Good morning.
Here’s something I learned at the Fortune Most Powerful Women summit yesterday: 35% of marriages today began with an online dating app. That’s according to Mandi Ginsberg, CEO of Match Group.
And here’s something else I learned: Two years ago, Match’s Tinder app could be accessed only with Facebook Connect. A year ago, the company started giving new users the option of signing up with a telephone number, and today 75% use phone numbers, not Facebook. That’s the reason Ginsberg says she isn’t too concerned about Facebook’s plans to move into the dating space. “People want to separate their dating lives from their Facebook lives,” she said. And young people, in particular, “don’t want to date on the same platform their parents are on.”
Another bit of wisdom came from Judith McKenna, who is CEO of Walmart’s international business, and previously helped reinvigorate its U.S. business as COO. Even at a mammoth organization like Walmart, with more than two million employees, she believes strongly in the power of “TNT—tiny, noticeable things”—like a walk through a store, a note to someone for a job well done, or a word to someone facing a personal challenge. It’s a means of building trust, she says.
More from the MPW summit, including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, here. Other news below.
| Alan Murray | |
| @alansmurray | |
| alan.murray@fortune.com |
Top News
Kavanaugh Vote
Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation will go to a "test vote" tomorrow. The FBI's brief investigation wrapped up yesterday, apparently without interviews of Kavanaugh nor his accuser of sexual assault, Christine Blasey Ford. The National Council of Churches wants Kavanaugh's name withdrawn, which is a blow as he was seen as the pick of the religious right. Fortune
Amazon Wages
Amazon's increase of its minimum wage to $15 an hour came with a catch—the company is getting rid of monthly bonuses and stock awards for its hourly workers. Amazon claims the wage raise "more than compensated" for those changes, and made compensation "more immediate and predictable." CNBC
Honda and GM
Japan's Honda is to invest $2.75 billion in General Motors' self-driving vehicle unit, which is called Cruise. Honda will get a 5.7% stake in the unit, which has also recently seen investment from SoftBank Group. Cruise now has resources that are comparable with Google's Waymo unit. Honda will apparently still "discuss" using Waymo technology, though. Reuters
Danske Probe
Danske Bank has revealed the existence of a criminal investigation by U.S. authorities, relating to the Danish bank's big money-laundering scandal (its Estonian unit allowed money laundering for years, with a lot of Russian money apparently involved). Interim CEO Jesper Nielsen: "We are co-operating with the authorities investigating us as a result of the case. However, it is too early to speculate on any outcome of the investigations." Financial Times
Around the Water Cooler
Facebook Probe
The Irish data protection authority has officially opened an investigation into Facebook's big data breach, in which 50 million users' accounts were left vulnerable to takeover by others. If the probe finds against Facebook, under the EU's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) it can fine Facebook up to 4% of global annual revenue, or around $1.6 billion. That top fine is unlikely in this case, though, as Facebook does not appear to have been wilfully lax with its security and it notified the watchdog soon after finding out about the problem. BBC
Strong Dollar
The rising strength of the U.S. dollar has led to warnings over the impact on emerging markets. Rising U.S. bond yields attract foreign funds and also put pressure on local currencies. Pepperstone's Chris Weston: "Lots of countries have issued dollar-denominated debt and as the dollar goes higher, debt levels are exaggerated." Guardian
Blackstone and Clarus
Blackstone Group is buying the life-sciences-focused investment firm Clarus, in a move that will give Blackstone a new business line alongside insurance and infrastructure. The price for the transaction was not revealed. Clarus currently has over $2.6 billion in assets. Wall Street Journal
FedEx Retirements
FedEx is offering retirement-age pilots between $40,000 and $110,000 to keep flying through the holiday shipping season, rather than hanging up their wings beforehand. The move shows how FedEx is being strained by pilot shortages and rising cargo demand. UPS is also trying to recruit hundreds more pilots. Reuters
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here.
