What Is The Most Important Leadership Attribute? Surveys Find Integrity Rules, But Perceptions Vary by Age Group, Company Size When it comes to the people who lead them, professionals place a greater emphasis on personal qualities than a hard-driving business edge, recent research from Robert Half Management Resources found. Three-fourths of workers cited integrity as … Read more
Short-sighted decisions can alienate customers and cost sales for any size business Here is a true story from which several business lessons can be learned. A while back, I needed to reach a friend who worked in the local office of a national company. Searching online—and yes, even the phone book—I found only a toll-free … Read more
Used machinery is flooding the secondhand market, piling more pain on equipment makers battling slack demand from any customer that mines, moves or refines commodities amid a global slump in the value of everything from coal to corn. Instead of buying a new $500,000 bulldozer or $300,000 excavator, many construction firms and other equipment users … Read more
Lenders are tightening the credit spigots for businesses, raising concerns about an economy that’s already facing global headwinds and a rising risk of recession. The Federal Reserve’s senior loan officer survey, due out Monday, is expected to show that banks toughened their corporate and industrial loan standards for the fourth straight quarter in the April-June period … Read more
Instead of ending “too big to fail,” the Dodd-Frank Act has created a culture where businesses are “too small to succeed,” according to the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Speaking Thursday – the sixth anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) called the act “one of the main reasons why we’re … Read more
Savvy finance executives are seeing increased regulatory and financial reporting requirements as transformation opportunities, according to a new study released today by the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network and sponsored by Tagetik, a visionary leader in global performance management software solutions. While global financial and regulatory reporting demands have grown exponentially over recent years, CFOs are … Read more
Big banks are nearly half a trillion dollars in the hole. Since the start of 2016, 20 of the world’s bigger banks have lost a quarter of their combined market value. Added up, it equals about $465 billion, according to FactSet data. Brexit isn’t all to blame. True, bank stocks have plummeted since the U.K. … Read more
A crisis is a litmus test for effectiveness of a company’s reputation. And the skills, commitment and judgement of management and the board of directors will determine how well the enterprise weathers the storm. While many directors take very seriously their roles in managing through a crisis, a White Paper prepared by Osler, Hoskin & … Read more
Problems in the energy sector are starting to show up in bank earnings, providing a bit more clarity on how much of a hit financial institutions will take from faltering commodity prices. Still, it’s tough to get a firm read on the impact of energy, since some of the information is disjointed or lumped in with other parts of … Read more
U.S. manufacturing appeared to stabilize in February, with production accelerating and new orders holding steady at higher levels, in another dose of good news for the economy after growth slowed in the fourth quarter. The economic outlook was further bolstered by another report on Tuesday showing construction spending scaling a more than eight-year high in … Read more