Newell Continues ‘Accelerated Transformation’

Newell Brands has agreed to sell its Pure Fishing and Jostens businesses to private equity firms for a total of about $2.5 billion as the struggling consumer products company continues to execute its turnaround plan.Under its “accelerated transformation” strategy, Newells is seeking to divest non...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 7, 2018

U.S. Holiday Sales to Pass $1 Trillion Milestone

U.S. shoppers are expected to pass a milestone this holiday season by spending more than $1 trillion for the first time, with both physical and online sales increasing as low unemployment and income growth fuel consumer confidence.In its latest forecast report, market research firm eMarketer pred...

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 6, 2018

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. Adds 250,00 Jobs, Wages Rise 3.1%

The U.S. economy posted an unexpectedly strong gain in jobs in October while average wage growth topped 3% for the first time in nine years.The Labor Department reported Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 250,000 last month, well above economists’ estimates of a gain of 200,000....

By Matthew Heller • Nov. 2, 2018

Brexit: No Cause for Celebration

You know the breathless media hype about Brexit has gone into overdrive when the dreaded countdown clock makes an appearance. There it is on the (London) Telegraph’s website, counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the United Kingdom leaves the European Union — as if March 29, 2...

By Kevin Butler and TMF Group • Oct. 18, 2018

Geopolitical Realities May Stifle Economic Growth

Last year, executives told A.T. Kearney that they were very concerned about geopolitical instability — and at the same time, that they were bullish on the macroeconomic outlook.The consulting firm disagreed with the sanguine assessment that geopolitical tensions would not affect the global econom...

By David McCann • Oct. 18, 2018

U.S. Budget Deficit Swells to $779B in FY 2018

The U.S. budget deficit grew to $779 billion in fiscal 2018 — the highest level since the height of the Great Recession — as President Donald Trump’s tax cuts ate into corporate tax revenues.The Treasury Department reported on Monday that the budget shortfall increased by $113 billion, or nearly ...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 16, 2018

IMF Chief Warns of Economic Nationalism Risks

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has issued a warning against economic nationalism, saying countries need to “sail together” to avoid a slowdown in growth.The IMF has projected 3.9% global growth for 2018 and 2019. But in a speech in Washington on Monday, Lagarde said “there ar...

By Matthew Heller • Oct. 2, 2018

Consumer Spending Growth Slows to 0.3%

The pace of growth in U.S. consumer spending slowed in August but economists had expected a slowdown after five straight strong gains.The Commerce Department reported Friday that spending rose 0.3% last month, in line with economists’ expectations and the smallest increase since February.The repo...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 28, 2018

Fed Hikes Rates for Third Time This Year

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time this year as it continues to chart a gradual course of rate hikes amid projections of at least three more years of economic growth.The rate increase announced Wednesday lifted the benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter of a ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 27, 2018

NetApp Strives to Shed Hardware-only Image

In a world where, to the casual observer, all things technology seem to be moving to the cloud, NetApp is determinedly straddling both that world and its traditional hardware space.Since well before CFO Ron Pasek joined the Fortune 500 data management company in April 2016, it has self-identified...

By David McCann • Sept. 26, 2018

CFOs Back Immigration Reform to Aid Hiring

Finance chiefs are expressing strong support for easing restrictions on foreign students as they struggle to hire and retain qualified employees, according to the latest Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey.Eighty-percent of survey respondents believe the U.S. government should rout...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 13, 2018

Juniper Networks Makes Less Money — On Purpose

Through the first six months of 2018, Juniper Networks saw its revenue dwindle by 9.6% from the same period a year earlier. However, its cost of revenue fell by a much smaller proportion — just 1.4%.Given those numbers, it’s no wonder that Juniper’s profits weighed in at just a bit more than half...

