Clocking in at an as-promised $150 billion, the Pfizer/Allergan merger is a done deal, marking one of the biggest ever takeovers in the health care industry. As mentioned here last week, the deal finalization comes on the heels of the Treasury and IRS announcing new rules aimed at eliminating the tax benefits associated with deals just like this one – NYTimes and WSJ
A collection of Puerto Rico’s “most influential creditors” are reportedly considering for the first time a government proposal for overhauling the island’s “crushing [$72 billion in] debts.” The plan calls for a debt exchange that would involve rolling up most of the island’s existing debt into a new “superbond,” in which current general obligation holders would have the first claim on government revenues – NYTimes
An update on MetLife’s anti-SIFI battle, which Better Markets Inc.—a financial industry watchdog—argues is happening almost entirely in private (thanks to sealed and heavily redacted court records) – Law360
The Journal offers up some anecdotal evidence (involving the SEC’s chief in-house judge) along with enforcement decision statistics from the past 4 years that provide insight into why defendants have been pulling out all the stops in challenging the agency’s administrative enforcement process – WSJ
Some central bank fun on a Monday morning, including moving from a “when” to “how” with the Fed’s increasingly likely December liftoff, and what it means when the Fed and its European counterpart—the ECB—are likely moving in different directions (with the Fed likely to raise rates and the ECB considering additional monetary stimulus) – WSJ
The OMB’s website has hinted that a long-delayed piece of the Dodd-Frank puzzle—limits on bonuses in the financial services industry—could be in play by the end of December. No one seems to be holding her breath – Law360
This weekend’s Fair Game column looks at litigation initiated by a former Intel employee who sued the Silicon Valley giant for “big bets on hedge funds and private equity” in its $14.6 billion employee retirement plans that he argues have hurt plan participants. At its core, the suit concerns the question of whether “hedge funds, private equity portfolios and commodities be anywhere near a 401(k) plan?” – NYTimes
The Fed’s recent bail-in rules that require banks to increase their “total loss-absorbing capacity” contain a few quirks (including a requirement that debt held for TLAC purposes must be governed by US state or federal law) that are likely to mean some “unexpected” burdens for the big banks – WSJ
Argentina took a hard turn right over the weekend after 12 years of “leftist populism,” and many anticipate a new business-friendly environment will accompany President-elect Mauricio Macri as he takes power – Bloomberg
In Oak Park, on a quest for FLW’s trail-blazing early work – NYTimes
Adele—who’s killing it, by the way, with her recently dropped album “25”—apparently has a pretty solid sense of humor – BBC