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☆ CFOs Warily Watch—and Wait—for an Acceleration in Fed Interest-Rate Hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

For some finance chiefs of companies such as auto retailer Sonic Automotive Inc., the possibility that the Fed will raise interest rates by a larger half-percentage-point later this month comes as little surprise given that consumer spending remains strong and hiring continues to be robust. The Federal Reserve stands ready to accelerate interest-rate hikes to combat inflation, central bank Chair Jerome Powell said in congressional testimony the past two days. Some finance chiefs who are already pushing their companies to do more with less amid rising costs said they are closely monitoring the impact of what comes next. Mr. Powell’s comments, delivered during semiannual hearings before Senate and House panels, open up the possibility that a larger half-point interest rate increase may be in store when Fed officials meet for their two-day policy meeting March 21-22. “The latest economic data have come in stronger than expected, which suggests that the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” he told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.

☆ Women aren't investing at the same rate as men. Here's why it matters—and how the gap can be closed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

BNY Mellon also interviewed 100 global asset managers with $60 trillion in assets under management. One is that the investment industry isn't engaging women to the same degree as men, BNY Mellon's research found. Then there is the high hurdle of the disposable income women think they need to have before they invest. On average, women around the world believe they need $4,092 a month before they would consider investing any of it, BNY Mellon found. "Once you control for income, many of those differences between men and women and investing behaviors kind of disappear.

☆ Big Companies Seeing Tax Benefits From Law Change Some of Them Fought
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Richard Rubin | Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Those companies now qualify for a bigger tax break for exports because of the way the research-deduction change alters their tax calculations. Photo: Dado Ruvic/REUTERSModerna saw that tax break jump to a 7.4 percentage-point benefit on its tax rate from 4.8 points in 2021, even as its cash tax payments rose. The change requiring companies to spread out research deductions was part of the 2017 tax law, and it was designed to partly offset the revenue loss from cutting corporate tax rates. PREVIEWAt the same time, the smaller research deduction means many companies can get a bigger advantage from the export tax break. The size of the FDII tax break is based in part on how much income a company has.

☆ FTX's lawyers and advisers cost $38 million for a month of work - and the bankrupt crypto exchange's new CEO charged $305,000 for February
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The army of professionals working with FTX billed $38 million in expenses for January. FTX CEO John Ray III submitted a bill for $305,565 for the month of February. Those three firms have over 180 lawyers and over 50 other staffers working on the FTX case, per the CoinDesk report. Sullivan & Cromwell billed 14,569 hours of work in January for a total of $16.8 million. Meanwhile, FTX's trading arm sued Grayscale this week in a bid to claw back $250 million to repay customers.

☆ Why Gen Zers are asking about work-life balance during job interviews
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Gen Zers are prioritizing jobs where they can make a difference without burning themselves out. And many Gen Zers — myself included — have prioritized work-life balance. To find the right match, some in Gen Z ask hiring managers in interviews whether the company encourages work-life balance. Five Gen Zers shared how they're broaching work-life balance without risking their candidacy or feeding into the stereotype that they're lazy. "Gen Z is willing to have the difficult but essential conversations before they commit to a job," Kim said.

☆ The 1% Stock-Buyback Tax Hasn’t Slowed Repurchases. A Proposed 4% Tax Might.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Executives largely shrugged off a new 1% tax on stock buybacks as the cost of doing business. Even with the 1% tax, stock buybacks are the preferred way to return cash to shareholders, Mr. Krone said at a conference in February. Stock repurchases by Berkshire and the publicly traded companies it owns benefited investors, he wrote in the Feb. 25 letter. For one, share repurchases typically don’t commit them to continuing to buy shares, and offer flexibility on timing. “We only really consider share repurchases when we have an attractive repurchase price,” the CFO said.

