How Verticalization Cuts Costs, Boosts Customer Value

“One size fits all” works for expandable baseball caps. But when it comes to reaching customers, meeting their needs, and enhancing their business models and operations, it may be the wrong size. Today, businesses are collecting a lot of information about their customers, and they are using it to...

By Gary Crowe • July 22, 2016

Startup CFO’s Mantra: People First, Finance Second

Cheryl Dalrymple’s title is CFO. But inside, a big chunk of her heart beats for capital of the human type.Dalrymple, a serial finance chief for technology startups, joined her latest employer, Confluent, last January. As with several previous gigs, she’s the company’s first CFO.Confluent is in an...

By David McCann • July 21, 2016

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. Consumer Prices Increase 0.2% in June

Consumer prices in the United States rose for a fourth straight month in June but the gain was less than expected, with cheaper food costs offsetting higher shelter and energy prices.The consumer price index increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, the Labor Department said Friday, follow...

By Christopher Hosford • July 15, 2016

How Federal, State, Local R&D Incentives Are Supporting Startups

For entrepreneurs seeking to expand a small business or start a new one, access to capital is the most critical factor to success. But many fledgling organizations lack what it takes to secure private financing, such as strong balance sheets and lead investors.One solution to this conundrum? The ...

By Chai Hoang, Janet Bernier, and Chris Bard • July 15, 2016

CBO Raises 2040 Debt Forecast to 122% of GDP

If current tax laws and government spending remain generally the same, the federal debt will nearly double as a percentage of GDP over the next 30 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.In its latest Long-Term Budget Outlook, CBO projected the debt will climb from a current 75% of GD...

By Matthew Heller • July 14, 2016

GE CFO Eyes “Infinite Returns” from Industrial Internet

If General Electric gets its current move into the industrial internet right, Jeffrey S. Bornstein thinks, the sky will be the limit.Currently about a year into its transformation from an industrial giant at least partly focused on finance to a full-blown industrial internet company, GE is puttin...

By David Katz • July 12, 2016

KPMG Tax Partner Accused of Insider Trading

A tax partner at KPMG has been accused of tipping off his broker to three pending mergers involving clients of the accounting firm as part of an insider trading scheme from which a friend of the broker made more than $110,000 in profits.In a civil complaint filed Thursday, the U.S. Securities and...

By Matthew Heller • July 8, 2016

Job Growth Surges in June After Spring Slump

Employers in the U.S. added far more jobs than expected last month, easing concerns about an economic slowdown fueled by May’s anemic job growth.Total non-farm payroll employment increased by a seasonally adjusted 287,000 in June, the Labor Department reported Friday, after an increase of only 11...

By Christopher Hosford • July 8, 2016

U.S. Consumer Spending Rises 0.4% in May

After a sluggish start to 2016, consumer spending shows signs of bouncing back.Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.4% in May from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected personal spending to increase 0.4%.Persona...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 29, 2016

U.S. Durable Goods Orders Fall 2.2% in May

U.S. businesses were already investing less due to rising economic uncertainty even before Britain voted to leave the European Union.New orders for manufactured durable goods in May unexpectedly fell 2.2% to $230.7 billion, after rising 3.3% in April, the Commerce Department said Friday. Non-defe...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 24, 2016

Brexit Vote Hits U.S. Cos. Hard, But Differently

[Editor’s note: this article has been updated to provide stock market index prices at the close of the trading day.]Although shares of U.S.-based companies overall were hit hard today following Britain’ 52% to 48% vote to leave the European Union, the immediate and longer term effects of Brexit o...

By David Katz • June 24, 2016

U.S. Economy to Grow Just 2.2% in 2016, IMF Says

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its growth forecast for the U.S. economy, citing the strong dollar and the slowdown in corporate investment.The fund is now predicting growth of 2.2% this year, down from 2.4% in April, while its 2.5% growth forecast for 2017 remains unchanged.“The past...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 23, 2016

Cost-Burdened Renters Reach Record Numbers

Highlighting the growing imbalance between rising rents and stagnant wages, Harvard University reported Wednesday that the number of cost-burdened renters in the U.S. has reached an all-time high.Personal finance experts generally recommend budgeting around 30% of monthly income to cover housing ...

