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Inside One Company’s Prolonged Tariff Limbo
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Good morning, CFOs. American Outdoor Brands has plans for moving production out of China—executives just need clarity; corporate pension funding remains level; plus, a look at how massive trade between the U.S. and EU is.
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Most of American Outdoor Brands’ products, which range from fishing tools to hunting gear and pizza ovens, come from China. PHOTO: AMERICAN OUTDOOR BRANDS
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American Outdoor Brands spent months coming up with a plan to minimize the pain of tariffs. Now it is stuck waiting to see where to go.
Most of American Outdoor Brands’ products, which range from fishing tools to hunting gear and pizza ovens, come from China. Executives were prepared to reposition the company’s supply chain ahead of July 9, when the so-called reciprocal tariffs were set to take effect, betting that it could move quickly to reduce any pain points once the new levies kicked in.
But President Trump’s decision last week to extend the deadline for trade deal negotiations to Aug. 1 has prolonged the uncertainty for many companies. That means American Outdoor Brands’ supply-chain reshuffling plan remains on ice.
“We’re very comfortable that we’ve done all the upfront work on where we’d go by product category,” said the company’s chief financial officer, Andy Fulmer. “We’re just kind of waiting for those firm rates to come out.”
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Content from our sponsor: Deloitte
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CFO Sentiment Takes a Tumble: Q2 Signals Survey
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CFOs expressed a sharp drop in confidence in their economic and own-company outlooks in Deloitte’s second-quarter 2025 North American “CFO Signals survey.” Read More
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📆 Earnings
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Albertsons
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Citigroup
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JPMorgan Chase
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Wells Fargo
📈 Economic Indicators
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for June.
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Companies’ Pension Funding Remained Level in June
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The estimated funding level of pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies remained level in June at 107% as a result of a decrease in discount rates offset by an increase in equities, according to consulting firm Mercer LLC. As of the end of June, the plans' estimated aggregate surplus increased by $12 billion, to $114 billion, compared with a $102 billion surplus at the end of May, Mercer says.
"As inflation continues to hover near the target rate, interest rates pulled back in June in anticipation of future Fed rate cuts," says Mercer partner Scott Jarboe.
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What Else Matters to CFOs
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Trump’s tariff threats against European Union hit a bloc that comprises the single-largest U.S. trade partner. PHOTO: WILL OLIVER/PRESS POOL
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President Trump is raising new trade-war threats against Europe, and costs to move products like cars, pharmaceutical products and airplane parts across the Atlantic are at stake.
Trump over the weekend said the U.S. would impose 30% tariffs on the European Union effective Aug. 1, which would replace existing 10% blanket tariffs on most goods from the EU. This follows the president’s earlier threats to impose levies of 20% and 50% against the EU.
Read here for a look at major products that the U.S. imports from the EU, the top goods exports to the EU and more.
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U.S. financial stocks inched higher Monday, raising expectations that banks’ quarterly earnings and a key measure on consumer prices will signal that economic conditions remain strong.
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Starbucks is requiring its corporate workers to come in the office a minimum of four days a week, up from three, as the coffee chain pushes ahead on its turnaround plan.
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Elon Musk said Tesla shareholders would vote on investing in xAI, the latest move by the billionaire entrepreneur to tap his own companies to help fund his artificial-intelligence startup.
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Jamie Dimon says Wall Street’s hottest trend is a recipe for a financial crisis, but he’s investing billions to get in on it anyway. His plan: swoop in strategically and profit if there’s a meltdown.
📰 Other headlines
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“You have a broad swath of industry that is highly incentivized to find a way out of this.”
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—Jake M. Shields, a partner at Gibson Dunn, as trade lawyers say that as tariffs skyrocket, so too do the incentives not to pay them.
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Marriott International, the Bethesda, Md.-based hotel company, named Jen Mason as chief financial officer, effective March 31. She succeeds Leeny Oberg, who is retiring from the company after nearly a decade. Mason joined Marriott in 1992 and currently serves as global officer, treasurer and risk management. Oberg, who is also executive vice president of development, has served as Marriot's CFO since 2016. In February 2023, Oberg was tapped to lead strategic growth of the company's lodging portfolio. Before serving as Marriott's CFO, Oberg was CFO for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co.
Newmont, the Denver-based gold miner, said Chief Financial Officer Karyn Ovelmen resigned from her role, effective July 11. Peter Wexler, who joined Newmont in March 2024 as executive vice president and chief legal officer, will serve as interim CFO. Newmont, which has commenced a search for a permanent successor, said that Ovelmen's resignation was not because of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to its operations, financial statements or accounting policies. Ovelmen has been CFO of the company since 2023.
—Natalie Weger contributed to today’s Ledger.
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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.
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