Sam Backenroth is concocting a recipe for Aspargo Labs’ finance function.

Backenroth joined the company, which develops liquid oral suspensions for medicines that treat conditions like erectile dysfunction, in January. Aspargo Labs has big growth plans, both for its products and geographic markets.

Backenroth has lots of experience leading public pharmaceutical companies. He’ll be tasked with “building out the financial and operational side” at Aspargo, he said.

CFO Brew recently spoke with Backenroth about that, as well as the company’s growth plans and where he fits into those efforts as finance chief.

Keep reading.—AZ

There’s a strong possibility the Federal Reserve, under new leadership, will focus on reducing the reserves on its balance sheet.

In a speech he gave on Thursday at the Economic Club of Miami, Federal Reserve Board Governor Stephen Miran said the Fed should revert back to its pre-2008 financial crisis policy of holding “scarce reserves,” and laid out a roadmap for doing so.

The central bank “should aim for as small a footprint in markets as possible to minimize government-induced distortions,” Miran said. He added that a smaller balance sheet keeps “the Fed out of the credit allocation game across sectors” and preserves “dry powder for a scenario in which policymakers must again confront the zero lower bound on interest rates.”

Miran, also a member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, laid out a guide that he said would allow a “$1 trillion to $2 trillion of balance sheet reduction.” He also said that skeptics “simply lack imagination.”

Keep reading.—AZ

Anyone whose New Year’s resolution was to enjoy some strong investment returns is probably pretty disappointed: The stock market just had an absolutely terrible quarter.

Back in December, investors were optimistic: Strong economic growth, expected rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, and easing trade tensions painted a near-perfect backdrop for stocks.

Then January hit. AI disruption fears rattled markets, dragging down software and spilling into sectors like wealth management, data, and cybersecurity. Investors rotated into defensives in the so-called “HALO trade,” fleeing to steady, cash-generating companies and taking the wind out of AI’s sails.

But the real turning point came in late February, with the outbreak of the Iran war and surging oil prices, reigniting fears of stagflation. That, in turn, pushed markets to rethink the Fed’s path toward fewer cuts and tighter policy, raising borrowing costs and weighing on stocks.

Keep reading on Brew Markets.—SY

Skip the noise and cut to the jobs that matter. CollabWORK curates openings from top employers and shares them directly in trusted spaces like CFO Brew—click here to see the full list for readers like you.

• Chief of Staff Team Support – Finance Business Management - Associate at Morgan Stanley
• Staff Accountant at Dassault Systèmes
• Senior Project Accountant at Skanska
• Senior Internal Auditor at Primoris Services Corporation
• Senior Insurance Manager at Cupertino Electric, Inc