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☆ Santander boss Botin expected to extol Europe, payout to sway investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Shares in Santander, the euro zone's second-biggest bank by market value, have fallen 47% since Sept. 10, 2014, while the European Stoxx 600 banks index (.SX7P) is down around 18%. "The bank will have a tailwind ... because half of the money comes from Europe. PAY-OUT FOCUSSome analysts expect a higher shareholder payout to be main plank of Santander's investor update in London. But lower valuations than European rivals and a better outlook for retail banks could help drive a share price rebound. Santander trades at a price to book value of 0.65%, compared to an average 0.73% from European peers.

☆ Mexico Congress approves law giving armed forces airspace monitoring duties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Mexico's Congress on Wednesday approved a law giving the nation's armed forces a dominant role in airspace surveillance and defense, a measure proponents say is vital to national sovereignty and security. The reform was sent to Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to be signed into law after being approved by the Senate, which is dominated by the ruling Morena party. Mexico's defense ministry will now have under its command a new National Center for Surveillance and Protection of Airspace to monitor airspace and "inhibit and counteract" air operations that threaten national security, according to the document approved by legislators. Opposition senators condemned the law and argued it weakens the civil authority in charge of airspace navigation and bolsters a military that has grown stronger under Lopez Obrador. "Today the Armed Forces co-governs with Lopez Obrador," opposition Senator Emilio Alvarez said during debate on the matter.

☆ Rising Interest Rates May Bring Higher Pension Costs for Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Rising interest rates have boosted corporate pensions, with funded status reaching a 20-year high in the second half of last year. But rising rates may not prove so kind to companies, from Delta Air Lines Inc. to Sysco Corp. , and their pension costs this year. Within the last year, interest rates rose significantly while asset values fell, driving up pension accounting costs. Plan sponsors that measured these costs at the end of 2022, for instance, saw much higher interest rates than a year earlier, he said, which pushes 2023 balance sheet costs up. The higher costs were driven by a reduction in return on plan assets and higher interest costs, which were only partially offset by higher discount rates, the building materials maker said in a regulatory filing last month.

☆ Nicaraguan political prisoners' families seek their release after others freed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MANAGUA, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The relatives of 35 political prisoners in Nicaragua called for their release on Tuesday, days after 222 others in the same category were freed and expelled to the United States following a surprise deal with Washington. The prisoners, considered political by human rights groups, include 56-year-old anti-government Bishop Rolando Alvarez, one of the Central American country's most influential church leaders. He refused to board the U.S.-bound plane last week and was returned to jail, stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship and then sentenced to a 26-year term. "Our relatives were on the official list of political prisoners and were not taken into account for release," the Committee of Relatives of Political Prisoners told a news conference. After the prisoner release, President Daniel Ortega said two prisoners refused to board the plane while Washington rejected four others.

☆ An undocumented worker was able to pay rent because he got $2,000 as part of a UBI-like program that will now be permanent for Coloradans who lose their jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Leo Alvarez received $2,000 from a pandemic-era fund for undocumented workers who lost wages in 2020. The fund has led to a permanent unemployment assistance program for undocumented workers in Denver. The pandemic exacerbated inequalities for undocumented workers that advocates want states to address. In New York for instance, advocates want the state to make its fund for undocumented workers permanent. "This is not something that's a luxury," Jessica Maxwell of the Workers Center of Central New York told Spectrum News last month.

☆ Pope voices his concern for imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VATICAN CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Sunday spoke of his concern over the imprisonment of Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison in the Latin American country. The Pope's comments about Alvarez, who is a vocal critic of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, were made in his weekly blessing to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. Ortega has accused Catholic leaders of attempting to overthrow him after protests that killed about 300 people in 2018. Since then, the government of the former Cold War-era Marxist rebel has expelled Catholic nuns and missionaries. Alvarez was convicted on Friday of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news, among other charges.

☆ Nicaraguan Bishop Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( José De Córdoba | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Nicaraguan court tried and sentenced a Catholic bishop to a 26-year prison term Friday, just one day after President Daniel Ortega disparaged the cleric for refusing to leave the country with other political prisoners. Judge Octavio Rothschuh read the sentence on government-affiliated media, condemning Msgr. Rolando Álvarez, 56, on charges of undermining the state, spreading false news and resisting authority, among others.

