Minutes from the December Federal Reserve meeting show that officials were committed to higher-for-longer interest rates, convertible bonds have been a rare bright spot for corporate fundraising, and two bombs killed more than a hundred people in southern Iran yesterday. Plus, some Russians convicted of gruesome crimes are returning to their communities after fighting in Ukraine.  Mentioned in this podcast:Fed officials said rates could remain high ‘for some time’US companies dive into convertible debt to hold down interest costsBomb blasts at Iranian commander’s grave kill nearly 100The Russian murderers sent home as free men after fighting in UkraineThe FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.