As expected, the Fed finally acted yesterday, raising short-term interest rates (in a range between .25 to .5 percent ) for the first time in nearly a decade. Even with this move that’s been literally years in the making, there was an awful lot to say about the Fed’s decision – NYTimes and WSJ
And about Chair Yellen – NYTimes and Bloomberg
And about the markets’ reaction, yesterday and moving forward – NYTimes and WSJ
And about how the rest of the world will respond – WSJ and Bloomberg
And about what’s next for the Fed – WSJ
Federal authorities have arrested Martin Shkreli—the 32-year-old Turing Pharma CEO and founder of now-defunct hedge fund MSMB Capital Mgmt in the headlines of late for his decision to raise the price of HIV-drug Daraprim 5000%—on charges of securities fraud over his alleged illegal use of stock from Retrophin Inc., a biotech firm he started in 2011 – Bloomberg
Here’s some timing that could matter in a big way—Hilton is planning on spinning off its hotels into a REIT, and because it’s already sought IRS sign-off on the deal, Hilton would be exempt from the legislation we discussed last week that would ban such transactions – WSJ and Bloomberg
A split Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) finalized new rules yesterday “around the collateral swap dealers and others have to post for swap transactions that aren’t cleared through central counterparties.” The dissenting commissioner warned that the new measures were made “following pressure from the industry” and have removed a “vital shock absorber” that would protect financial institutions from collapse if a credit-default swap went bad – Law360
Third Avenue Management has worked out a deal with the SEC to put a sort of official-looking stamp on its decision last week to prevent investors from making a run on its high-yield credit fund. The agreement transfers the remaining fund assets from a liquidating trust into the original mutual fund structure that remaining investors can track daily via its ticker – NYTimes and WSJ
Also, what happens when it’s not a single entity that’s a SIFI but rather an entire class of financial institutions (like mutual funds)? A scary thought to chew on, courtesy of Dealbook’s “In Debt” column – NYTimes
Bank of America’s asking the 2d Circuit to overturn the “preposterous” $1.3 billion penalty over its “hustle” mortgage origination program – Law360
A little adios piece [and not the only one] for the amazing Abby Wambach, who retired from professional soccer after last night’s exhibition against China at the Superdome. Some quick numbers: 254 caps, 184 goals (international record), 4 World Cup appearances, 1 World Cup championship, 2 Olympic gold medals. 35 years old – NYTimes