By Matthew Heller • June 22, 2016

Rio Gets $849 Million Pre-Olympics Bailout

The Brazilian government is providing the financially embattled state of Rio de Janeiro with an $849 million bailout just weeks before the Olympic Games begin.Rio’s governor had declared a “public calamity” last week as a result of its deteriorating finances, which have been hit by a decline in o...

By Matthew Heller • June 22, 2016

IMF Sees Brexit Having Negative Economic Effect

If Britain votes this week to leave the European Union, the economic effects on the country would likely be “negative and substantial,” the International Monetary Fund warns in a new report.With financial markets around the world on edge ahead of the June 23 referendum, a poll for the Sunday Time...

By Matthew Heller • June 20, 2016

U.S. Housing Starts Fall 0.3% After April Surge

U.S. housing starts fell slightly in May but the pace of home building remains well ahead of last year amid steady demand from buyers.Groundbreaking declined 0.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,164,000 starts, the Commerce Department said Friday, with a 0.3% increase in single-family h...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 17, 2016

CFOs on the Move: Week Ending June 17

Nasdaq has appointed Michael Ptasznik to head finance, effective July 11. Ptasznik, who takes over for interim CFO Ronald Hassen, has been finance chief at TMX Group since 2002.David Bullwinkle, CFO, Eastman Kodak David Bullwinkle has been promoted to the top finance spot at Eastman Kodak, effect...

By Joan Urdang • June 17, 2016

Retail Sales Show Another Strong Gain in May

U.S. retail sales had another strong month in May, avoiding a slowdown from April’s surge as categories including cars, clothing, and online retail posted solid gains.The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.5% last month after gaining 1.3% in April. Economists had been expecting gro...

By Matthew Heller • June 16, 2016

Zenefits to Make Second Round of Job Cuts

Struggling human resources software startup Zenefits is making a second round of job cuts as it seeks to recover from a scandal over its broker training and compliance processes.The layoffs of more than 100 staff, or about 9% of its workforce, are part of a restructuring that also includes shutti...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 15, 2016

Industrial Production Remains ‘Tepid’ in May

U.S. industrial production fell more than expected in May as even the weakening of the dollar and a rally in oil prices apparently weren’t enough to give the nation’s factories a jolt.Output decreased 0.4% last month after increasing a downwardly revised 0.6% in April, the Federal Reserve said We...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 15, 2016

IMF Warns of China Corporate Debt Dangers

Rising corporate debt is “a key fault line” in the Chinese economy that the country must tackle soon, a top International Monetary Fund official warned Monday.Corporate debt represents about 145% percent of China’s gross domestic product, which is “very high by any measure,” first deputy managing...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 13, 2016

House: Puerto Rico Rescue Not a Bailout

The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill to help Puerto Rico dig out of its financial mess.H.R. 5278, termed the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act or PROMESA (the Spanish word for “promise”), would create a financial oversight board with the au...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 10, 2016

Oppenheimer Fined $3M Over ETF Sales

Oppenheimer & Co. has agreed to pay $3 million to settle charges alleging improper sales of about $1.7 billion in non-traditional exchange-traded funds to retail investors.The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on Wednesday said the money manager executed more than 30,000 transactions be...

By Matthew Heller • June 8, 2016

The Business of Politics

According to the most recent Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook survey, nearly half (47%) of United States firms are pulling back on either hiring or spending plans due to political uncertainty, fueled by the upcoming election and continuing Washington dysfunction.In the context...

By CFO Editorial Staff • June 8, 2016

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens 5.3% in April

The U.S. trade deficit widened in April but the increase was less than economists expected and exports of goods improved as the dollar’s rally eased.The Commerce Department said the goods and services deficit rose 5.3% to $37.4 billion in April, as exports rose 1.5% to $182.8 billion, while impor...

By Katie Kuehner-Hebert • June 6, 2016