U.S. Wage Growth Hits Highest Level Since 2009

U.S. employers added more jobs than expected in January and wages saw their biggest jump since the end of the Great Recession, suggesting the long-awaited surge in salaries may be on the horizon.The Labor Department said nonfarm payrolls grew by 200,000 last month, beating economists’ expectation...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 5, 2018

How to Know When Better Profit Margins Aren’t Better

Ask CEOs if the ability to increase profit margins year after year would help their companies compete more successfully against peers, and you’re likely to hear a resounding yes. After all, if making a profit is a company’s raison d’être, cutting costs or increasing prices to improve profit margi...

By Tim Koller and Jack McGinn • Feb. 2, 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

US Productivity Posts Unexpected 0.1% Drop

U.S. productivity finished 2017 with a surprising decline but economists are still hopeful for faster growth this year as the new tax law spurs business investment.The Labor Department reported Thursday that output rose 3.2% in the fourth quarter while hours worked grew slightly faster at 3.3%. T...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 1, 2018

Rising Lawsuits Could Hike Insurance Premiums

With the number of shareholder lawsuits soaring, CFOs are likely to soon become preoccupied with their companies’ insurance premiums and the need to make scrupulous disclosures, a review of last year’s securities class-action lawsuits suggests.Reaching a record high for the second straight year, ...

By David Katz • Jan. 31, 2018

U.S. GDP Growth Falls Back to 2.6% for Q4

The U.S. economy couldn’t keep up its recent growth spurt, falling back to a pace below 3% in the fourth quarter amid a surge in imports.In its first of three estimates, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at a 2.6% annual rate in the October-December period. Economists ...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 29, 2018

U.S. Oil Production to Hit New Record in 2018

The United States is on course to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s second-largest oil producer, with output expected to hit record levels this year, according to the International Energy Association.U.S. crude production now stands at 9.9 million barrels per day, the country’s highest level i...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 19, 2018

Amazon Announces Finalists for Second HQ

Amazon has whittled down the list of candidates for its much-coveted second headquarters, delivering snubs to some cities in the western U.S. and including some surprise locations.The list has now shrunk from more than 238 applications submitted by local officials in Mexico, Canada and the U.S. t...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 18, 2018

U.S. Import Prices Rise 0.1% in December

U.S. import prices don’t seem likely to give much of a boost to inflation in the near term after recording their smallest gain in five months.The Labor Department said on Wednesday that the price of imported goods edged up only 0.1% in December after increasing 0.8% in November. It was the smalle...

By Matthew Heller • Jan. 10, 2018

CFO Magazine’s Most-Read Stories of 2017

Two-thousand and seventeen was a year of numerous newsworthy events from start to finish. America inaugurated a new president, passed a tax reform bill, saw regulations slashed, witnessed an economic boom in the jobs market, and looked in amazement at the meteoric rise of bitcoin, just to name a ...

By Kerry Maruna • Jan. 5, 2018

Weekly Jobless Claims Unchanged at 245,000

The number of Americans making initial claims for state unemployment benefits slightly exceeded expectations in the week that ended Dec. 23 but remained within the range of the past two months.The Labor Department said initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, were unchanged at a seasonally ad...

By Matthew Heller • Dec. 29, 2017

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

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