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Biden tries to rebuild economic agenda, Turkey’s defence of the lira, and omicron is dominant U.S. strain. Building back build back better P [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Biden tries to rebuild economic agenda, Turkey’s defence of the lira, and omicron is dominant U.S. strain. Building back build back better  President Joe Biden and Senator Joe Manchin held a phone conversation which the White House believes could [keep the door open to reviving talks]( on Biden’s [economic agenda](. Manchin, who represents coal-rich West Virginia, has been called on to [reconsider his decision to reject the package]( by America’s biggest coal mining union. The senator has said that his [opposition to the package]( was in part based on the amount of debt the U.S. would be taking on, with his position stiffened by [the recent surge in inflation](. Investors are looking at the [positive side for now](, taking heart from the fact that at least both sides are still talking. Lira therapy It has been a wild couple of days for Turkey’s lira in what had already been a [very busy year for the currency](. Having traded as low as 18 to the dollar yesterday, this morning it rose to a peak close to 11 per dollar, staging the [biggest daily rally since at least 1983](. The snap back follows a rescue plan announced yesterday which promised protection from the currency’s huge swings. Critics are calling the move, which would pay depositors if the lira declines against hard currencies by more than bank interest rates, [as a rate hike without the benefits](. The lira was at 12.9 per dollar by 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time. Covid policy President Biden will announce plans today to [send out 500 million free Covid tests]( in a scheduled speech in which he is also expected to again warn of the threat from the pandemic faced by the unvaccinated. His address comes as federal estimates show the omicron variant is now the [dominant strain in the U.S.]( The rapid spread of the new variant has led to a reversal of the push for workers to [return to the office](, the [cancellation of many events]( and [school closures](. Latest data from South Africa where omicron was first sequenced show mixed signals with [infections rapidly falling while deaths rose significantly](. Markets rise Global stocks are bouncing back from the [recent selloff]( this morning as investors take some heart from signs Biden’s agenda may not be dead yet. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 1.1% while Japan’s Topix index closed 1.5% higher. Chinese developer [stocks rallied](. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index had gained 0.9% by 5:50 a.m. with mining companies the best performers. S&P 500 futures also pointed to [a gain at the open](, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.446%, oil was at [$69.60 a barrel]( and gold rose. Coming up... The U.S. current account balance for the third quarter is published at 8:30 a.m. Canadian retail sales data for October is also at that time. The U.S. sells $20 billion of 20-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. Biden delivers remarks on the status of the U.S. fight against the pandemic at 2:30 p.m. BlackBerry Ltd., General Mills Inc. and AAR Corp. are among the companies reporting results. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Global retail’s [battle with Covid]( actually saved its stores. - Jack Dorsey dismisses Web3 as a [venture capitalists’ plaything](. - Black wealth could [get a 40% boost]( if Biden heeds calls to cancel student debt. - Traders sent [$30 billion into the dip]( and this time got bruised. - Debt-rule showdown will [shape Europe’s economy]( for years to come. - Bloomberg’s best reads of the year, [according to our readers](. - A plunge in Earth’s magnetic field 41,000 years ago saw [auroras at the equator](. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning I've definitely never seen a chart like this before. In less than 24 hours, the dollar dropped around 40% against the Turkish Lira, after Turkish President Erdogan announced measures to stem the currency's fall. My colleague Onur Ant has a great [explainer]( of what's just gone on, but basically Erdogan is engaging in de facto monetary policy through the fiscal channel. It's pretty common to hear people criticize central banks these days for engaging in "covert" or "backdoor" fiscal policy. Anytime a central bank does any kind of asset purchases, or anything like that, someone accuses the central bank of getting out of its lane. This is particularly the case, when a central bank buys credit assets, or tries to direct money to some public priority, like "green" initatives. But this is the first time I can recall the opposite, where the fiscal authority engaged in backdoor monetary policy, by promising to pay extra lira to deposit holders (along with other measures) in case the currency falls a certain amount against foreign currencies. In other words, the government is instituting rate hikes for depositors by paying the rate hikes itself. Of course, this puts pressure on the fiscal balance, which raises different questions. But for now, it will be fascinating to see how this plays out. [Read the whole explainer here](. Follow Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal on Twitter [@TheStalwart]( Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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