CEO Weekly Outlook

Sales slow? Don’t assume they’ll stay that way. Harvard Business Review cautions businesses to get ready for the second leg of a “bullwhip effect triggered by uncertainties about the severity of China’s economic slowdown.”

Meanwhile, with M&A activity on the rise, Forbes has tips for CFOs looking to pull off successful transactions: “Negotiating skills are critical.”

Business Insights

• Prepare for the bullwhip effect from China’s slowdown
• CEOs need curiosity to succeed
• Misconceptions around holocracy are holding it back
• CFOs expect to raise wages in 2016
• Your star player may not be ready for a promotion
• Work stress is as bad as secondhand smoke
• Tips for onboarding new employees

Transaction Toolbox

• How CFOs can elevate their role in the M&A process
• Don’t use discounted cash flow to value a business
• The five biggest M&A deals so far this year
• Global M&A deal volumes are 32% higher than this time last year
• Middle market companies are optimistic about the economy
• The value of U.S. M&A just hit an all-time record
• M&A market surges with $40 billion in new deals
• A peek into the secret world of PE
• PE firms are doubling down on energy
• Business brokers close more deals in H1 2015
• Middle market momentum stalled in August
• Middle market tech companies are having no trouble finding buyers

Middle Market Move of the Week

Big news for premium denim aficionados this week, as Joe’s Jeans, Inc. announces the sale of its flagship brand and operating assets to Sequential Brands and Global Brands for $80 million. Meanwhile, the Hudson jeans brand, which Joe’s also owns, will merge with fashion brand Robert Graham. According to Street Insider, “the strategic combination of the Robert Graham and Hudson brands will provide the foundation of a new, premium branded consumer platform.”