GOOD MORNING, CFO
The only newsletter a CFO needs to start the day right.
(Made for CFOs who don’t have time to read ALL THE NEWS.)
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HEADLINES & DEADLINES
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Tariffs Are Starting to Bite
The OECD warns the “grace period” is ending. US growth: 2.8% in 2024 → 1.8% in 2025 → 1.5% in 2026. Tariffs, slower immigration, and workforce cuts are dragging the economy down. Translation: if your 2026 models still assume smooth sailing, time for a reforecast.
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Jaguar Land Rover’s $405M Lesson
Production has been frozen since late August after a ransomware hit. Restart delayed until Oct1.
Suppliers are wobbling, and losses at peers suggest nine-figure hits are the new baseline for cyber. Cybersecurity is no longer IT’s bill; it’s your balance sheet’s.
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AI Is Eating Your Margins
New survey: 80% of enterprises miss AI infra cost forecasts by 25%+, with 84% reporting margin erosion >6%. Hidden data platform charges, networking costs, and ignored on-prem bills are blowing up budgets. Reminder: AI hype doesn’t mean AI ROI.
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Powell’s Tightrope Act
Fed Chair Jerome Powell admits the job market is “less dynamic” and risks are rising. But cut too much, and inflation returns. Stay tuned: monetary policy is starting to look like a CFO’s stress dream.
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CFO Shuffle
GitLab appointed James Shen as interim CFO.
Accel Entertainment hired Kraft Heinz alum Brett Summerer to steer M&A-heavy growth.
Only 7.5% of current Fortune 500/S&P 500 CEOs were once CFOs. Yes, the CFO-to-CEO pipeline is real, but rare.
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Visa Shockwave
Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee plus revived wage-based selection rules are hammering tech employers.
CFOs with global teams: budget for talent cost spikes, retention headaches, and relocation plans.
FAST FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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1.5% = US GDP growth projected for 2026 (OECD)
$405M = Expected losses from one UK cyberattack case this year
80% = Enterprises missing AI cost forecasts by 25%+
7.5% = CEOs who came directly from CFO roles
$100K = New H-1B visa application fee
CFO-APPROVED WATCHLIST
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Read: Nvidia pours $100B into OpenAI, and OpenAI promptly spends it on Nvidia.
Yes, circular economies are real (CNBC).
Watch: JLR’s cyber fiasco shows why supply chain resilience belongs in the CFO’s playbook.
Listen: Fed insiders on rate cuts vs. inflation (CFO Dive).
MORNING HACKS
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AI Budget Control: Treat AI infra like cloud sprawl. Separate data platform, networking, and compute buckets in reporting. Run a sensitivity model assuming +25% variance.
Cyber Prep: Map your top 5 suppliers’ exposure to IT outages. One supplier bust can cascade into your EBITDA.
Tariff Defense: Build tariff clauses into contracts now, 2026 will be late.
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