The Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 30,000 for the first time as investors piled into risk assets after the Trump administration retreated from its unprecedented refusal to acknowledge or fund President-elect Joe Biden’s transition. Markets were also buoyed as more states certified results from the Nov. 3 election. President Donald Trump has nevertheless refused to concede defeat and is continuing his so-far losing battle to keep Biden out of the White House. The exuberance in equities comes despite the massive loss of life to Covid-19, both in the U.S. and around the world. “There’s nothing else to buy. People have this excess cash,” said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group. “People are ignoring the short term and just jumping in.” Speaking of which, Bitcoin mania is now approaching 2017 levels. —David E. Rovella 

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Here are today’s top stories

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has denied any political motivation in clawing back funds from programs aimed at propping up the U.S. economy, plans to put $455 billion in unspent rescue package money out of reach from his incoming replacement, former Fed Chair Janet Yellen. But that may be unlikely to stop her from moving aggressively to revive the world’s biggest economy with more bailout funding.

Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

Amateur stock traders are doubling down. Their voracious appetite, unchecked by Covid-19 or a U.S. constitutional crisis, is whipping up volume in the normally sleepy Thanksgiving week. More than 26 billion shares changed hands on American exchanges over the last two days, up 72% from the same stretch a year ago. Demand is swamping brokerage websites, with both Vanguard and Merrill Lynch crashing.

The biggest private equity firms in the U.S. are unleashing a flurry of new leveraged buyouts and debt-funded dividends, seeking to make up for lost time after staying on the sidelines for much of 2020.

Questions are swirling around the efficacy of one of the three front-runners in the race for a coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has been quick to tout two potential Russian drugs as safe and effective. But that doesn’t mean the Kremlin leader is volunteering to get one. Here is the latest on the pandemic.

Vladimir Putin

Financial technology startup Stripe is in talks to raise a new funding round that will value it higher than its last private valuation of $36 billion.

Boeing, which has its hands full trying to persuade the flying public to step aboard its troubled 737 Max, was dinged by the Pentagon for damaging U.S. military aircraft or components at three of its facilities, adding to existing problems the company has had with, among other things, the Apache attack helicopter. 

The AH-64 Apache 

As Covid-19 spread around the world, it challenged preconceptions about which countries could best tackle it, and which would fail to control the worst public health crisis in a century. Bloomberg has crunched the numbers to determine the best places to be during the coronavirus era. This is where the virus is being handled effectively, and where it is not.

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• These AAA bonds are tumbling as China default fears grow.
• Amazon gives $3,000 signing bonuses, but not everyone is happy. 
• Elon Musk is now the second-richest person on the planet.
• Sweden’s unique approach to Covid-19 isn’t causing herd immunity.
• New York City plans coronavirus checkpoints on its bridges.
• YouTube suspends a far-right wing channel that Trump likes.
• Gifts to keep your cooped-up kids entertained (and off your back).

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Wealth

Mega-Rich Want a Second Passport From Santa

Ex-Google titan Eric Schmidt has all the typical trappings of an American plutocrat: superyacht, check. Gulfstream, check. Manhattan penthouse, check. But his newest asset is a second passport, as he applies to become a citizen of Cyprus. Schmidt is joining a growing club of wealthy individuals looking to hedge their bets.

Chrysochous Bay, Cyprus

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