As variant storm clouds gather over a world battered by the coronavirus, some good news arrived for Americans when the White House announced Tuesday that Merck will help make Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine, a rare collaboration between rivals. In Europe, Ireland reported the fewest new cases since December while Serbia donated 5,000 doses of the AstraZeneca shot to neighboring Bosnia-Herzegovina. But elsewhere in the world, Covid-19 continues to wreak deadly havoc. Here’s the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic globally and across America. 

Here are today’s top stories  

They’re headed for the exits at Goldman Sachs. The latest departure is the bank’s chief lawyer, Karen Seymour. As a federal prosecutor, she sent Martha Stewart to prison. Then she moved to Goldman, where she played a crucial role in helping the bank settle criminal probes (Goldman paid $5 billion in penalties) in the 1MDB scandal last year. Now she’s leaving.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation exchange-trade fund, the main fund at Ark Investment Management, notched its second-biggest inflow ever on Friday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

U.S. stocks dropped after the biggest rally in nine months fueled speculation that investors are a bit too optimistic about equities. Treasuries stabilized after a recent spike in yields, and the dollar retreated. Here is your markets wrap.

Twice in the last week, the U.S. announced new sanctions. They were against Russia for what U.S. intelligence said was the Kremlin’s botched effort to assassinate the arch rival of Vladimir Putin, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Saudi Arabia for human rights abuses including the brutal killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In the latter case, U.S. officials concluded the murder and dismemberment of the U.S. resident was perpetrated with the approval of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. But in both instances, President Joe Biden has been assailed for failing to punish the two countries as much as he should. Critics are beginning to grumble about weakness.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russia's President Vladimir Putin attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires in 2018. 

Photographer: Alejandro Pagni/AFP

Increases in visas for highly skilled foreign workers could fall by the wayside this year if Democrats decide to overhaul immigration through a series of small bills instead of the sweeping one put forward by Biden.

Justin Trudeau was more committed to borrowing his way out of the Covid-19 crisis last year than almost any other leader in the developed world. While it cushioned the blow of the pandemic, it also raises some hard questions about what Canada got for all that spending.

Japan’s government clinched a symbolic victory in their prosecution of Carlos Ghosn with the successful extradition of two Americans accused of helping the ex-chairman of Nissan Motor escape trial over a year ago.

Carlos Ghosn, former Nissan chief executive officer, at a news conference in Jounieh, Lebanon, on Sept. 29. He fled Japan for Beirut.

Photographer: Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg

What you’ll need to know tomorrow 

• As health officials warn of variants, Texas drops Covid precautions.
• Security for shipping vaccines can look like a James Bond film.
• This new ETF wants to ride the Reddit-trading revolution.
• New York’s Cuomo is losing his Covid powers as scandal grows. 
• Bloomberg Businessweek: The four-day work-week is coming.
• Elon Musk invited Putin to chat in Clubhouse?
• Harry Potter video game will include transgender characters.

Paid Post Knappogue Castle is an exceptional Irish single malt made exclusively from malted barley. Triple distilled one batch at a time in traditional, onion-shaped copper pot stills, the whiskey is then aged in bourbon oak casks for twelve years. The delicate distillation process, along with the moist and temperate climate, yields the distinctive flavor of this remarkable Irish single malt. Your home is your castle, stock it accordingly with Knappogue Castle! Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Screentime

Hulu Set to Pass ABC Network on Ad Revenue

Advertising at Walt Disney’s online channels looks set to overtake the company’s ABC broadcast network as marketers shift spending to more targeted audiences. Indeed, online outlets such as ESPN+, ABC.com and, ahem, Hulu will soon pass the network. 

Like getting the Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters.

Interested in the future of health care? Sign up for Bloomberg’s Prognosis. Get the latest news and analysis about the people, science and industries driving the medical economy, delivered to your mailbox weekly.

Download the Bloomberg app: It’s available for iOS and Android.

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.