By David McCann • Sept. 12, 2018

Trump Threatens Tariffs on All Chinese Imports

In a further escalation of his trade feud with China, President Donald Trump has threatened to, in effect, tax essentially all Chinese goods imported into the United States.As the White House is finalizing plans to impose tariffs of up to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese imports, Trump said more ta...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 10, 2018

Argentina Takes Steps to Ease Currency Crisis

Argentina has announced new austerity measures to close its budget gap amid a currency crisis that has seen the value of the peso decline by almost 50% against the dollar this year.The announcement of new taxes on exports and steep cuts to spending came as Finance Minister Nicolas Dujovne prepare...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 4, 2018

One CFO’s Road to a New Career in Fintech

Understandably, newly hired finance chiefs — especially those in their first such role — often don’t have much to say to the outside world about the strategies they’ll be pursuing or what success might look like in the new job.Still, they can have important voices. Indeed, one’s path to the job a...

By David McCann • Sept. 4, 2018

U.S. Consumer Spending Rises 0.4% in July

U.S. consumers took their spring spending surge into July while a key inflation measure hit its highest level in six years as the economy continued to heat up.The Commerce Department reported Thursday that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose ...

By Matthew Heller • Sept. 3, 2018

Small Companies Carry Greatest Cyber-Risk

At small businesses, rank-and-file employees may be more aware of the threat from cyber-crime than are company leaders.It seems so, at least, from a finding in a recent survey of more than 600 full-time employees and 100 C-suite-level leaders at companies with fewer than 500 employees.In the surv...

By David McCann • Aug. 28, 2018

Fed Chair Defends Policy of Gradual Rate Hikes

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has reiterated the central bank won’t be swayed from its path of gradual interest rate hikes, suggesting the policy can keep inflation in check without slowing economic growth.The Fed has come under attack from President Trump, who said last month he was “no...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 27, 2018

U.S. Budget Deficit Widens to $77B in July

The U.S. budget deficit rose sharply to $77 billion in July, with a big drop in corporate tax payments accounting for much of the shortfall.The Treasury Department reported that receipts increased 1% last month to $225 billion and outlays jumped 10% to $302 billion. The $77 billion gap represente...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 13, 2018

Core Inflation Posts Annual Gain of 2.4% in July

[Editor’s note: When this post was first published, the core inflation gain was given as 2.9%. The story and headline have since been corrected.]U.S. core inflation rose in July at the fastest annual pace in seven years amid a sharp increase in housing costs, though economists expect inflation to...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 10, 2018

China Threatens Tariffs on $60B in U.S. Goods

The trade war between the United States and China intensified on Friday as Beijing threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods ranging from liquefied natural gas to foods containing chocolate.The Chinese move, which would affect $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, came just two days aft...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 3, 2018

Fed Stays on Track for Gradual Rate Hikes

The U.S. Federal Reserve has held firm on interest rates after its latest policy meeting but signaled no deviation from its course of gradual rate hikes, possibly setting the stage for a confrontation with President Trump.The Fed has already bumped rates up twice this year, with the benchmark fed...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 2, 2018

Consumer ‘Wants’ Push Up Spending in June

U.S. consumer spending grew 0.4% in June, according to the Commerce Department, pushed by spending on restaurants and accommodations. Automobile sales were also strong.“More spending on ‘wants,’ not ‘needs,’ is always a good sign of consumer confidence,” Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital ...

By William Sprouse • July 31, 2018

Ford Forms New Unit to Lead Drive Into AVs

Ford Motor is accelerating its push into the self-driving business by consolidating all its autonomous vehicle operations into a new subsidiary.Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC will include the automaker’s self-driving systems integration, AV research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-...

By Matthew Heller • July 31, 2018

Producer Prices Rise 3.4% Year on Year in June

U.S. producer prices rose in June at the highest yearly rate in almost seven years, suggesting inflationary pressures are increasing amid a fast-growing economy.The Labor Department said Wednesday the producer price index for final demand climbed 0.3% last month after a 0.5% gain in May. In the 1...

By Matthew Heller • July 11, 2018