GDP Growth Revised Upward to 3% for Q2

U.S. economic growth in the second quarter was stronger than originally reported, reaching President Donald Trump’s target amid robust consumer spending and business investment.In its second of three estimates, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that gross domestic product rose at a 3% annual...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 30, 2017

Consumer Confidence Shows Surprise Gain

A measure of consumer confidence rose to its second-highest level of the year in a survey that also found consumers are becoming more upbeat about business conditions.The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index increased to 122.9 in August from 120.0 in July, despite economists’ expectations...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 30, 2017

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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

The Roots of Organic Growth

Growth is a tonic for most companies. It attracts talent and creates strategic options while generating financial resources to fund new moves — provided the growth is profitable. It’s also been harder to come by over the past decade, as a sluggish macroeconomic environment and accelerating, techn...

By Kabir Ahuja, Jesko Perrey, and Liz Hilton Segel • Aug. 28, 2017

U.S. Tightens Economic Vise on Venezuela

The Trump administration on Friday imposed new sanctions on Venezuela, barring U.S. banks and investors from buying new bonds from the government or the state-run oil company in a move that could intensify the country’s financial crisis.President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorizing...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 25, 2017

Durable Goods Orders Fall to Three-Year Low

Orders for durable goods manufactured by U.S. companies fell by the largest amount in three years in July but the report also showed another gain in business spending.The Commerce Department on Friday said orders for long-lasting goods declined 6.8% after a 6.4% gain in June. It was the biggest d...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 25, 2017

Facing Competition, FinancialForce Taps Seasoned CFO

FinancialForce, an enterprise resource planning vendor that operates on Salesforce’s cloud-based platform, today named seasoned Silicon Valley senior finance executive Gordon Brooks as its finance chief, replacing John Bonney. Gordon Brooks Although FinancialForce had nothing to say about any int...

By David Katz • Aug. 24, 2017

Seven Accused in $5M Insider Trading Scheme

Seven people have been charged with making more than $5 million in illicit profits through insider-trading rings that centered around a former Bank of America technology consultant.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said that the consultant, Daniel Rivas, misused his access to a BofA com...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 17, 2017

Retail Sales Post Biggest Gain in Seven Months

Economists have been expecting the U.S. economy to pick up steam in the second half of the year and that view got some support from the latest retail sales report — with a bit of help from Amazon.The Commerce Department said retail sales jumped 0.6% in July, the largest gain since December 2016 a...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 16, 2017

July Inflation Gain Not Enough to Please Fed

U.S. consumer prices rose in July for the first time in three months but the increase was less than expected as inflation remains soft.The Labor Department reported that the consumer price index, or cost of living, increased 0.1% last month, while the rate of inflation over the past 12 months ros...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 14, 2017

Sustainability Is a Key to Future Competitiveness

Traditional measurements of company value like total shareholder return (TSR) and market capitalization may help identify what companies are presently the healthiest. But, according to a new study by Accenture, they don’t have much to say about prospects for future competitiveness.The reason, Acc...

By David McCann • Aug. 9, 2017

U.S. Employers Add 209,000 Jobs in July

The U.S. economy posted higher-than-expected strong job growth in July, continuing a summer surge, though wage increases remained sluggish.The Labor Department said employers added 209,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in June, matching May’s 16-year low.Econo...

By Matthew Heller • Aug. 7, 2017

Economy Rebounds From Slow Start to 2017

The U.S. economy in the second quarter shrugged off its weak start to the year, reflecting a major boost from consumer spending.In its advance estimate of growth, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.6% in the second quarter, compared to a revised r...

By Matthew Heller • July 31, 2017

Durable Goods Hit Three-Year High in June

Orders for durable goods manufactured by U.S. companies soared to a three-year high in June after two straight monthly drops but a closely watched proxy for business spending plans dropped for the first time since December.The Commerce Department said orders for long-lasting goods rose 6.5%, easi...

