Evening Briefing

Covid-19 is spreading again across most of the U.S., hammering rural America and smaller cities and raising anxiety in New York, as experts warn that school reopenings and colder weather may cause the situation to rapidly deteriorate. Some 7.4 million Americans have been infected and almost 210,000 have died from the disease. Globally, more than 35 million infections have been confirmed and more than 1 million have died. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella

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U.S. stocks closed up the most in four weeks amid renewed optimism that a second coronavirus bailout package may actually be within reach. Treasury yields jumped and the dollar weakened. But while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin engaged in another round of talks Monday, there’s no sign they are close to deal.

The novel coronavirus can spread through the air to people who are more than 6 feet away from an infectious person, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, upending many guidelines put in place by governments and businesses that have relied on the six-foot benchmark. Also, about 4 out of 5 patients hospitalized with Covid-19 suffer neurologic symptoms such as muscle pain, headaches, confusion, dizziness and the loss of smell or taste, new research shows.

The Commission on Presidential Debates will require all attendees at upcoming forums to be tested for the coronavirus and wear masks. Democratic nominee Joe Biden is now leading Trump in Arizona by a wide margin. Here is the latest on the presidential campaign.

Exxon Mobil has been planning to increase annual carbon-dioxide emissions by as much as the output of the entire nation of Greece, Bloomberg has discovered. The largest U.S. oil producer has never made a commitment to lower oil and gas output or set a date by which it will become carbon neutral.

Retail investors, who have grown into a stock-market force this year, recently boosted their optimism to the highest level of 2020, increasing their market exposure just in time for an October surprise. That backdrop may help explain why markets held up last week amid the turmoil of a presidential debate that raised concerns over a contested election outcome and then news that Trump and others in the highest ranks of U.S. government had contracted the coronavirus. Through it all, the S&P 500 staged a 1.5% gain over five days, and by Monday afternoon the stock gauge had added another 1.4%.

Don’t worry about returning to the office, the big Silicon Valley companies have been telling their employees. And if you want to move somewhere cheaper, go ahead. But get ready to take a pay cut.

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Here are today’s top stories

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