the 13 national securities exchanges even if they are not listed ther...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 6, 2020

EBay Shares Jump on Report of $30B ICE Offer

EBay shares got a bump on reports that the owner of the New York Stock Exchange had offered to buy the struggling online marketplace though some analysts questioned the rationale for a deal.Intercontinental Exchange said eBay had not “engaged in a meaningful way” and the companies were not in neg...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 5, 2020

Middle Market CFOs Pursue Aggressive 2020 Agendas

Many middle market companies, relatively unfazed by the specter of recession and ongoing international trade tensions, aren’t opting to playing it safe by socking away cash and scaling back expansion plans, a new survey shows.In a poll by BDO of 700 finance chiefs at U.S. companies with revenue b...

By David McCann • Feb. 4, 2020

Banks Expect Tighter Consumer Loan Standards

U.S. banks expect to tighten lending standards this year, reflecting concerns over loan performance, particularly in the consumer sector.The Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers found that significant net shares of banks expect performance to deteriorate in 2020 for both cre...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 4, 2020

For Post-Brexit Britain, Now the Hard Work Starts

Britain could be going from the frying pan to the fire as it formally leaves the European Union on Friday after its bruising, three-and-a-half year Brexit battle.With Britain no longer being a member of the EU, it will now have to redefine its relationship with the EU — and that, according to CNN...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 31, 2020

U.S. Economy Posts Smallest Annual Gain Since 2016

The U.S. economy delivered another quarter of modest growth, getting a boost from a temporary drop in imports as business investment continued to decline.The Commerce Department reported Thursday that gross domestic product rose at a 2.1% rate in the fourth quarter, matching the third quarter and...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 30, 2020

Budget Deficit Forecast to Top $1 Trillion in 2020

The U.S. budget deficit will exceed the symbolic $1 trillion barrier this year, the Congressional Budget Office said, warning that the nation’s debt is growing at an “unsustainable” rate.The CBO estimated the gap between federal revenue and spending will reach $1.02 billion in 2020, approaching t...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 29, 2020

Bar Louie Files Chapter 11 to Pursue Asset Sale

Gastropub chain Bar Louie has filed bankruptcy and closed dozens of its locations, citing declining sales as consumers shift away from casual dining.While a turnaround effort has improved the performance of most of Bar Louie’s 110 locations, 38 “have seen their sales and profits decline at an acc...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 28, 2020

China GDP Growth Rate Slows to 6.1% in 2019

China’s economy grew at the slowest rate in 30 years in 2019 amid weak domestic demand and the trade conflict with the U.S.Gross domestic product increased 6.1%, matching analysts’ expectations but well below the 6.6% gain in 2018. Growth last year was the slowest since 1990.For the fourth quarte...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 21, 2020

Microsoft Unveils Plan to Go ‘Carbon Negative’

Microsoft has launched what it called a “moonshot” climate initiative, pledging to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits by 2030.The company has been carbon neutral since 2012, canceling out its emissions by purchasing renewable energy and carbon offsets. But on Thursday, it commit...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 17, 2020

Visa Makes Fintech Move With $5.3B Plaid Buy

Visa has agreed to acquire fintech startup Plaid for $5.3 billion in a move to accelerate its push into connecting consumers to financial services.Plaid provides API software that enables customers including peer-to-peer payment app Venmo, mobile investing app Robinhood, and cryptocurrency exchan...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 14, 2020

Global Debt-to-GDP Hits Record 322% in Q3

The global debt-to-GDP ratio hit a new all-time high in the third quarter of 2019, raising concerns about the financing of infrastructure projects.The Institute of International Finance reported Monday that debt-to-GDP rose to 322%, with total debt reaching close to $253 trillion and total debt a...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 13, 2020

U.S. Job Growth Slows Unexpectedly to 145,000

U.S. payroll and wage growth missed expectations in December, rounding off what one economist called a “year of consolidation” amid a tight labor market.The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 145,000 jobs last month, well below November’s 256,000 gain. The unemployment rate hel...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 10, 2020

World Bank Cuts 2020 Growth Forecast to 2.5%

The World Bank has lowered its global economic growth forecast again, citing downside risks including a re-escalation of global trade tensions, conflict in the Middle East, and debt levels in emerging economies.In its latest half-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the bank predicted growth ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 9, 2020

Acquirers Again Underperformed the Broader Market in 2019

Companies that acquired other companies underperformed the broad market in 2019 for a third consecutive year, according to an analysis by Willis Towers Watson and the University of London’s Cass Business School.Acquirers’ share-price performance trailed that of the MSCI World Index by 5.0 percent...

By David McCann • Jan. 9, 2020

Impossible Foods Pulls Plug on McDonald’s Deal

Impossible Foods won’t be helping McDonald’s with its move into meatless burgers, possibly opening the door for rival Beyond Meat to become the supplier of plant-based patties to the Golden Arches.By adding the No. 1 burger chain as a customer, Impossible Foods would have jumped well ahead of Bey...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 8, 2020