Will Wall Street’s best traders settle for a mere 30% raise? Masters of the universe who saved their firms’ bottom lines in the first half are facing a reality of the pandemic recession: Record revenue won’t mean record bonuses, with most businesses seeing declines of 10% or more. Even bond traders are likely to find year-end rewards don’t line up with the cash they generated. —David E. Rovella

Here are today’s top stories

Texas’s coronavirus infection rate hit a new record as members of the Federal Reserve said the eagerness among some states to reopen businesses early, and the resulting wildfire of infections and deaths, is the reason America’s recovery is grinding to a halt. On Wall Street, the pandemic has created an unexpected boom in surveillance: As traders continue to work from home, banks are beefing up their efforts to monitor their every move. Here is the latest on the pandemic.

The U.K. economy suffered more than any major European nation during coronavirus lockdowns, piling pressure on the government of Boris Johnson.

China’s largest state-run banks operating in Hong Kong are taking tentative steps to comply with U.S. sanctions imposed on officials in the city, seeking to safeguard their access to crucial dollar funding and overseas networks.

U.S. consumer prices rose in July by more than expected on a jump in auto and apparel costs. Meanwhile, about 16 million Americans are unemployed and many are going hungry while talks over a second rescue package are still at a stalemate.

Senator Kamala Harris brings advantages to the ticket of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, but there are downsides, too. Perhaps the biggest is her record as a prosecutor. Harris’s offices fought innocence claims by men of color who were wrongfully convicted, stood behind long prison terms for “three-strikes” defendants convicted of minor offenses and threatened to jail parents of truants.

Apparently not a fan of Harris now, President Donald Trump made donations to her in 2011 and 2013. Harris’s office said she gave the money to a nonprofit that advocates for Central Americans. Trump just praised a Republican primary winner in Georgia who has demeaned Black, Muslim and Jewish people, and subscribes to a far-right wing conspiracy theory that ties in everything from the sinking of the Titanic to Satan worship.

State officials wary of slower-than-usual mail delivery are extending deadlines and making backup plans to smooth early voting in the weeks before the November election, including tracking ballots as they move through the U.S. postal system. Their concern stems from an expected flood of mail-in ballots, a refusal by Republicans in the Senate to add funds for the Postal Service to a second pandemic bailout, and Trump megadonor and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s decision to cut overtime and centralize authority around himself.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• Six things you’re doing wrong when buying stocks on your own.
• South Africa is being pushed to the brink of economic disaster.
• The best hope for enough Covid-19 vaccine comes from India.
• Citigroup predicts the rally in these Asian stocks will keep going.
• Disney’s CEO is busy scrapping once-sacred businesses.
• iPhone maker says China’s days as factory to the world are over.
• Viacom CEO, media empire builder Sumner Redstone has died.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

How Lucid’s Electric Car Stacks Up Against Tesla

In a world full of electric vehicle buzz and startup hype, range anxiety remains a key reason why consumers hesitate to make the switch. For those holdouts, Lucid Motors has just laid down a serious challenge, announcing a battery that can produce 517 miles on a single charge. That’s enough juice to get you from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back.

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