Today In Finance

Cash Bashing

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

In crisis mode, a top priority for small and mid-sized companies has become managing cash flow more aggressively to keep the business going, a CFO Research study shows. How are finance executives from small and mid-size companies ensuring adequate capitalization...(read more)

Contingency Fans

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Litigation is often considered the bane of Corporate America. But one British firm considers it an asset. The surplus of corporate litigation in the United States is rarely viewed as a positive, but for at least one British firm it constitutes a unique...(read more)

Thaw Continues in Corporate Bond Market

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Four new issues set for launch today, including Brown-Forman, Tyco International Finance, TransCanada Pipelines, and Devon Energy. At least four new corporate bond issues slated for today alone suggest that that market, anyway, has gotten off to a strong...(read more)

Ex-GlobeTel CFO Now Faces Tax Charges

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Thomas Jimenez, already cited in a civil SEC case, is alleged to have evaded taxes in connection with an alleged scheme to hide millions of receivables and liabilities. A finance executive already facing civil charges from government regulators is now...(read more)

SEC Names Kroeker Acting Chief Accountant

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:00:00 GMT

The former deputy chief will lead the agency's Office of Chief Accountant. The Security and Exchange Commission's deputy chief accountant, James Kroeker, has been named acting chief accountant by SEC chairman Christopher Cox. Kroeker replaces...(read more)

Best of 2008: Top CFO Europe Magazine Stories of the Year

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Need to catch up? Here are the ten most popular stories that appeared in the print edition of CFO Europe magazine throughout 2008. Dash for Cash With credit at a premium, freeing up funds from working capital gains a new urgency. (Includes scorecard ...(read more)

Arid Venture IPO Market Likely to Drag On

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:00:00 GMT

Report shows that there were no venture-backed offerings in the latest fourth quarter. The 2008 desert known as venture-backed initial public offerings was devoid of oases in the fourth quarter. And for the entire year there were just six such IPO exits...(read more)

And Now for the Good News...

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:00:00 GMT

Here are ten bright spots to savor amid the economic gloom. The financial headlines are grim, but every cloud has a silver lining, right? Right? That old adage is being severely tested these days, but we did manage to unearth a handful of positive developments...(read more)

Madoff Case Triggers Wider Probe of SEC

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

"Many of us have lost confidence in the SEC," a Congresswoman declares. The attempt to determine whether the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to do its job in detecting the $500 billion Ponzi scheme put together by Bernard Madoff will...(read more)

Dutch Airliner Lessor Gets $1.4B Financing

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

AerCap Holdings wins a guarantee from the European Export Credit Agencies; deal covers much of the remaining Airbus A330 ordering. AerCap Holdings N.V., a global aircraft and engine leasing company, said it will receive up to $1.4 billion in financing...(read more)

GE Capital Taps Debt Market for $10B

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

The largest offering to be backed by the FDIC, it includes two-year notes, 3.5-year notes, and one-year and 18-month floating-rate notes. General Electric Capital Corp. is tapping the capital markets with a $10-billion, four-part sale of notes. The sale...(read more)

Parratt Named SEC's Corporation Finance Director

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The veteran of 22 years at the key division will have an "acting" role until Obama's choice for SEC chair, Mary Schapiro, can decide on a permanent choice. The deputy director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Corporation...(read more)

All Eyes on Treasury

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

The function that no one likes to think about is now getting plenty of attention, and even a little respect. Cash-flow traffic cop, investment expert, in-house banker, judge of capital-investment decisions, financial risk manager — treasury departments...(read more)

Deals: Nowhere to Go but Up

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:00:00 GMT

In our M&A Roundup for the week ended Jan. 4, a mere 16 North American transactions are arranged, with only Chesapeake Corp.'s billion-dollar bankruptcy buyout topping $150 million. Dealmaking nearly disappeared in the transition week between...(read more)

Insurance Outlook: Higher Prices by Year's End

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

But if the global recession continues to spiral downward, many companies will try to slash their insurance bills by resorting to various forms of self-insurance, a new report predicts. Following five years in the bargain basement, property-casualty insurance...(read more)

Waterford's Bleak Gaze in the Crystal Ball

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Iconic luxury products maker Waterford Wedgwood files for bankruptcy, joining a host of British consumer-products companies in receivership. Waterford Wedgwood PLC became the latest consumer products company or retailer to file for bankruptcy. Its stock...(read more)

Which One When?

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 09:00:00 GMT

A roundup of key accounting deadlines, developments, and detours to watch for in 2009. Molasses gets a bad rap for being slow — particularly in January — but 90 years ago this month more than 2 million gallons of it flooded the city of Boston...(read more)

And in This Corner, the Price-Fighter

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:01 GMT

While it's tempting to cut prices during tough economic times, a better approach may be to introduce a "fighter brand." At first glance this may not seem like the ideal time for you to greenlight a new product launch. After all, consumers...(read more)

What Goes Down Will Come Up

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:01 GMT

Fossil-fuel betas put energy risk in its place. Only last April, Michael Graff of Graff Trucking predicted catastrophe if diesel prices climbed higher. "I'm at the point where I'm questioning my ability to continue to operate," he said...(read more)

SEC: Fair Value's Savior

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT

In report to Congress, the commission defends mark-to-market accounting but expects standard-setters to better explain how to implement the rules. The Securities and Exchange Commission, as expected, has decided not to suspend mark-to-market accounting...(read more)

Best of the Worst of 2008: The Crisis

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Lessons from the fall. The financial crisis of 2008 was building for a long time, but Sept. 15, the day Lehman Brothers went under, may be considered the day all hell officially broke loose. What at first seemed to be a banking crisis rapidly spread,...(read more)

Layoffs Take a (Brief) Holiday

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Likely it's a year-end anomaly, as signs of economic problems are hardly abating. But the job losses continue at AMD, Interface Inc., Kemet, Textron, and Unisys. The rapid pace of layoffs slowed a bit as Corporate America — with its record November...(read more)

No End to the Nightmare

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Detroit has been given a brief reprieve, but the threat of bankruptcy still looms. The sense of relief in Detroit that greeted the $17.4 billion federal lifeline thrown by President Bush to General Motors and Chrysler just before Christmas is unlikely...(read more)

Return to Wealth

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:00:00 GMT

UBS has had a terrible crisis. That may help it have a better aftermath. "FAIL fast, fail early" is a management mantra in many industries. Identify the projects that will not pay off quickly, and the costs of failure are capped. Banks have...(read more)

Global Crisis Group Offers Integrity Backstop

CFO.com: Today in Finance — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:00:00 GMT

U.S. and international accounting standard-setters form a monitoring body to help the industry cope with future political storms. The newly established Financial Crisis Advisory Group — a heavyweight board made up of current and former regulators...(read more)