December 2008 - Posts
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Behind in your reading? Below are the ten most popular stories that appeared in the print edition of CFO magazine throughout 2008. Future Tense The financial crisis obliterated corporate forecasts. Now, CFOs struggle to assess what lies ahead. Goodbye...
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Re-training America's workers: Thousands of workers are losing their jobs. America now faces the hard task of getting them back to work. Moira McKamey is one of many Americans with more free time than she would like. In November DHL, an express delivery...
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Survey shows 56 percent of employers not making plans for increases or decreases, with job-cutters outnumbering hirers 16 to 14 percent. Even as the drumbeat of layoffs grows around the country, most companies in a new survey that they're planning...
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Executives learn the fine art of collaboration through the Second Life virtual world at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. With the credit crunch bearing down on them, finance executives may feel like escaping to an alternate reality...
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The SEC's proposed timeline confirmed regulators are serious about pursuing global standards but shaky on the details. CFOs will have to figure out the specifics on their own. The Securities and Exchange Commission's timeline, proposed in late...
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The paperboard and plastic packager joins E-retailer Parent Co. and heating-appliance maker in entering bankruptcy proceedings. Paperboard and plastic packager Chesapeake Corp. joined the growing ranks of companies filing for bankruptcy, and agreed to...
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Termination of a $300m working capital facility by the energy company is alleged by the investment bank to constitute a default on another agreement. But Reliant disagrees. Merrill Lynch is suing Reliant Energy for terminating a $300 million working capital...
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It's the tool finance folks just hate to love — but do. Reader comments to this year's "Spreadsheet Worst Practices" were so numerous that we turned your responses into several more articles. Talk about tapping a rich vein of knowledge...
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Long-pursued revisions in reporting allow use of new technologies in accounting for reserves, and give shareholders more data. Unamimous approval of the long-expected revisions in Securities and Exchange Commission oil and gas company reporting requirements...
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In our M&A Roundup for the week ended Dec. 28, the year ends with only 21 transactions being signed, garnering a mere $1.1 billion. Dealmaking continued to dwindle as 2008 neared its last days, with only American International Group's $742-million...
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S&P reports that downgrades outnumbered upgrades by 13 to 1 in November and the first half of December. The investment-grade bond market may be slowly thawing, but the junk bond market remains all but frozen, and it's not hard to see why. Credit...
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Standard-setters propose last-minute guidance, effective for year-end financials, that an accounting expert predicts will boost the apparent value of some securities. Standard-setters have thrown their fair-value critics a bone in the waning days of 2008...
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American Apparel promotes an executive to fill the seat vacated six months ago, after the company's flamboyant CEO publicly called its then-CFO a "loser." American Apparel and its controversial CEO, Dov Charney, have selected a new CFO who...
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"Accounting and governance risk" measurement by Audit Integrity finds TARP recipients worse off in certain areas. After an attempt to measure the "accounting and governance risk" of the financial services companies being bailed out...
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It was a taxing year in more ways than one. Here are our most popular articles on dealing with the IRS and state tax authorities. Year-end may be the best time to review corporate tax-related coverage. And CFO.com this year offered up a raft of timely...
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While it was a rocky year for everyone, especially investment bankers, new career opportunities abounded. It was either a very bad or very good year for finance executives. The game of musical CFO chairs only spun faster, hordes of investment bankers...
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Companies are feeling a little less trapped by spreadsheets these days. Larry Reader's patience had worn thin. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that too many financial decisions rested on homegrown spreadsheets packed with too much impenetrable...
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