Finance

The industry hit hardest by DOGE cuts so far (hint: it’s not the media)

Published

1 year ago

February 22, 2025

The industry hit hardest by DOGE cuts so far (hint: it’s not the media)

Specific companies are already feeling the effects of cost cutting by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the first wave of publicly available data showing a number of government consultants facing hundreds of millions of dollars in canceled or renegotiated contracts.

They include some prominent names, such as Deloitte. The ended contracts for that multinational London-based firm, DOGE claims, total more than $219 million in savings for taxpayers.

The effect on Deloitte’s bottom line isn’t clear but is a relatively small piece of Deloitte Worldwide’s reported 2024 revenue of $67.2 billion.

Other development and consulting firms — many such smaller businesses dot the Washington area and focus on US government contracts as their main source of revenue — could see much deeper relative cuts.

One recent lawsuit filed by a group of these companies — Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump — charged that “they have suffered and will continue to suffer enormous and concrete harm to their businesses” because of the administration’s actions.

At least one plaintiff charged that actions by the White House and DOGE have also left open “months of unpaid invoices” for work already done.

An official at one firm told Yahoo Finance that 20 contracts had been terminated in recent weeks and added that “the immediate issue is the federal government’s failure to pay for work it commissioned and approved — that’s fundamentally unfair.”

Another — perhaps more prominent — group of companies also faces cuts but at a vastly smaller scale: media outlets. They are now selling fewer subscriptions to the government for their services after a wave of cancellations.

Those savings add up to a bit more than $13 million in possible lost revenue, a Yahoo Finance analysis found, representing only about 0.18% of the overall claimed DOGE savings so far.

The final impact for all of these companies — and actual savings to taxpayers — remains far from clear as the DOGE team has repeatedly revised its claimed savings downward in recent days in response to errors being pointed out. The exact terms of the contracts also aren’t known.

What is clear is that much of the early focus has been on consulting and development companies such as Deloitte, DAI Global, and International Development Group.

In one example — the largest cut claimed by Musk’s team — the group says taxpayers have been saved $654,990,000 due to ending a contract with International Development Group Advisory Services.

But the website of the firm in the middle of the contract touts just $25 million in current projects.

The terms of that specific contract aren’t known, but it’s listed in the DOGE data as an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, which is commonly used by the government to set the upward parameters of future work — without committing to ever paying the full amount.

Elon Musk appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 20 in Maryland and brandished a chainsaw gifted to him by Argentinian President Javier Milei. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) · Andrew Harnik via Getty Images

DOGE’s focus on development and consulting firms — often categorized in the government data as “professional support” — is also a reflection of Musk’s early focus on the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Many of the canceled contracts reflected work done for that agency in far-flung locales like the Middle East and Africa.

All told, Musk’s group is claiming almost $7.2 billion in total savings from canceled or renegotiated contracts, with USAID representing about $5.2 billion of that figure.

The court filing in Global Health Council v. Donald J. Trump also charges that the administration’s actions “have had and will continue to have a catastrophic effect on the humanitarian missions of several plaintiffs.”

Despite the cost-cutting focus on consultants and professional support companies, media organizations have gotten much public attention from the Trump White House.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the administration’s efforts earlier this month to cancel those payments, with an emphasis on Washington-focused Politico, which offers services aimed at covering specialized wings of Washington, such as government agencies and energy policy.

The government has canceled at least 90 Politico subscriptions across different departments, according to the DOGE data, saving about $8.5 million.

Leavitt has also charged that these subscriptions — which appear to be standard — amount to “subsidizing subscriptions to Politico on the American taxpayers’ dime” and noted that “will no longer be happening.”

Politico is likely to take a hit, but the government is far from subsidizing an outlet that was sold in 2021 for $1 billion. It was reported at the time that Politico brought in $200 million annually in revenue.

Another significant media recipient of government subscriptions is Bloomberg, which has lost over $2 million in subscriptions. That’s likely to be an even smaller hit to the company’s bottom line, which reportedly passed $10 billion in annual revenue in 2019.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a copy of government contract receipts during a press briefing on Feb. 12. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) · ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS via Getty Images

Of course, DOGE is still in the early stages of its work cutting through the federal bureaucracy and is estimated to have touched about 10% of named government agencies so far.

The impacted companies are sure to evolve in the weeks ahead as Musk and the DOGE team turn their attention to other areas, especially the $850 billion Department of Defense. Both DOGE and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are discussing plans for cuts.

William Blair industrials research analyst Louie DiPalma noted in a recent Yahoo Finance live appearance that many forces in Washington are looking to increase defense spending, so the effects there are far from certain.

“There seems to be strong support for continuing to increase the defense budget,” he noted.

