GE scraps a 40-year employee feedback policy; Lufthansa is selling flights on Airbnb, and more news.

GE ditches employee ratings: General Electric has used some form of employee rating system for 40-odd years, says The Wall Street Journal, but now the company is giving it the boot. Workers will no longer be assigned labels like 'role model,' 'strong contributor,' or 'unsatisfactory' — instead, managers and employees are encouraged to submit frequent feedback via a new mobile app, PD@GE. The decision was made following a pilot program with 30,000 workers, many of whom said a system without ratings was more motivating. This move is just the latest effort from GE to shake things up: the company is also considering removing annual raises in favor of more flexible rewards and compensation.

Hillary makes history: Hillary Clinton secured the Democratic presidential nomination yesterday, making her the first female from a major party to do so. Clinton's nomination, as the convention itself highlighted, puts a big, much-needed crack in the political glass ceiling. "Politics, it turns out, looks a lot like the rest of corporate America," writes Sarah Kliff at Vox. "Women’s presence becomes sparser in leadership positions. National Journal recently found that women make up 47.8 percent of staff assistants in the House of Representatives but only 33 percent of the chiefs of staff." And, just like the business world, one way to get more women in leadership positions is... to have more women in leadership positions: "There does seem to be one thing that encourages more women to run for office: seeing other women serve in office." 

It's Fed Day: The Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting today, with a statement scheduled for 2pm Eastern. Don't hold your breath for an interest rate hike, though — as we mentioned yesterday, that will likely wait until September or December. We should, however, get a peek at the Fed's thinking about the "Jekyll and Hyde economy" of the past several months. 

And Facebook Day: Facebook reports earnings today and analysts expect numbers to be strong. Key topics to watch for: the state of video and Live, the future of Oculus, and expanded monetization plans for Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. 

Apple's 'China problem' is getting worse: Sales in Greater China (mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) fell 33% in the quarter ending in June — a stark shift from the 112% growth a year earlier. The drop is Apple's sharpest regional drop, and it contributed to the company's global revenue decreasing for its second straight quarter. Though Tim Cook says he's "very bullish" on China, local competitors are making major inroads in the market: Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo are moving into higher end phones, while Samsung is cutting phone prices to grab more market share. 

Score one for slacktivism: Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Turns out it actually worked. The ALS Association announced that the 2014 Internet sensation, which raised more than $100M in 30 days, funded several research projects — including one that just identified a new gene associated with the disease. 

Well, that's one option: Germany's Lufthansa, in a bid to fill its planes, is selling seats via Airbnb. The quirky promotion — complete with catchy tagline ("Our cabin isn’t in the woods, but in the sky!”) — may ultimately give the airline a much-needed financial boost. The company lowered its yearly profit forecast just last week, as demand for long-haul flights to Europe drops amid terror threats and economic uncertainty.