U.S. Wholesale Stocks Climb 0.3% in January

U.S. wholesale inventories rose unexpectedly in January as sales tumbled, suggesting that inventory overhang will continue to be a drag on economic growth.The Commerce Department said Wednesday that wholesale stocks increased 0.3% after being unchanged in December. Economists polled by Reuters ha...

By Matthew Heller • March 9, 2016

Red Skies and Blue Oceans

The results of the Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook survey for the first quarter of 2016 bring to mind the cautionary saying, “Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.” Finance and corporate executives in the survey are anxiously scanning the horizon for any signs of the red ...

By David W. Owens • March 9, 2016

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

U.S. Beats Expectations With 242,000 Job Gain

While other countries may be showing signs of a real slowdown, the U.S. continues to add jobs, with better-than expected gains in February.Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February, and the unemployment rate held at 4.9%, the Labor Department said Friday. Economists on ave...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • March 4, 2016

Three Reasons to Shed Your Idle Assets

It’s psychologically difficult for management to sell idle assets. Senior executives often rationalize the decision to hold onto assets well beyond their productive usefulness with seemingly valid reasons. But upon further review, often these are merely excuses.Three particularly counterproductiv...

By Marwaan Karame • March 1, 2016

Global Government Debt to Rise 2% in 2016

The amount of global government debt continues to rise, with the bulk of the growth being fueled by the U.S., China, Brazil and India, according to a Standard & Poor’s report cited by Reuters.The rating agency said the stock of global government debt was expected to rise 2% to $42.4 trillion ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Feb. 29, 2016

Listen: The Changing Role of the Professional Services CFO

CFOs in the professional services space are being asked to expand their roles and responsibilities to include strategic planning, growth, risk management, regulatory compliance, technology infrastructure, human capital, and acquisition due diligence. Finance executives are being asked the questio...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Feb. 29, 2016

Consumer Spending Increases 0.5% in January

January economic data posted Friday by the Commerce Department was positive on a number of fronts: consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in eight months as incomes continue to post gains, and inflation is starting to firm up.Personal spending rose 0.5% in January, a sharp acceleration from D...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Feb. 26, 2016

Eurozone Growth Slows for 2nd Straight Month

A measure of Eurozone economic activity declined in February to its lowest level in just over a year, increasing the odds of more stimulus from the European Central Bank in March.Markit’s Eurozone composite purchasing managers index (PMI) fell from 53.6 in January to 52.7, the lowest since Januar...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Feb. 22, 2016

Listen: How CFOs Can Boost Efficiency and Performance with Automation Technology

With so many methods of automation at their fingertips, CFOs are interested in learning more about business-process management and workflow tools. Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President of Nucleus Research joined Mary Beth Findlay, Editorial Director with CFO Publishing to discuss the latest in automa...

By CFO Editorial Staff • Feb. 22, 2016

U.S. Housing Starts Drop 3.8% in January

U.S. housing starts fell unexpectedly to a three-month low in January but economists said the decline likely does not indicate any long-term weakness in the housing market.Groundbreaking fell 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.099 million units, the lowest rate since October, the U.S....

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 17, 2016

Square Stock up 8% on News of Visa’s Stake

This article originally stated an incorrect month and year for Square’s IPO. It has been corrected.Visa has disclosed the size of its stake in Square, fueling speculation about its plans with the mobile payments startup in which it invested in 2011.In a regulatory filing, Visa said it acquired so...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 16, 2016

U.S. Retail Sales Start Year on Strong Note

Stock market turmoil and economic instability apparently didn’t faze shoppers in January as retail sales rose more than expected, boosted by continuing low gas prices.Spending at retail stores and restaurants rose 0.2%, ahead of the 0.1% increase predicted by economists surveyed by the Wall Stree...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 12, 2016

January Data Still Show Solid Labor Market

Winter weather slowed U.S. job growth last month, though the unemployment rate still fell to an eight-year low and wages rose for workers.Nonfarm payrolls rose by 151,000 jobs in January, following revised gains of 262,000 in December and 280,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Feb. 5, 2016

Microsoft Makes AI Play With Deal for SwiftKey

Microsoft is ramping up its commitment to artificial intelligence by acquiring SwiftKey, the U.K. developer of an app that uses predictive technology to simplify typing on mobile keyboards.Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the Financial Times, citing people familiar with the matter, said M...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 3, 2016

How to Optimize Project Portfolio Management

All CFOs realize the value of actively managing their organization’s investment portfolio, but those who understand the value of managing their project portfolio the same way can add insight to discussions in the boardroom about maintaining competitive advantage.Mark A. Langley Project portfolio ...

By Mark A. Langley • Feb. 3, 2016

U.S. Economic Growth Slows to 0.7% in Q4

The U.S. economy showed sluggish growth in the fourth quarter but the dip may not necessarily foreshadow a long-term slowdown.Gross domestic product increased at a 0.7% annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday, just below the 0.8% rate economists had expected. The economy had advanced ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 29, 2016

CEOs, CFOs Misaligned on Reinvesting Cost Savings?

You might think that after a decade or two as a staple corporate activity, cost-reduction efforts would have already squeezed out the vast majority of excess spending.But quite the opposite appears to be true, given the priority companies are still putting on cost containment, primarily because o...

By David McCann • Jan. 28, 2016

Introspection Leads Longtime Big Four Partner to CFO Role

Sticking with a top-tier accounting firm for decades before walking into a CFO post is hardly an unheard-of career arc, but it’s not what you’d call common. Most young accountants at such firms get a few years of audit experience under their belts before venturing into the corporate world, while ...

By David McCann • Jan. 21, 2016

CEO Confidence Takes Hit From China Slowdown

China’s economic slowdown and the global slump in oil prices is squashing the confidence of chief executives.Just 27% of CEOs expect global economic growth to improve over the next 12 months, compared with 37% at the same time last year, according to PwC’s Annual Global CEO survey released in Dav...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 20, 2016

Wal-Mart to Close 269 Stores, Cut 16,000 Jobs

Wal-Mart Stores said Friday it was closing 269 stores, including all 102 of its Walmart Express stores, a small-format concept that the retailer has struggled to make as profitable as Supercenters.The closures represent less than 1% of both Wal-Mart’s global square footage and revenue, but about ...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 15, 2016

Producer Prices Drop 0.2% in December

Plummeting energy prices drove down U.S. producer prices in December, lowering expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target would be met this year.The Labor Department on Friday said its producer price index fell 0.2% after increasing 0.3% in November. For all of 2015, produce...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 15, 2016

Fight Heats up Over Facebook Service in India

Internet rights groups have accused Facebook of making “unfounded and divisive attacks” on critics of its program to bring low-end Web service to India’s rural poor.Since Indian regulators in late December requested that Facebook halt Free Basics until it turned over more information about the te...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 8, 2016

Growth Rate for Service Firms Slows in December

Service-oriented companies grew in December for the 71st consecutive month, but at the slowest rate since April 2014, according to the Institute for Supply Management.The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday its non-manufacturing index (NMI) fell to 55.3% from 55.9% in November. Reading...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 7, 2016

Private-Sector Hiring Ends 2015 on Strong Note

In the latest indication of a strengthening U.S. labor market, private-sector employers added 257,000 jobs in December, the biggest gain of the year, according to ADP.The payroll processor said in its monthly employment report that the service sector fueled most of December’s gain, hiring 234,000...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • Jan. 6, 2016

Manufacturing Activity Contracts Again

Economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in December for the second consecutive month, sending the Institute for Supply Management’s factory gauge to its lowest level in more than six years.The institute reported that its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 48.2 from 48....

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 5, 2016