The pandemic has entered a worrisome new phase

[Bloomberg]( Follow Us This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a scary chart of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - In Europe and America, the [pandemic is in a dangerous new phase](. - We need stimulus to keep a [recession from becoming a depression](. - We could use some [answers from Amy Coney Barrett](. - SoftBank’s latest [hot offering is already highly priced](. Covid’s Second (Third? Extended First?) Wave Is Here When Max Nisen first wrote about this [chart]( back in June, it was scary: It showed that the U.S. not only failed to contain its first coronavirus wave, but it also let it grow even bigger. But at least you could take some comfort in knowing Europe had its outbreak under control. Four months later? So much for comfort: Now we’ve got a chart of America’s ongoing pandemic ineptitude as well as [a large and still-gathering second wave in Europe](, Max writes. Unfortunately, after seven months of this disaster, people on both sides of the Atlantic are much likelier to chafe at restrictions meant to keep the hospitals from filling up again. European authorities are starting to [clamp down]( on activity again. Italy and the U.K. have even gone so far as to [encourage citizens to rat each other out]( for violating new social-distancing rules. As Ferdinando Giugliano writes, such suggestions are unhelpful. They only make people distrust both their governments and their neighbors. Also unhelpful? Having no plan at all, as in the U.S., where many states with the most new cases also have the loosest social-distancing rules, Max writes. It could be a very long winter. Paid Post The Madness Every earnings season, thousands of analysts spend 40% of their time manually entering identical numbers into nearly identical spreadsheets. Hundreds of funds already use [Canalyst’s]( 4000+ fundamental models and seamless earnings updates to [get ahead](.  Canalyst We Still Need That Stimulus, Only More What might help keep us warm is some more economic stimulus. The worst of the collapse may be over, helped by policy heroics in the spring. But that steroid boost is wearing off in the fall, leaving a deep recession behind. And lawmakers are at odds on doing more. A $1.8 trillion White House proposal is probably just good enough that Nancy Pelosi [should]( take it. But it’s also doubtful Senate Republicans will pass it. As Nir Kaissar and Tim O’Brien write, too many in the [GOP seem to think the economy doesn’t need help](. But we’re still teetering on the edge of a depression that only fiscal safeguards can prevent. Even a stimulus skeptic should be on board with spending more on coronavirus testing and tracing and making sure the [knowledge and skills of thousands of small businesses]( aren’t wiped out unnecessarily, writes Tyler Cowen.   Further Economics Reading: - Joe [Biden shouldn’t raise taxes]( in a weak economy. — Michael R. Strain - Falling office-space demand will lower rent, which could be [good for workers and entrepreneurialism](. — Conor Sen Parsing Barrett’s Non-Answers Amy Coney Barrett spent a third day diligently [not answering]( questions in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on her appointment to the Supreme Court. This may be annoying, but Ramesh Ponnuru writes she's just [carrying on a long tradition established by Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg]( of offering no hint of how she’ll rule on cases. In a perfect world, Noah Feldman writes, senators would ask, and Barrett would answer, questions about [the conflict between her avowed originalism and dedication to following precedent](. It was an issue for her mentor Scalia, and it would be interesting to hear her thoughts on the subject. It would also be good to know whether she considers Roe v. Wade a bulletproof “super-precedent” like Brown v. Board of Education or Marbury v. Madison. Reading between Barrett’s lawyerly lines, though, you can pick up some clues as to her thinking. For example, on several occasions she has [declined to offer a full-throated defense of democracy](, writes Frank Wilkinson, suggesting she’ll be friendly to any Republican efforts to entrench minority power, possibly as soon as the upcoming election. Telltale Charts SoftBank’s hot new thing is [Opendoor, which flips houses and is about to be taken public]( by a SPAC. But Chris Bryant warns it’s already wildly overvalued, with revenue crimped for the next couple of years and profitability a distant dream. Higher H-1B visa wages will [attract higher-value tech workers](, which will in turn attract higher-value tech employers, writes Noah Smith. Wins all around. Further Reading Kudos to [China for setting ambitious new climate goals](. But it must dramatically change its behavior to meet them. — Bloomberg’s editorial board China’s new [five-year plan aims right at key U.S. industries]( of high tech and green tech. — Anjani Trivedi Foxconn needs to admit it [hasn’t lived up to its promises in Wisconsin](. — Tim Culpan Jane Fraser’s top priority will be [fixing Citi’s woeful internal controls and risk management](. — Elisa Martinuzzi Goldman Sachs keeps [finding new ways to make money](. — Brian Chappatta The Pentagon’s [wish for a 500-ship Navy is too much]( for the budget to bear. — James Stavridis Russia’s [mysterious Kamchatka sea-life die-off]( is the latest sign it must take climate risks seriously. — Clara Ferreira Marques ICYMI Senate Republicans are [starting to turn on Trump](. The U.K. [isn’t giving up on Brexit talks]( just yet. Countries are [hoarding food as prices rise](. Kominers’s Conundrums Hint If you're still thinking about [that fly]( at the vice presidential debate, don't forget to consider how both candidates will react to the moderator's announcement, and how those reactions influence what the candidates do next. If and when one candidate blushes, that actually reveals a bit of information to the other candidate about what the first one has (or has not) seen. — Scott Duke Kominers Kickers Wind power's [future may be in deep water](. [Room-temperature superconductivity]( achieved for the first time. Millions of [old Usenet posts are now available]( online. Netflix keeps [canceling shows too soon](. Note: Please send food and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Twitter]( and [Facebook](.  Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access]( and get much, much more. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. 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 Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022