CFO recruitment trends are pointing to tougher economic conditions ahead. That’s according to an exclusive sneak peek of research by Crist|Kolder Associates on executive moves at companies in the S&P 500 and Fortune 500.

The outlook in Germany has turned decidedly bleak. In this issue of CFO Briefing, I talks to finance chiefs there about how they are navigating the economic malaise.

Ask any CFO about working with AI, and the common refrain is that it’s early days. But most also acknowledge that the fast-growing technology will shape the future. And so many are already testing or using it – in their finance teams, or across the business more broadly.

The Supreme Court’s most recent session featured some momentous rulings, including overturning the so-called Chevron doctrine, which had served as a cornerstone of US administrative law for decades. The action has broad implications for companies and corporate policies, and CFOs are now parsing what it means for their firms’ capital allocation strategies.

Net income at firms in the S&P 500 is forecast to increase 9.1% in the second quarter, but below that headline number, there’s a sharp divide between the Mag 7 and the 493 other companies in the index. “You have seven or eight companies whose capex has increased dramatically, and you have the rest of us who have been very shrewd,” one executive tells me for our latest edition of CFO Briefing.

Working in corporate finance today means having to navigate major shifts in business and technology while responding to rapidly evolving consumer tastes and trends – all against an increasingly protectionist, uncertain and fragmented global backdrop. In CFO Briefing’s fifth edition, I speak to executives at Stellantis, Cheche and Rexel about these challenges.

Coca-Cola is interested in smaller targets that can then be scaled “through our system to multiple markets,” CFO John Murphy said. “There’s not a lot of value to us going the inorganic route to solve the problems of country X in category Y,” he said during a recent interview. “The economics typically don’t work very well.”

CFO Briefing’s fourth edition is out — with a shortlist of the hot-button issues finance chiefs are facing in the coming six months. Plus: How Kellanova manages currency risk in Nigeria.

On the heels of its up to $1.8 billion transaction for HI-Bio, Biogen is already looking for $8 billion to $10 billion in new deals, which could be funded by existing cash as well as debt.

CFO Briefing’s third edition is out. This week’s highlights include why stock splits are turning into employee-retention tools, how 3M prepares for potential new litigation, and what finance chiefs worry about.