|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chamber of Commerce Sues Over Trump’s New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good morning, CFOs. The Chamber of Commerce is standing up to President Trump over a new H-1B visa fee; EY’s global revenue grows 3.9% on surge in AI-related business; plus, the federal government shutdown leaves the Fed in the dark on data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
President Trump signing an executive order at the White House last month with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at his side. ANDREW HARNIK/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
|
|
|
|
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration Thursday over hefty new fees in the H-1B visa program, joining the legal campaign against the administration’s changes to a program used by some of the biggest tech companies in the U.S., my colleagues Brian Schwartz and Louise Radnofsky report.
Why is this significant? The lawsuit puts the chamber among the few business groups to challenge the Trump administration in court over policies they say will hurt employers.
An earlier lawsuit over the $100,000 fee for new visa applications was filed in federal court in California by a healthcare-staffing business and labor unions. Lawsuits over sweeping global tariffs, meanwhile, were brought by small businesses including a wine importer and an educational toy company, not Fortune 500 companies.
The chamber’s lawsuit is seeking to block the new H-1B program restrictions, which were rolled out in a presidential proclamation that the chamber says “is not only misguided policy; it is plainly unlawful.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
“The new $100,000 visa fee will make it cost-prohibitive for U.S. employers, especially start-ups and small and midsize businesses, to utilize the H-1B program, which was created by Congress expressly to ensure that American businesses of all sizes can access the global talent they need to grow their operations here in the U.S.”
|
|
—Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer at the chamber
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
|
|
|
Infrastructure and the AI Economy: Strategies to Help Meet Explosive Demand
|
|
Rapidly escalating power demand driven by AI is elevating the need for accelerated solutions to enable growth and resilience. Several strategic approaches can help. Read More
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
📆 Earnings
-
American Express
-
Fifth Third Bancorp
-
Huntington Bancshares
-
Regions Financial
-
SLB
-
State Street
-
Truist Financial
📈 Economic Indicators
The Census Bureau is scheduled to release new residential construction statistics for September.
|
|
|
|
EY’s Global Revenue Grows 3.9% to $53.2 Billion
|
|
|
Ernst & Young recorded a 3.9% increase in global revenue for the latest fiscal year, slightly higher than a year earlier, as the Big Four accounting firm experienced a surge in AI-related business.
EY’s revenue totaled $53.2 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, the firm said Wednesday.
Consulting revenue climbed 5.2% to $16.4 billion after holding flat the previous year. The firm said AI-related business was up 30% as more companies sought their services to help implement the technology. EY invests more than $1 billion each year to develop AI-centric platforms and products, the firm said.
Audit revenue grew 3.5% to $17.9 billion, compared with a 6.3% increase the previous year.
EY’s tax business increased 5.5% to $12.7 billion, down from a 6.3% rise a year earlier. The firm booked $6.2 billion from strategy and transactions work, down 0.4%. That business previously grew 2.3%. EY’s workforce in strategy and transactions shrank 1.8%, whereas the firm added head count in all other business lines.
Deloitte in September reported a nearly 5% increase in global revenue to $70.5 billion for the latest fiscal year, up from a 3.5% rise the previous year. PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG haven’t yet reported their revenue for the year.
(Deloitte is a sponsor of CFO Journal.)
—Mark Maurer
|
|
|
|
|
|
What Else Matters to CFOs
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
U.S. oil producers notched a fresh output record of more than 13.6 million barrels a day in July. PHOTO: BREHMAN/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK
|
|
|
|
|
|
A growing glut of oil and fear of a global economic slowdown have pushed U.S. crude prices to their lowest point since fuel markets were rebounding from the Covid crash.
Most actively traded U.S. oil futures ended Thursday at $56.99 a barrel, down 2.2% on the day and 19% from a year ago. That marked the lowest price since February 2021. Declines this week bring prices below the depths of the spring selloff when President Trump unleashed a barrage of tariffs and sparked worries of economic turmoil.
The decline is good news for American consumers because cheaper crude portends lower prices for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil. But it is an alarming situation for a U.S. oil industry already beset by narrowing profit margins and shedding jobs by the thousands.
|
|
|
|
|
📰 Other headlines
📈 Earnings wrapup
|
|
|
|
|
Where senior finance leaders confront today’s expanding remit. Connect on capital, regulation, technology, and talent — and lead with clarity.
Request Information.
|
|
|
|
|
Ulta Beauty, the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based cosmetics retailer, has hired Christopher DelOrefice as the company's new CFO, effective Dec. 5. DelOrefice joins from medical-technology company Becton Dickinson, where he has been executive vice president and CFO since September 2021. Becton Dickinson announced DelOrefice's resignation on Wednesday. Ulta said DelOrefice, 54 years old, will receive an annual base salary of $980,000 and an annual cash bonus with a target of 125% of his base pay and a maximum of 200%. He will also receive $1 million in cash and $3.3 million worth of restricted stock units as compensation for awards left on the
table at Becton Dickinson.
Chris Lialios, who stepped in as interim finance chief after Paula Oyibo left Ulta Beauty in June, will move back to his post as senior vice president and controller.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Vancouver, has hired Tucker Kelly as the biopharmaceutical company's new chief financial officer. Kelly most recently served as finance chief of Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired last year by Ono Pharmaceuticals, Xenon said. Xenon's president and chief executive, Ian Mortimer, has been serving as the company's interim CFO since Sherry Aulin stepped down for personal reasons earlier this year.
—Colin Kellaher and Emon Reiser contributed to today’s Ledger.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content From Our Sponsor: DELOITTE
|
|
CFOs recalibrate pricing strategies
|
|
According to the latest CFO Signals survey, 86% of finance chiefs surveyed say pricing will become more important to their organizations over the next year. Most have already started to recalibrate their strategies. Read the report here
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics including corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy. Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team comprises reporters Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams, and Bureau Chief Walden Siew. You can reach us by replying to any newsletter, or email Walden at walden.siew@wsj.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
