Pro tip for CEOs: Don’t romance your general counsel

Or any employee — especially if you’re already married. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a consensual romance with Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Don’t [trust a CEO]( who cheats. - Dating apps [have too many]( freaks. - Time to [clean up Cancun’s]( streets. - UK schools [charge more]( for seats. Philandering Bosses It’s [October 3rd]( so you know what that means. We’re gonna talk about true love today! Haha, kidding. We’re gonna talk about infidelity. Or, more specifically, what happens when a very married CEO starts playing footsie with the chief legal officer. The long and the short of it is that they both get fired, as is the case with [Alan Shaw]( the former CEO of Norfolk Southern — we all know [that]( railroad — and Nabanita Nag, the company’s general counsel. The ax fell after an internal investigation found the pair’s consensual romance violated company policy. Now, I don’t know how many executives subscribe to this newsletter, but if you’re reading this and that’s you: DON’T HAVE AN EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR WITH YOUR CORPORATE LAWYER!!! Or any employee, for that matter. It’s 2024. Making eyes at the intern by the printer isn’t cute! It’s creepy. And embarrassing. And, frankly, it’s bad for business: Beth Kowitt [says]( “research finds that those who cheat at home are also more likely to cheat at work.” Remember the infamous Ashley Madison hack in 2015? “One [study]( found that companies run by the 47 CEOs and 48 CFOs who were paying Ashley Madison users (97% of them married) were twice as likely to have had a financial misstatement or involvement in a class action securities lawsuit,” she writes. “A second group of researchers had a similar finding — that the number of employees who used corporate emails to register for the site was associated with unethical behavior at a company level.” Unfortunately, that second batch of research also determined the most innovative organizations — the ones with abnormally high R&D and patent activity — were heavy on employees who subscribed to [the belief]( that “life is short, have an affair.” Still, we all know how that worked out for Shaw: Instead of turning around the railroad after its derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, he derailed his own career by sleeping with a subordinate. The Federal Reserve Walks Into a Bar... While we’re on the topic of romantic relationships, let’s talk about how [nightmarish]( dating apps have gotten: From horror stories about [stolen Tabis]( to an [alleged murder attempt]( online dating these days seems more like a pipeline for true crime podcasters than an entry point into the [marriage market](. Economists at the Federal Reserve of St. Louis agree: Their new [working paper]( found that the rise of dating apps has not made it any easier to find a soulmate. Sarah Green Carmichael [says]( it’s because we’re paralyzed by choice: “The internet connects us with so many potential mates that our puny human brains can’t handle it,” she writes. “If dating is looking for a needle in a haystack, then online dating is like sifting through a much bigger haystack. Sure, there may be more needles in it. But [there’s also]( [definitely more hay]( So it’s no surprise that, in hopes of appearing at the top of said haystack, some desperate souls try to [game the algorithm](. They’ll lie about anything and everything to get a match: [Age](. [Height](. [Politics](. [Location]( [Sexuality](. The list goes on. But Allison Schrager [thinks we’re wrong]( to pin all our problems on machine-learning models: “Algorithms have become the villain of this technological era — blamed for depriving us of love, manipulating us on social media and increasing our rent,” she writes. Yet it’s landlords who raise rents, not algos: “All they do is bring forth the underlying data that reflects a mismatch between demand and supply — whether the product is reasonably priced apartments or honest bachelors,” she concludes. Ah, yes, supply and demand. How utterly romantic. Cancun’s Cruel Summer For those who have managed to find their “[one and only]( true love, whether it be on a dating app or an alligator tour, let’s hope the honeymoon isn’t in Cancun. Juan Pablo Spinetto [says]( Latin America’s [top]( tourist destination is one Señor Frog’s margarita away from hitting its head on the toilet bowl: “The crown jewel of the Riviera Maya is facing tougher competition from Caribbean rivals like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica as well as the fatigue of recurrent visitors looking for new experiences elsewhere,” he writes. Preferably, those new experiences won’t cost tourists an arm and a leg. Pre-pandemic, you could get a hotel room in Cancun for like 200 bucks. Now, JP says it’s double or triple that price, thanks to a super-strong peso. Economics aside, traveling to Mexico is not for the faint-hearted. In order to reach the beach, you need to navigate the ninth circle of hell’s [earthen cousin]( the Cancun International Airport. Upon arrival, a corrupt customs official might charge you for [owning an iPad](. Your taxi driver might think he’s [Checo Pérez](. Try renting a car, and you’ll “feel that all 10 plagues will fall on you if you don’t buy the overpriced insurance that vendors push you to get,” JP writes. And once you reach the hotel, a [high-stakes]( shoot-out might occur while you’re sipping a welcome piña colada. Just yesterday, a man outside a luxury five-star resort was [murdered by assassins]( who fled the scene on jet skis. So much for a peaceful honeymoon. Telltale Chart For the first time in seven years, UK universities are prepared to increase their tuition fees. Matthew Brooker [says]( “the change is overdue, but the size of the likely increase looks inadequate for the task.” These schools are in financial trouble, and they increasingly rely on foreign students — “a volatile and unpredictable funding source,” by Matthew’s estimate — to pay the bills. A 16.4% decline in student visa applications in July and August spells trouble for the school year ahead. Further Reading How my [hard landing]( forecast went wrong. — Bill Dudley Is Biden’s economy [overstimulated]( Not compared with Trump’s. — Justin Fox Pete Rose fans are wrong: He’s [not worthy]( of the Baseball Hall of Fame. — Adam Minter The American right is wrong to [urge Israel to bomb Iran’s]( nuclear sites. — Andreas Kluth Don’t let Hurricane Helene take [North Carolina’s votes]( too. — Mary Ellen Klas Investors trying to [cash in on daycare]( will trigger a child care crisis. — Kathryn Anne Edwards Boeing’s frail finances give [workers on strike]( all the power. — Thomas Black Making [electric vehicle batteries]( is for masochists. — Chris Bryant ICYMI [Russian weapons]( run on US technology. Biden can forgive [student loans]( now. How Sam Altman [concentrated his power]( at OpenAI. A [WWII bomb exploded]( at a Japanese airport. A day in the life at [Jordan Peterson Academy](. Kickers Happy [tarantula mating]( season. (h/t Andrea Felsted) Tote bags are [Crocs now]( I don’t make the rules. Men love the Roman Empire but [hate vacationing]( in Rome. Crumbl cookies are [overhyped and raw inside](. Notes: Please send [good cookies]( and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads]( [TikTok]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Stay updated by saving our new email address Our email address is changing, which means you’ll be receiving this newsletter from noreply@news.bloomberg.com. 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