The U.S. is now averaging as many deaths per day from Covid-19 as it was in April when the pandemic first brutalized the Northeast. The seven-day average of reported daily fatalities rose to 2,201 on Sunday, one shy of the peak on April 18. Vaccines may begin to be administered this week, but tens of thousands more Americans are expected to die before the coronavirus is tamed. On Monday, the New York Times reported that last summer, aides to President Donald Trump rejected an offer from Pfizer to sell the government additional doses of its drug. As a result, Pfizer may not be able provide more doses to Americans until June. But to the north, Canada has reserved more vaccine shots per person than any other nation. —David E. Rovella

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Here are today’s top stories

A second U.S. coronavirus bailout bill looks like it may total around $900 billion. But talks slowed again, this time on Republican demands that business owners be fully protected from lawsuits tied to their employees or customers who are sickened or killed by Covid-19. Hospitalizations continue to climb all across the U.S. with a peak nowhere in sight, and Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that a terrible holiday season may be followed by an even worse January. In Europe, Italy is seeing cases slow while infections are still rising in the U.K. and France. Here is the latest on the pandemic.

Stocks fell as infection spikes triggered fears of more restrictions. The pound pared losses as the U.K. agreed on further talks with the European Commission to address the Brexit impasse. Here is the markets wrap.

Palantir Technologies, co-founded by Trump ally Peter Thiel, won a $44 million deal with the Food and Drug Administration to provide software for drug reviews and inspections, further expanding government business the company has obtained while Trump has been in the White House.

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel in 2016.

Goldman Sachs is weighing whether to become the latest financial giant to take a chunk out of New York City, as it considers dissing the market hub in favor of Florida for one of its key divisions.

Water joined gold, oil and other commodities traded on Wall Street, highlighting worries that the natural resource critical to human existence is becoming scarce across more of the world.

Dubai’s largest developer is temporarily halting new projects amid a property glut that, combined with the pandemic, has shaved almost a third off house prices in the past six years.

As hedge funds worldwide shrink, one country is bucking the trend: Brazil, where traders are quitting bank jobs to try their luck at potential multimillion-dollar payoffs.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Real Estate

Manhattan Luxury-Home Buyers Are Back

Contracts to buy Manhattan luxury homes are faring well even durng the pandemic, with more deals signed in the past three months than in the same period last year. Rising stock portfolios and deep discounts on some of Manhattan’s most exclusive homes are luring buyers back.

One57, a supertall skyscraper on Manhattan’s billionaire row.

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