☆ Nicaraguan Catholic bishop sentenced to decades in prison, citizenship stripped
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Ismael Lopez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Alvarez, bishop of the Matagalpa diocese, was convicted of treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news, among other charges. During Friday's court hearing it was also announced that he would be fined and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship. Originally scheduled for late March, the sentencing of the bishop, widely known by the Catholic honorific monsignor, was sped up without explanation. Rolando Alvarez is irrational and out of control," Silvio Baez, a senior Nicaraguan bishop exiled in Miami, wrote on Twitter after the sentence. A cameraman for a Catholic television channel was also arrested with them.

☆ Nicaraguan Catholic bishop sentenced to prison, stripped of citizenship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rolando Alvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Esteli and critical of the Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, prays at a Catholic church where he is taking refuge alleging he had been targeted by the police, in Managua, Nicaragua May 20, 2022. REUTERS/Maynor ValenzuelaMANAGUA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - A Nicaraguan court sentenced Catholic Bishop Rolando Alvarez to a more than 26-year prison term on Friday, a day after the cleric and critic of President Daniel Ortega declined to be expelled to the United States as part of a prisoner release. Alvarez was convicted on charges of undermining national integrity and spreading false news, and during Friday's court hearing it was also announced that he would be fined and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship. Last August, police arrested Alvarez, bishop of the Matagalpa diocese, after dislodging him after he had barricaded himself in church property for several weeks along with other priests. Reporting by Ismael Lopez; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Anthony EspositoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bed Bath & Beyond to wind down Canada operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 10 (Reuters) - Bed Bath & Beyond's Canadian operations are going out of business, according to a court filing on Friday, two days after the retailer quickly raised cash to stave off a U.S. bankruptcy. The Canadian division, which operates 54 Bed Bath & Beyond stores and 11 buybuy BABY stores, is insolvent, the filing posted on the website of consultancy Alvarez & Marsal showed. Bed Bath & Beyond in January had raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern just months after it announced more than $500 million in new financing, as well as job cuts and 150 store closures. As of Nov. 26, the Bed Bath & Beyond banner in Canada had total assets of about $427.4 million and total liabilities of about $342.8 million, the filing showed. Buybuy BABY Canada had assets worth $52.7 million and liabilities of about $86.9 million.

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☆ Factbox: Who was freed in Nicaragua's surprise political prisoners release?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Cristiana Chamorro and Pedro Joaquin ChamorroCristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest in 2021, just as she was leading Ortega in polls to unseat him as president at elections. Her brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was also arrested and jailed the same month, according to newspaper La Prensa. Arturo CruzAn academic who was Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, Cruz was arrested in 2021 after returning to Managua from Washington. Like Mairena, he was arrested in 2021 over accusations of crimes during the 2018 protests. On Thursday, he declined to board the plane to Washington, preferring to stay home instead, one of only two prisoners to do so.

Finance chiefs are coming into the year grappling with a variety of challenges, from rising interest rates and inflation to managing labor disruptions, pricing and inventory. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. “But…there’s more and more of a belief that any kind of downturn will be short and shallow, frankly. Some finance chiefs, meanwhile, are finding opportunities to expand in the volatile economy. You can’t take everything that your vendors are sending you.”Labor woes persistHiring, however, remains a challenge for finance chiefs.

☆ 2 firms helping with FTX's bankruptcy are seeking $13 million of payment for under 3 weeks of work, including nearly $20,000 for food
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two of those deal with less than three weeks of work, and seek a total of $13 million. Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell charges $2,165 an hour for the time of its partners, who did 2,267 hours of work. Partners did a total of 2,267 hours work on the case in the 19 days between November 12 and 30. Alvarez and Marshal, a management consulting firm, is also charging for its first 20 days of work, seeking $5.2 million for a total of 7,925 hours work. Landis Rath & Cobb and AlixPartners are both asking for over $900,000, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is seeking $1.2 million.

