The next wave is here

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( Stay tuned for special Election Night editions of Balance of Power. The second wave has arrived. After some success in tamping back the Covid-19 pandemic, Europe’s governments are again buckling under its pressure, while in the U.S. contagion is spreading at record-setting levels just as Americans choose their next president. France and Germany announced [month-long restrictions]( yesterday as European leaders strive to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, while also buffering economies against the devastation wreaked by spring lockdowns. The mood is grim. President Emmanuel Macron warned of 400,000 French fatalities from the disease within months if nothing is done. German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged the hardship, saying “we know what we’re demanding of the people.” As [Jonathan Stearns]( reports, the 27-nation European Union, the world’s largest single market, is holding a virtual summit today that’s become a [crisis meeting]( on tackling the pandemic. Next door in the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson is [under pressure]( to introduce another national lockdown. Scientists there say Britain is at a “critical stage.” And the [spike in U.S. infections]( is dominating the increasingly toxic presidential race between Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden with just days to go before the vote. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious-diseases expert, pleaded with people to put politics aside and [wear face masks]( that could save 130,000 lives. Politicians are all pinning their hopes on an [effective vaccine]( that [may help]( relieve the sense of siege. But markets tumbled in the U.S. and Europe yesterday as investors digested the unfolding economic implications. With little hope the world will return to normal before the northern winter sets in, governments, investors and everyday citizens are bracing for rising infections and harsh lockdowns. People watch Macron announce new virus lockdown measures in a cafe in Bordeaux, France yesterday. Photographer: Philippe Lopez/AFP Tell us how we’re doing or what we’re missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. Global Headlines [Messing with Texas]( | A dramatic surge in early voting across cities in Texas is infusing fresh hope in Democrats’ dream of shaking the Republicans’ once-solid grip on the state. Texas hasn’t gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1976. From Austin to Houston, and in their sprawling suburbs, turnout is shattering records and polls show Biden within striking distance of Trump. Campaign 2020 There are five days until the election. Here’s the latest on the [race for control]( of the White House and Congress. The U.S. Supreme Court [dealt Republicans two blows]( on the deadlines for mail ballots to arrive in states that could decide the presidential election, leaving intact a six-day extension in North Carolina while refusing to schedule a fast-track review of a GOP appeal involving Pennsylvania. [Click here]( for a state-by-state look at record early voting. Other developments - [Collins Re-Election Fight Haunted by Supreme Court Battle]( - [Election Will Decide Fate of Alaska Gold Mine, Shift to E-Cars]( - [Oil Market Faces Iran Shock If Biden Win Points to Nuclear Deal]( Don’t miss the biggest U.S. election headlines as they happen. Download Bloomberg's app [for Android]( or[for iOS]( and turn on push notifications. [Planned economy]( | China will offer the first glimpse of its economic strategy for the next five and 15 years today, when the Chinese Communist Party releases policy blueprints after four days of closed-door meetings in Beijing. The plan is expected to include a focus on technological innovation and pollution control as China draws on domestic resources amid heightened tensions with the U.S. [Trade tiff]( | The Trump administration halted the World Trade Organization’s effort to pick a leader and chart a new course for the global trading system yesterday by vetoing Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s bid to be the next director-general. While Okonjo-Iweala, the front-runner, holds both Nigerian and U.S. citizenship, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is backing South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee in a confrontation that could devolve into gridlock and diplomatic friction with partners like the EU. [Brexit’s bright side]( | The U.K.'s exit from the EU is expected to cause significant disruption, with even ardent Brexit-backing economists predicting businesses will struggle to engage a continent they’ve had largely unencumbered access to for decades. Still, the divorce is also supposed to yield opportunity and, as [Joe Mayes](, [Deirdre Hipwell]( and [Lucy Meakin]( report, possible long-term benefits include new regulatory freedoms, an independent trade policy and a stricter immigration system to reinvent the labor force. - EU and U.K. negotiators [made progress]( this week toward resolving some of the biggest disagreements that have long bedeviled the Brexit talks, raising hopes for a deal by early November. [No second wave]( | While coronavirus is spreading in some parts of the world faster than ever, Taiwan has nailed a different record -- 200 days without a locally transmitted case. What did the island nation do right? As [Cindy Wang]( and [Samson Ellis]( report, closing borders early and regulating travel helped. So did rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and widespread mask wearing, with Taiwan’s deadly experience with SARS helping scare people into compliance. A municipal worker sprays sanitizer into a woman's hands at the entrance to the Ningxia Night Market in Taipei in July. Photographer: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg What to Watch - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hopes the selloff in U.S. stocks [will prompt Trump]( to agree to Democratic demands in stalled stimulus talks. - Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak faces spending much of his remaining years in prison, after [the Supreme Court upheld]( a lower court’s corruption conviction against the conservative ex-leader. - Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 economies [plan to hold]( an extraordinary meeting Nov. 13 to discuss bolder action to help poor nations struggling to repay their debts amid the pandemic. - A vaccine to help control the coronavirus outbreak [isn’t likely to be available]( in the U.S. until January, if then, Fauci says. [And finally]( ... On Tuesday, democracy in the U.S. is going to require almost 300,000 ounces of hand sanitizer and 10,000 liters of surface disinfectant, plus 500,000 screen wipes. And that’s just for Wisconsin. As voters throng polling stations, it’s up to local authorities to make sure no one gets sick with Covid-19. The lack of an overarching strategy has prompted officials to impose their own restrictions, from popsicle sticks for pushing voting machine buttons to workers wiping down screens after every ballot cast. A polling station worker sprays disinfectant on voting booths in San Francisco on Tuesday. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg   Like Balance of Power? [Get unlimited access to Bloomberg.com](, where you'll find trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters.  You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Balance of Power newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022