By Matthew Heller • July 28, 2017

IMF Isn’t Buying Trump’s 3% Growth Target

The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth over the next two years, citing the Trump administration’s lack of progress in implementing tax cuts and infrastructure improvements.President Trump has targeted 3% growth, a rate that has not been seen since the Clinto...

By Matthew Heller • July 24, 2017

Dodd-Frank Will Benefit CFOs in the Long Run

On the seventh anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, we are re-publishing this column.When upheaval struck the financial markets starting in 2007, chief financial officers absorbed much of the impact, whether they worked on Wall Street or Main Street. Dodd-...

By George W. Madison and William A. Shirley • July 21, 2017

Trump’s SEC Pick Jibes with Deregulatory Agenda

President Trump’s nomination yesterday of Hester Maria Peirce to fill one of two current vacancies on the Securities and Exchange Commission would add a commissioner likely to fit in well with SEC Chairman Jay Clayton’s deregulatory agenda.On at least two key issues, Peirce, whose previous nomina...

By David Katz • July 19, 2017

Inflation Flat in June As Slowdown Continues

Inflation continued to soften in June after hitting a five-year-high just five months ago, possibly undermining the belief of some Federal Reserve officials that the slowdown is just temporary.The Labor Department reported Friday that the consumer price index, or cost of living, was unchanged las...

By Matthew Heller • July 14, 2017

Yellen Skeptical About Trump’s Growth Target

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appears skeptical that the Trump administration can reach its target for economic growth, citing the sluggishness of worker productivity.Speaking before a Senate panel on Thursday, Yellen said the 3% GDP target ”is something that would be wonderful if you could ...

By Matthew Heller • July 14, 2017

Wholesale Prices Suggest Inflation Slowdown

In another indication that inflation may be stalling, U.S. wholesale prices increased only slightly in June, with most of the increase coming from rising prices for services.The Labor Department said the producer-price index edged up 0.1% last month after being flat in May. Economists surveyed by...

By Matthew Heller • July 14, 2017

RBS Settles Suit Over Toxic RMBS for $5.5B

Taking another step to resolve claims arising from its sales of toxic mortgage-backed securities, Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to pay the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency $5.5 billion.The settlement resolves a lawsuit that the FHFA filed in 2011 alleging violations of federal and state se...

By Matthew Heller • July 12, 2017

Yellen Says Financial Crisis Unlikely in Her Lifetime

The Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, said she did not believe there would be another financial crisis in her lifetime, citing the strength of reforms instituted in the wake of the 2007-2009 global crash.Fed Chair Janet Yellen Official portrait of Vice Chair Janet L. Yellen. Dr. Ye...

By William Sprouse • June 28, 2017

Email Security Firm ‘Matches Wits with Bad Guys’

The story of VMware is well known: an under-the-radar company brought to reality what had been considered a far-fetched idea — full virtualization of the omnipresent x86 computer architecture — that took off quickly and experienced massive growth. It was a classic case of a disruptive technology,...

By David McCann • June 20, 2017

Uncertainty Could Dampen Spending (Video)

The second-quarter Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook survey found that uncertainty about U.S. regulatory and trade policies is putting some business expansion on hold.More than one-third of U.S. survey respondents (36%) report that the level of uncertainty their companies face is curren...

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 15, 2017

Productivity Growth Revised Upward to Zero

Revised government figures show U.S. productivity in the first quarter wasn’t as weak as originally reported but still turned in the worst performance since the second quarter of last year.The Labor Department said Monday that nonfarm productivity, which measures hourly output per worker, was unc...

By Matthew Heller • June 5, 2017

Modest Jobs Gain Not Seen Deterring Rate Hike

U.S. job growth was well below expectations in May but the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 16 years and economists are still predicting an interest rate hike this month.The Labor Department reported that employers added 138,000 net new jobs last month, compared to economists’ estima...

By Matthew Heller • June 5, 2017