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The law firms that billed FTX are Sullivan & Cromwell, Landis Rath & Cobb, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Landis Rath & Cobb and Sullivan & Cromwell, FTX's primary legal firms, billed the company a combined $10.7 million for over 8,400 hours of work. Landis Rath & Cobb billed $1.16 million for work done between Nov. 11 and Nov. 30. Full compensation for legal and advisor fees will not occur until a final fee application is filed, whenever FTX's bankruptcy saga concludes. Lawyers for Sullivan & Cromwell did $40,000 worth of work just to appear in FTX's first bankruptcy hearing on Nov. 22, based on court filings of hours billed and hourly rates.

☆ U.K. Regulators Are Urged to Address Pension Risks After Last Year’s Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Jennifer Williams-Alvarez | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

It also prompted regulators and policy makers last year to start calling for action to address the risks related to LDI strategies. As the crisis unfolded, U.K. pension funds began rushing to raise cash to satisfy collateral calls triggered by the moves on the government bonds. The committee, which in part scrutinizes the work of government agencies, said regulators failed to sufficiently focus on the risks associated with LDI strategies. This meant that while interest rates were falling, pension funds benefited. There should additionally be stricter limits and reporting on the amount of leverage allowed in LDI funds, the committee chair said.

☆ Kane's record-breaking goal seals Tottenham win over Man City
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - February 5, 2023 Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane scores their first goal past Manchester City's Ederson and becomes Tottenham Hotspur's all time top goalscorer REUTERS/David KleinLONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Manchester City's bid to chop Arsenal's Premier League lead to two points was scuppered as Harry Kane's record-breaking goal earned Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win over the champions on Sunday. Kane's 15th-minute effort punished some sloppy City passing and made him the north London club's all-time top goalscorer with 267, taking him past former great Jimmy Greaves whose record had stood since 1970. Tottenham then withstood a late City siege with some tenacious defending to clinch a third win in four league games over Pep Guardiola's side. Tottenham, whose manager Antonio Conte was absent after having surgery to remove his gallbladder, are fifth on 39 points from 22 games, one behind Newcastle United. "Sooner or later it is going to change, but it is strange we haven't scored one goal," Guardiola said of City's troubles with Tottenham.

☆ A Mexico soccer icon entered politics. Prosecutors say narcos followed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Cuernavaca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +27 min

Regional politicians, officials and military officers gathered in the Morelos state capital of Cuernavaca for breakfast in February 2022 to mark Mexico’s annual Army day. Mexican drug lords have a long tradition of buying off politicians in exchange for government protection of their illicit trade. Attempts to reach two of the alleged drug traffickers in the photo – Figueroa and Irving Solano Vera – were unsuccessful. Prosecutors in April asked the Morelos state congress to impeach Blanco so that he could be stripped of that shield. “He likes me very much because I’m not a politician,” Blanco told Reuters, in reference to the president.

☆ The Western-made tanks heading to Ukraine are unique — but that creates unique problems for Ukraine's military
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

While most modern tanks run on diesel, the Abrams uses a Honeywell 1,500-horsepower gas-turbine engine that functions best when burning JP-8 jet fuel. Challenger tanks were credited with destroying 300 Iraqi tanks. When Turkish Leopard 2s battled ISIS fighters in Syria in 2016, the results were less than impressive. Leopard manufacturer Rheinmetall has 22 Leopard 2s and 88 older Leopard 1s in its inventory, but those can't be made battle-ready until at least 2024. What matters is how many Ukraine will receive — 31 Abrams and 14 Challenger 2s are not a lot — and how Ukraine's military uses them.

☆ 4 reasons TikTok creators who never thought they'd try YouTube are suddenly embracing the platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Insider spoke to 10 TikTokers about why they're creating Shorts and longform content for YouTube. Then, last November, a change in the way YouTube pays creators shifted Taylor's thinking and pushed him to start posting on the platform. This year, she and her team will also start posting long-form videos in addition to Shorts on her channel. Creators are starting to fear that TikTok could get banned in the USFor some US creators, YouTube is the way to go because they worry that TikTok could be banned in the country. "Like Google's search engine, search on YouTube strives to surface the most relevant results according to keyword queries," a video posted on the company-owned channel YouTube Creators says.

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