The daily business briefing: August 25, 2016

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1. Mylan says it will help patients pay for EpiPens
2. Stocks struggle as investors await Yellen speech
3. Oil prices sink as U.S. crude inventories rise unexpectedly
4. Money gushes from hedge funds as returns disappoint investors
5. 'Queen of Knitwear' Sonia Rykiel dies at 86

published 25 August 2016

1. Mylan says it will help patients pay for EpiPens

Drug maker Mylan announced Thursday that it would reduce the cost to patients of its EpiPen emergency auto-injectors to treat severe allergic reactions, offering a savings card to reduce out-of-pocket costs by up to $300 for a two-pack. The move came a day after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called for a price cut. The company has faced a mounting backlash after hiking the price for a pack of two EpiPens from $100 to as much as $700 since Mylan bought EpiPen in 2007. The company's stock plunged by 5.4 percent on Wednesday, and Mylan CEO Heather Bresch faced mounting criticism after NBC News reported her compensation had risen from $2,453,456 to $18,931,068 between 2007 and 2015.

Global stocks and the dollar drifted lower early Thursday ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole meeting. Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen is due to give a speech at 10 a.m. Friday that is expected to provide clues regarding how she believes the economy is faring, and when to expect the Fed's next interest rate hike. "Everyone's sort of sitting on pins and needles," said Phil Orlando, Federated Investors chief market strategist. S&P 500 futures were down 0.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 1.1 percent in early trading, and shares in Shanghai were down 0.6 percent.

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Oil prices dropped by nearly 3 percent on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories grew unexpectedly, renewing oversupply fears. Analysts had predicted a 500,000 barrel drawdown last week, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that inventories grew by 2.5 million barrels. "It's ridiculous how much of oil we're swimming in," said Phil Davis, trader at PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey. U.S benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures fell by $1.33, or 2.8 percent, to settle at $46.77 per barrel.

Investors pulled $25.2 billion from hedge funds in July, the biggest one-month exodus since February 2009, according to an eVestment report released Wednesday. It was the industry's second consecutive month of massive outflows. Investors pulled out $23.5 billion in June. The report said the redemptions, which now total $55.9 billion this year, were sparked by high costs and "mediocre" performance by numerous funds last year.

French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel has died in Paris from the effects of Parkinson's disease, her daughter, Nathalie Rykiel, said Thursday. She was 86. Rykiel once said she was "supposed to be a mother like my mother, who didn’t work." Then she got pregnant, and couldn't find a maternity dress she liked. "Everything was abominable. So I made one," she said. "Then I made a pullover. Elle put it on the cover. Then WWD elected me the Queen of Knitwear."

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.