• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

3

Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
LeadershipCEO Daily

Ghosn Arrest, Zuck At War, APEC Summit: CEO Daily for November 19, 2018

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
and
Alan Murray
Alan Murray
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
and
Alan Murray
Alan Murray
Down Arrow Button Icon
November 19, 2018, 6:31 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Good morning.

Fortune releases its annual investor’s guide this morning. Picking stocks at a time when the economic cycle could be nearing its end is not for the faint of heart. But our team has done a good job identifying those that they think can weather a downturn. Among their picks:

Facebook – This one takes a strong stomach, given recent revelations, including this story in Sunday’s New York Times suggesting the company’s critics on Capitol Hill are multiplying. But if you believe like I do that the new and divided Congress isn’t going to be able to do much of anything, and if you think the social network can right itself and get its business back on track, then this is one hell of a buying opportunity. The stock is down 36% since July. We also like Alphabet and Texas Instruments.

Activision Blizzard – Even if the economy turns south, video games won’t lose their appeal…indeed, people may have more time to play them! Pay attention to this one, and to Take-Two Interactive Software.

Home Depot – DIY work also stays strong even when the economy turns down. We think TJX and Burlington Stores may also benefit from bargain buying.

And the ageing of the population is inexorable (I just passed a milestone myself on Friday), which makes health care a sure bet. Our team likes Abbott Labs, Merck and Illumina, among others.

You can find more of the Fortune picks here. And if you are wondering: how good are we at this compared to, oh, a dart board or blind finger pointing? Well, last year’s picks returned 5.2%. That beat the MSCI world stock index, but fell short of the S&P 500’s 6.6%. Our downfall was excessive optimism about the five Chinese stocks we picked—including Alibaba and Tencent—which all took a pounding. Our non-China picks delivered an 11.4% return.

More news below.

Note: An earlier version of this article included an incorrect figure for the returns of Fortune’s 2018 stock picks.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

Top News

Ghosn Scandal

Nissan and Renault chair and CEO (respectively) Carlos Ghosn is in huge trouble for allegedly misreporting his own compensation. Nissan is in the process of sacking him, and has given information to the Japanese public prosecutor. Ghosn has been arrested, and the car companies' shares are tanking. Bloomberg

Tech Regulation

Apple CEO Tim Cook sees more tech regulation as "inevitable" thanks to scandals in the world of Big Tech. "Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of regulation. I’m a big believer in the free market. But we have to admit when the free market is not working," Cook told Axios. "And it hasn’t worked here. I think it’s inevitable that there will be some level of regulation." Axios

Zuck at War

Mark Zuckerberg put Facebook on a war footing some months ago, and his tougher management style has managed to drive away a dozen top execs, according to a Wall Street Journal piece that also says he blames Sheryl Sandberg for the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica debacle (see also last week's damning New York Times piece.) WSJ

APEC Summit

Disagreements between the U.S. and China meant there was no concluding statement from the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, for the first time in APEC's history. Chinese President Xi and U.S. VP Pence dissed one another's countries in speeches at the Papua New Guinea summit. In short, things are not looking good for a resolution to the Sino-American trade spat. Bloomberg

Around the Water Cooler

Brexit Latest

Michel Barnier, the EU's top Brexit negotiator (and, some say, a potential replacement for Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president,) has floated the idea of extending the Brexit transition until the end of 2022, in order to allow more time to negotiate a new trading relationship. However, that would leave the U.K. at the mercy of EU rules over which it has no say, and also having to shell out billions more pounds. Guardian

GE Future

The Financial Times has a thoughtful piece on new GE CEO Larry Culp's efforts to sell off bits of the conglomerate, in order to pay off its debts. It is plausible that GE could raise $40 billion or so in the next year—the question is whether that would be enough, or whether the company would need to start looking at getting rid of a "crown jewel" such as its aviation business. FT

Bloomberg Donation

Michael Bloomberg is donating $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University. The donation to Bloomberg's alma mater is apparently the biggest-ever gift to a U.S. university. It will be used to give financial aid to low and middle income students. "It will allow the school to offer more generous scholarships," said Bloomberg. "It will ease the burden of student debt for many graduates." Fox Business

Presidential Bearing

President Trump emitted a tweet about Adam Schiff, the Democratic representative who will be chairing the House Intelligence Committee, in which he referred to him as "little Adam Schitt." In other news, Trump's assertion that the catastrophic Californian wildfires could have been averted by raking the forest floor, like they do in Finland, has been undermined by the Finnish president. Fortune

This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here.

About the Authors
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Alan Murray
By Alan Murray
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

Warren Buffett with his arm around Bill Gates
SuccessWealth
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
6 minutes ago
Microsoft executive Jacob Andreou poses for a photo wearing a black suit jacket, with a tan background behind him.
AIMicrosoft
The 33-year-old executive Satya Nadella is trusting to fix Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant
By Sebastian HerreraJune 27, 2026
1 hour ago
Hacker in a dark hooded jacket holding a smartphone displaying an incoming unknown call while working on a laptop
CybersecurityScams
Job scams are getting more sophisticated, and they’re costing Americans millions
By Jacqueline MunisJune 27, 2026
3 hours ago
Qualcomm’s big AI gamble: Breaking Nvidia’s chips stronghold 
AIChips
Qualcomm’s big AI gamble: Breaking Nvidia’s chips stronghold 
By Phil WahbaJune 27, 2026
4 hours ago
lb
PoliticsCongress
Leon Black says Epstein’s network included Elon Musk, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel, while saying ‘I knew Jekyll. I didn’t know Hyde’
By Joey Cappelletti and The Associated PressJune 26, 2026
19 hours ago
John Collison, president and co-founder of Stripe
SuccessJobs
Stripe cofounder says Gen Z will need two college majors to compete thanks to AI—and investing legend Charlie Munger called it first
By Emma BurleighJune 26, 2026
19 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
2 days ago
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
Success
Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 24, 2026
3 days ago
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
Economy
Ray Dalio says the U.S. just had its 'Suez moment'—and history says what comes next could end an empire
By Nick LichtenbergJune 26, 2026
1 day ago
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
Economy
The bond market knows something about the $39 trillion national debt that Washington doesn’t
By Eva RoytburgJune 25, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 26, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 26, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 26, 2026
22 hours ago
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
Asia
Ray Dalio just finished a 10-day trip to China. He says global leaders know America ‘doesn’t have what it takes to fight to maintain its empire’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.