DOGE is claiming a total of $55 billion in savings through a range of means, from fraud detection to workforce reductions, but hasn’t provided a detailed accounting of those changes yet.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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Finance

Hong Kong graduates prefer careers in finance, survey finds

Published

2 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Hong Kong graduates prefer careers in finance, survey finds

Hong Kong graduates believe the city’s finance industry is its most attractive and stable sector, making them more optimistic about career opportunities than their global peers, according to a study by the CFA Institute, which trains investment managers.

The US-based institute’s “2026 Graduate Outlook Survey”, released on Wednesday, found that 71 per cent of Hong Kong graduates rated their career prospects between eight and 10 out of 10. The global average for that level of optimism was 59 per cent.

The graduates’ view of careers in finance reflected “both the sector’s resilience and Hong Kong’s continued strength as an international financial centre, which ranks third worldwide and first in Asia-Pacific”, the institute said in a statement.

The findings also indicated that young people were confident about Hong Kong’s role as an international financial centre, resilient amid global uncertainties, and strategically focused on improving skills, it said.

That confidence was “deeply grounded”, it said, with nearly 90 per cent believing they had the skills to succeed and clearly understood what employers were looking for, notwithstanding the wider adoption of artificial intelligence in the city.

“Rather than viewing AI as a threat, 38 per cent of Hong Kong graduates believe it has no negative impact on their job hunting, and 37 per cent believe it makes securing a job easier,” the institute said. “Three quarters are already actively using AI tools in their job applications, demonstrating a proactive, tool-first mindset.”

Finance

Master Your Money: Seton Hall Expands Curriculum with New Financial Literacy Course

Published

13 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Master Your Money: Seton Hall Expands Curriculum with New Financial Literacy Course

Most people will make thousands of money decisions over a lifetime — about budgeting,
borrowing, saving and investing — yet few ever take a class on how to make them well.
This fall, Seton Hall University is changing that with a new undergraduate course
built to give students the knowledge and confidence to navigate their financial futures.

Beginning this fall, Financial Literacy (BFIN 2000, CRN 34991) will offer practical
financial skills grounded in the principles of behavioral finance. The three-credit
course meets in person on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and is
open to all undergraduates, no matter their area of interest or program.

“Financial decisions affect nearly every aspect of our lives, yet many students receive
little formal education on topics such as budgeting, saving, investing or managing
debt,” said Jennifer Itzkowitz, Ph.D., professor of finance in the Stillman School of Business. “The goal is to give students the tools they need to make informed decisions and
build healthy financial habits that will serve them throughout their lives.”

What sets the course apart is its grounding in behavioral finance — the field that
examines how psychology shapes the choices people make with money. Students will explore
why sound financial decisions can be so hard to make and learn strategies to overcome
the common mental traps that get in the way.

Over the semester, students will work through budgeting, saving, credit management,
debt reduction, investing, retirement planning and tax strategies, using real-world
applications and interactive exercises that connect each concept to their own lives.
By the end, they will have built a personalized financial plan and set achievable
financial goals.

“Whether students pursue careers in business, healthcare, education, the arts or public
service, they will face important financial decisions,” Itzkowitz said. “Understanding
how to manage money effectively can have a real impact on long-term well-being and
quality of life.”

The new course reflects the Stillman School of Business’s mission to turn theory into
practice and Seton Hall’s broader commitment to preparing students for success in
every part of their lives.

Students interested in enrolling can register through PirateNet or contact their academic
advisor. For more information about the course, contact Jennifer Itzkowitz at [email protected].

Categories:
Business, Education

Finance

Key Equipment Finance Adds Foley to Bank Channel Team in Chicago

Published

23 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Press Room

Key Equipment Finance Adds Foley to Bank Channel Team in Chicago

Key Equipment Finance, a division of KeyBank, appointed Meghan Foley senior equipment finance officer on its bank channel team in Chicago.

In this role, Foley will support growth initiatives, strengthen client relationships and expand the delivery of equipment finance solutions across Chicago and the surrounding markets.

Foley brings more than 25 years of experience in equipment finance and commercial banking. She has a proven track record of originating, structuring and closing complex transactions across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, food processing, distribution and business services.

Most recently, Foley served as director of equipment finance at BMO Commercial Bank, where she partnered with commercial banking teams and financial sponsors to deliver customized financing solutions. She previously spent nearly a decade with Key Equipment Finance, where she earned recognition as a top performer, including Pinnacle Club and Golden Key awards.

“Meghan brings a unique combination of deep industry expertise, long-standing client relationships, and a strong understanding of our platform,” Kathy Havlik, senior vice president, regional sales director, Central and East at Key Equipment Finance, said. “Her return to Key strengthens our ability to deliver tailored equipment finance solutions and accelerate growth across the Chicago market.”

Foley holds a bachelor of business administration in accounting from the University of Notre Dame.