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

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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

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

Consumer Credit Jumps $24.5 Billion in May

Consumer borrowing grew in May at the fastest pace in a year and a half, driven by a particularly large increase in revolving credit.The U.S. Federal Reserve said rose $24.5 billion in May after an increase of $10 billion the previous month. It was the biggest monthly gain since a rise of $24.8 b...

By Matthew Heller • July 10, 2018

Job Gains Top 200,000 for 2nd Straight Month

The U.S. economy posted another month of solid employment growth in June and the labor force swelled as workers came off the sidelines to look for jobs.The Labor Department reported Friday that employers added 213,000 new jobs last month, the second straight month that job growth has topped 200,0...

By Matthew Heller • July 6, 2018

Fed Looks Toward End of Years of Stimulus

The Federal Reserve could raise interest rates over the next year to a level that would no longer be “accommodative” of economic growth.According to the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting in June, many participants noted that if gradual increases in the target range for the federal funds ra...

By Matthew Heller • July 6, 2018

Trump Tariffs Backfire With Harley-Davidson Move

Harley-Davidson said Monday it would shift some production of its iconic bikes overseas to avoid retaliatory European Union tariffs that it said threaten the viability of its business in Europe.The company — which President Donald Trump last year hailed as a “true American icon” — said the EU tar...

By Matthew Heller • June 25, 2018

Fed Raises Rates, Expects 2 More Hikes in 2018

The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year, maintaining a gradual pace of increases aimed at keeping the U.S. economy from overheating.The Fed on Wednesday lifted the federal funds rate, which helps determine rates for mortgages, credit cards and...

By Matthew Heller • June 14, 2018

U.S. Business Inventories Rise 0.3% in April

U.S. business inventories rebounded in April from a decline the previous month, reflecting in part a significant rebound in retail inventories.The Commerce Department reported Thursday that inventories held by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers grew 0.3% month-on-month after slipping 0.1% ...

By Matthew Heller • June 14, 2018

Small-Company CFOs Need Mid-year Check-ups

Like any small-business CFO, I am taxed with a multitude of competing priorities. Working in a highly regulated industry like financial services only compounds this reality.However, given today’s volatility and complexity, a mid-year business review should be a priority for any finance chief at s...

By Heather Hall • June 14, 2018

Data Security Distracts CFOs from ‘Day Jobs’

If only CFOs could fully get back to doing their day jobs of helping set and execute on company strategies and overseeing financial reporting activities. Instead, they’re stuck spending way more time than they’d prefer on keeping criminals at bay.Concern about data security is at an all-time high...

By David McCann • June 13, 2018

CPI Posts Biggest Annual Gain Since Early 2012

The steady climb in U.S. inflation continued in May as the rising cost of gas helped push consumer prices to their biggest annual gain in more than six years.As The Wall Street Journal reports, “Inflation, long sluggish in the wake of the 2007-09 recession, picked up in recent months,” with the F...

By Matthew Heller • June 12, 2018