Takeda has officially emerged victorious in the battle for Shire. The Japanese drug giant will pay more than $66/share to acquire Shire in a deal valued at $62 billion – WSJ

For the first time since 2014, benchmark prices for US crude oil pushed past $70/barrel yesterday, and the coming US action on the Iran nuclear deal will say a lot about whether that price will stay around for a while – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg

Activist investment fund ValueAct has made a “rare move” on a major US bank—Citigroup, the financial services giant in which it’s built a roughly $1.2 billion stake over the past 4-5 months.  VA says that it supports current Citi CEO Michael Corbat, and Citi has acknowledged ongoing conversations with ValueAct – WSJ

Invalidation be damned, the DOL’s let financial advisers know that they’re free to keep relying on the Obama-era fiduciary rule—a move that many figure is the agency “buying time” while it charts a path forward on fiduciary standards – Law360

One of the primary big-bank rule changes in the works from the White House targets the leverage ratio—a “capital rule adopted to curb excessive borrowing” that was a “core response[]” to the 2008 financial crisis.  While many in the industry are welcoming such changes, a chorus of bipartisan opposition is also buzzing – WSJ

The CFPB was meant to be Mick Mulvaney’s moonlighting gig, but as the Times reports, frustrations in his Office of Management and Budget role in getting the budget he likes have helped make the Bureau the place where’s he’s most likely to “leave his mark” – NYTimes

California, in case you hadn’t heard, could stand on its own as the 5th biggest economy in the world. But lest you think that stat is all gravy, consider the country-sized problems that come along with it—from brutal commutes to nearly insurmountable housing prices, among others—NYTimes

Some additional thoughts on that blockbuster Nestle/Starbucks deal announced yesterday – WSJ and Bloomberg

And on Walmart’s partnership with Flipkart and what it means for its e-commerce foray into India – WSJ

Bloomberg on what the departure of NY Fed president William Dudley in mid-June will mean for the Fed’s Open Market Committee – Bloomberg

We also have to contend with the consequences of a deadlocked SEC in short order thanks to the impending retirement of SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar – TheHill and Law360 and WSJ

Because he doesn’t have enough to worry about these days, Elon Musk has apparently decided to pick a fight with Warren Buffett – NYTimes and WSJ

Europe’s GPDR officially takes hold on May 25, though its reach will be notably global. Here’s a primer on what companies (and consumers) can expect—beyond a bunch of updated privacy notices – NYTimes

Activist investing giant Paul Singer and his Elliott Management Corp. are pushing to take Athenahealth private, and they’re offering a 27%/share premium to get it done – WSJ

We’ve rightly lauded KFC already for its social media savvy. It appears we can add Reese’s to the list of companies getting it right on the socials – Mashable