Investing and Global Finance News

Monthly Archives: July 2014

Former Toys R Us CFO Louis Lipschitz Dies at 69

Louis Lipschitz
Louis Lipschitz

Louis Lipschitz, the man who played a key role in keeping the finances of the giant toy company Toys ‘R’ Us strong, passed away at the age of 69 after a brief illness.

As the chief financial officer of Toys ‘R’ Us, Lipschitz led his company from 300 stores and annual sales of less than $2 million during the 1980s to a powerful institution consisting of over 1600 outlets and $11 billion in 2004, the year of his retirement. When Lipschitz left there was more than $2 billion in cash available. Just one year later a leveraged buyout brought the company to private status the result of which was to add over $5 billion in debt to the company’s balance sheets.

During his 18 years as the CFO Lipschitz led the company’s quarterly conference calls with analysts. He was viewed as a warm and friendly man who was nevertheless a tough money manager.

“I recall Lou as a man who could surprise people on Wall Street with his warmth and humor,” said Sean McGowan, managing director, equity research at Needham & Co. in New York, and a leading toy industry analyst. “At first, it might appear that he was a classic ‘bean counter’, and in fact he had a sharp financial mind, but if you got to talk to him outside of that role, he was a gentle, warm, funny guy,” he said.

US Business Travel Grows in 2014

According to The Global Business Travel Association, business travel that originated in the US grew by 3 percent in 2014 over the previous year. Company’s spent $71.2 billion in the first quarter of 2014, an increase of 7.6 percent over the same period during the previous year. Analysts believe that US business travel spending will… Continue Reading

TSA to Require Powering On of Electronic Devices

In response to an upsurge in the threat of attack and an increased fear that terrorists are working on a bomb which can be brought onto an airplane undetected, the Transportation Security Administration will soon be issuing orders that will require some overseas airports to require passengers boarding US bound flights to power up their… Continue Reading