U.S. Factory Activity Posts 7th Straight Gain

U.S. manufacturing activity rose for a seventh straight month in March while employment in manufacturing climbed to its highest level since June 2011, according to the Institute for Supply Management.In its latest Report on Business, the ISM said its index of national factory activity fell slight...

By Matthew Heller • April 4, 2017

Insurance’s Innovation Gap

When Soubhagya Parija moved from his job as risk strategy director at Walmart to the post of chief risk officer at the New York Power Authority in 2015, he learned that corporations “could do with more innovation from the insurance industry.”Parija was having trouble finding coverage for the util...

By David Katz • April 3, 2017

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

Special Report: Commercial Insurance at the Crossroads

Each day, it seems, fresh reports of the nation’s inability to respond to Russian attacks during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign spotlight what may be a vast asymmetry between cyber risks and our institutions’ ability to handle them. Although the biggest news of cyber threats has lately cente...

By David Katz • April 3, 2017

Consumer Spending Slows to 0.1% Increase

U.S. consumer spending posted the smallest gain since August while inflation continued to show signs of firming, with one measure showing its biggest annual gain in nearly five years.The Commerce Department said personal consumption rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in February after a unrevised 0....

By Matthew Heller • March 31, 2017

Corporate Profits Climb 0.5% in 4th Quarter

U.S. corporate profits rose for the third time in four quarters but some analysts are paring back their forecasts for the first quarter of this year amid some doubt about the positive impact of President Trump’s fiscal policies.The Commerce Department said adjusted-pretax profits rose at a 0.5% a...

By Matthew Heller • March 31, 2017

Amazon to Shut Down Quidsi’s Shopping Sites

Amazon is shutting down Diapers.com and five other shopping websites operated by Quidsi, citing the failure of the division to turn a profit since Amazon acquired it in November 2010.The shutdown will result in the loss of more than 250 jobs at Quidsi, which was founded by Marc Lore, now the head...

By Matthew Heller • March 30, 2017

Durable Goods Orders Rise 1.7% in February

Orders for durable goods manufactured by U.S. companies rose for a second straight month in February though a category that reflects business investment plans slipped slightly.The Commerce Department said orders rose 1.7%, topping economists’ expectations of a 1.2% increase and following January’...

By Matthew Heller • March 27, 2017

What U.S. Patent Owners Lost in Trump’s TPP Pullout

Trade agreements often include detailed provisions on intellectual property that push our trading partners to conform to U.S. standards of protection. The Trans Pacific Partnership is just such an agreement.When Donald Trump, in one of his first acts as president, directed the U.S. trade represen...

By Jay Erstling • March 24, 2017

Oil Prices Fall as Crude Stocks Hit New Record

Oil prices slid to four-month lows on a U.S. government report that showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose to a new record last week.According to the Energy Information Administration, crude stocks hit 533.1 million barrels after surging 5 million barrels in the week to March 17, nearly double an...

By Matthew Heller • March 23, 2017

The Gains and Losses of Mercantilism

These are interesting times for those of us who make our living advising clients on matters of international trade. With the new presidential administration, there is a new attitude toward the utility of sweeping, multilateral free-trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the...

By Pete Mento • March 22, 2017

Pragmatists, Radicals Vie on U.S. Trade Policy

In January, the Trump Administration stormed into office after proclaiming to anyone who would listen that decades of Washington-sponsored multilateral trade deals were costing hundreds of thousands of Americans their jobs, U.S. corporations their profits. and the government its bargaining positi...

By Johan Gott • March 21, 2017

The Parable of the Wizard and NAFTA

There once was a very powerful wizard who, quite late in his life, cast the Spell of the MAGA, which allowed him to become the ruler of a great kingdom. But though he ruled all he could see, he was not happy, because he was certain the kingdom to his south was causing great hurt to his land.“This...

