A government watchdog will review whether the financial market trading activity of two top economic officials at the Fed violated the central bank’s rules or the law, a Fed spokesperson said on Monday.

Why it matters: It’s the latest fallout from a rare public scandal at one of the world’s most influential economic bodies — one that's led to rapid resignations, raised questions about conflicts of interest and drawn ire from lawmakers.

Those turbocharged stock gains are coming in handy. More frequently, companies are using their shares as the hot currency to snap up other firms.

Why it matters: There’s been an uptick in the number of stock M&A transactions during this year's deal frenzy, helped by soaring valuations. But cash still looms large — and the growth in stock deals may be fleeting amid market volatility.

Buying and selling individual stocks is a hobby for rich people that, over the course of the pandemic, also became a hobby for millions of new investors using free trading apps. But given the number of conflicts involved, it's a hobby that many people should probably give up.

Why it matters: In recent days we've seen shock headlines about the stock-trading activities of judges and corporate insiders. Two Federal Reserve presidents resigned after they were revealed to be actively trading the markets they were also influencing via monetary policy.

Fewer than 20% of people in most southeast Asian countries are fully vaccinated, which has led to COVID-19 outbreaks and forced apparel factories to shut down.

Why it matters: U.S. companies can't change international vaccination rates on their own, and the problem illustrates another reason Americans have a self-interest in supporting the effort to vaccinate other countries. Besides preventing more virus mutations, better vaccination rates in southeast Asia would improve the flow of consumer goods like sneakers and apparel.

Eyeglass brand Warby Parker is public — with a $6 billion valuation to match, twice what it was worth during its last fundraising round as a private company.

Why it matters: It’s the latest in a slew of direct-to-consumer companies testing investor appetite.

Polestar, a Swedish maker of electric and hybrid cars that was spun out of Volvo in 2017, agreed to go public at an implied $20 billion valuation via a SPAC formed by Gores Group and Guggenheim Partners.

Why it matters: Polestar has delivered thousands of vehicles, unlike so many other EV SPAC targets (including some with higher valuations). It currently offers a hybrid high-performance car and an all-electric liftback, with an electric SUV coming next.

No official has been more publicly outspoken recently about regulator staffing shortages than SEC chair Gary Gensler. Complaints of this sort date back to at least 2009.

What they're saying: “We’ve got an IPO boom, we have a SPAC boom, we have cryptocurrencies to deal with ... [and] China," Gensler told CNBC last week.

The Federal Reserve hinted Wednesday its full throttle of economic support could start to ease as soon as November (its next policy meeting).

Why it matters: It would be the start of a pivot for the Fed, which unleashed unprecedented measures when the pandemic hit to help rescue the U.S. economy.

Toast, a Boston-based restaurant management platform, raised $870 million in an IPO that values the company at nearly $20 billion. It priced at $40 per share, which was above its original and upwardly-revised ranges, and will list on the NYSE (TOST).

Why it matters: This is whiplash success story. Toast was valued by VCs at $5 billion heading into the pandemic, but in April 2020 laid off nearly half of its employees and furloughed another 12%.

One byproduct of weakened demand for SPAC IPOs has been an uptick in sponsors getting anchor investors for their public offerings, often by offering them more favorable terms such as founder shares.

What’s happening: The trend continues. So far in September, anchor commitments represent more than half of all SPAC capital raised, per data from SPAC Research.