Financial/Banking

Francesca's has lost its chief financial adviser just weeks after naming a new head merchant and a new senior marketing executive.

The Texas-based company announced that CFO Mark Vendetti has resigned from the company effective Dec. 4. Cindy Thomassee, Francesca's current VP of accounting, has been appointed to the role of interim CFO and will report directly to CEO Michael W. Barnes while the company conducts a search for a CFO.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association on Thursday welcomed a <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=uefwbvtS7tB-2BrQMPmejiN4fTeYquc3oBa2KlQm0WlEyxQZnrWbSSmbDeaQc3u1U-2BV326b96v8efIzWwvTp88Px8z9SYhH0tfZoMcXNV4A6c-3D_4IBsk1o2j7dj6HmhC-2FQ7Vkc6PF15rC46rSHZ95WWe0BYx0l3bKauNZIqcTP8E6CfMkBbWsId11awP5VfunZkXaoKziYNajexreYN2PVnS2-2F3K0J9UttAaj-2BVkf6HqqxzLJP6nBDUCKhyXtEvKzBRNdQYDe69VHFGzBXxzYf7Y5D6Axcllx2-2BZ5H16Urhk1r1NUgovJOBSXfTM-2B2DBdmPfSZDfgWBANhS5CqPKfUwnHt855CITvWIkWaOqCIRoKi1sI-2BOrVTiJM9UUjbhTEU8tI70NIY8C5D8q9iXO3Jwgr-2BUixP5mBtqgZQpz0XiIrxoPNfhBTtXAi659Mbw-2FBSoxQ-3D-3D" tar

EMV adoption by consumers is on the rise, even as merchants are struggling to catch up.

Those are among the key findings of a survey by Ingenico Group, which found that 60% of U.S. cardholders have received EMV cards from their banks/card issuers.

Out of the U.S. cardholders who have both EMV and magstripe cards, 54% prefer magstripe cards over EMV cards, with 44% attributing their preference to habit.

For more, click on the infographic below:

Staples says its reinvention is on track despite a disappointing financial performance in the third quarter.

For the third quarter ended Oct. 31, Staples reported a profit of $198 million. Same-store sales decreased 2%. On a per-share basis, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said it had profit of 31 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 35 cents per share. The results matched Wall Street expectations. Revenue was $5.59 billion, which fell short of Street forecasts.

Urban Outfitters Inc. will spend less than $20 million on its acquisition of Vetri Family Restaurant group, which owns the well-regarded Pizzeria Vetri chain, Bloomberg reported. The acquisition comes as consumers are spending more on “experiences” rather than clothing. “We believe that we do experiences really well and know our customer very well, and we have a lot of history in growing brands organically,” Urban Outfitters CFO Frank Conforti told Bloomberg.

Nordstrom is adding some financial expertise to its board with its latest appointment.

The Seattle-based retailer has appointed Gordon Smith, CEO of Consumer and Community Banking at JPMorgan Chase, to the company's board of directors. The addition of Smith brings the total number of directors to 15 and the number of independent directors to 12. Nordstrom directors serve one-year terms and the company requires annual elections of all Board members. Smith will join the Compensation and Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees.

Popularity and resale value do not always correlate when it comes to gift cards.

Visa is tops in a ranking of the gift cards expected to be most popular this holiday season.

Rounding out the top 10: American Express; iTunes; Wal-Mart; Target; Starbucks; Netflix; eBay and Google Play. The ranking is from CardHub, a credit card comparison Web site owned by Evolution Finance.

Data security, systems upgrades and healthcare reform rank among the top concerns for corporate financial decision makers.

That’s among the key findings of a survey by TD Bank, which also reveals that CFOs plan to significantly increase their company's capital spending in 2016. Respondents cited three main keys areas of capital spending for 2016: technology (58%), existing facilities (44%) and data security (41%.