By Gregory Husisian • March 20, 2017

Protectionism Hits the Global CFO

The United States and other powerhouse global economies currently stand at a watershed moment, waiting for the rules of global trade to be rewritten. This uncertainty adds to the challenges facing the modern CFO, who must drive business growth while ensuring compliance with the new playbook.On th...

By Bodhi Ganguli • March 17, 2017

Tax Refund Delays Slow Retail Sales Growth

U.S. retail sales slowed sharply in February after big gains the previous two months as delays in tax refunds apparently offset the mild weather.The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.1%, matching economists’ estimates, while a measure of core sales —  which excludes the volatile s...

By Matthew Heller • March 16, 2017

Producer Prices Post 2.2% Year-on-Year Gain

Prices paid by U.S. businesses for goods and services posted their largest year-on-year gain in nearly five years last month as rising oil prices and a weaker dollar continued to fuel inflationary pressures.The Labor Department said its producer price index jumped 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted ba...

By Matthew Heller • March 15, 2017

Jobs Report Boosts Case for Interest Rate Hike

The case for the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates later this week may have been sealed by another strong employment report.The Labor Department said employers added 235,000 jobs in February, well above analysts’ expectations and the average monthly payroll growth for all of last year....

By Matthew Heller • March 13, 2017

Trade Deficit Rises 9.6% to Near 5-Year High

After declining in December, the U.S. trade deficit rose to a near five-year high in January amid a surge in imports, illustrating how difficult it may be for President Trump to fulfill his campaign pledge to reduce America’s trade gap.The Commerce Department said the trade deficit increased 9.6%...

By Matthew Heller • March 8, 2017

Factory Goods Orders Rise 1.2% in January

New orders for U.S.-made goods rose more than expected in January, a second straight increase that indicated the recovery in the manufacturing sector is continuing to gain strength.The Commerce Department said factory goods orders rose 1.2% after an unrevised 1.3% jump in December. Economists pol...

By Matthew Heller • March 7, 2017

The CFOs Who Wouldn’t Be King

Chief financial officers in the United States are feeling wildly optimistic about the country’s economic prospects, guardedly optimistic about their company’s prospects, and not very optimistic at all—in fact, for the most part, downright pessimistic—about the prospects for their own career advan...

By Josh Hyatt • March 2, 2017

Industrial Strength

The heart of Donald Trump’s economic policy and much of his rhetoric focus on keeping factory jobs in the United States. The president has personally courted large companies with tax breaks and incentives, and announced a manufacturing jobs program aimed at getting “Americans back to work again.”...

By CFO Editorial Staff • March 2, 2017

Durable Goods Orders Rally With 1.8% Gain

Orders for durable goods manufactured by U.S. companies rose more than expected in January but the gain was due entirely to the aerospace industry.The Commerce Department said orders rose 1.8% after two months of declines, topping economists’ expectations of a 1.7% increase amid a 69.6% jump in o...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 28, 2017

GOP Voters Fuel Rise in Consumer Sentiment

The latest reading of a gauge of consumer sentiment indicates an “unprecedented partisan divergence” between how Republicans and Democrats see the economy.The University of Michigan said its final reading of consumer sentiment was 96.3 in February, up from the preliminary reading of 95.7 earlier ...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 27, 2017

Jobless Claims Indicate Labor Market Strength

The number of Americans making initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but the four-week moving average of claims fell to its lowest level since July 1973.The Labor Department said initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, increased 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 24, 2017

Consumer Prices Post Biggest Gain in 4 Years

The latest U.S. government data on retail sales and consumer prices may have shortened the odds that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again next month.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that retail sales rose 0.4% in January following an upwardly revised 1.0% gain the previou...

By Matthew Heller • Feb. 16, 2017

Company With the Best Reputation: Amazon

Now that a precedent has been set for a businessperson being elected president, and considering that the U.S. populace remains severely divided over politics, there can be only one logical choice for the next president.Drum roll please: Amazon.com boss Jeff Bezos.OK, so Bezos told Billboard on Do...

By David McCann • Feb. 15, 2017