Moderna, which along with BioNTech/Pfizer has touted the success of its proposed coronavirus vaccine, climbed as much as 10% on Wednesday, hitting a record high. While investors await the results of independent analyses of the drugs and the data presented by the Big Pharma firms, a third potential vaccine by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has hit some rough sledding. On Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden called on Americans to unite in the face of a “long, hard winter,” using a Thanksgiving address to the nation to grieve for the 261,000 Americans killed by the coronavirus. Globally, cases have now exceeded 60 million. Here is the latest on the pandemic. —David E. Rovella 

Bloomberg is mapping the pandemic globally and across America. For the latest news, sign up for our Covid-19 podcast and daily newsletter.

Here are today’s top stories

Bank of America has some really bad news for Wall Street traders who were hoping for hefty raises after a record-setting run. Indeed, a slow trading day this year would have been considered huge back in 2019.

President Donald Trump predicted markets would crash once investors found out Biden had been elected president. It seems the opposite is happening. Here is how markets turned out today. Meanwhile, Amazon merchants say products that normally reach customers in one or two days are now taking a week. And Black Friday—of what is expected to be an unprecedented online shopping season—isn’t even here yet.

SoftBank-backed Compass, one of the largest real estate brokerages in America, has selected underwriters for a potential initial public offering.

Michael Flynn, the former U.S. national security adviser who held discussions with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. before Trump took office, lied about it to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, then pleaded guilty to lying about it as part of the probe of Russia’s effort to throw the 2016 election to Trump, was pardoned by him on Wednesday.

Michael Flynn, center, arrives at federal court in Washington on Dec. 18, 2018.  

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

A Pennsylvania judge, Republican Patricia McCullough, has halted that state’s process of certifying Biden’s victory there, as Trump and his associates continue their campaign to keep him in power despite having lost. Pennsylvania state officials furiously attacked McCullough, saying her move to halt ascertainment of Biden as president was unprecedented in the history of the U.S. In another Pennsylvania lawsuit, Democrats were a bit lighter in tone, citing Monty Python in response to Trump’s latest legal salvo.

The pandemic has become a surprise boon for women working in India’s $200 billion technology services sector, also known as the world’s back office.

Diego Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players ever and a legend in his home country of Argentina, has died. He was 60. Bobby Ghosh writes in Bloomberg Opinion how the famous player was better than Ronaldo—and even Messi.

Diego Maradona in the late 1980s, when he led Italy’s Napoli team to victory.

Photographer: Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images Europe

What you’ll need to know tomorrow

• New York hits 6,000 daily virus cases, the most since April.
• Salesforce is mulling a deal for Slack Technologies. Slack surged.
• Bertelsmann is buying Simon & Schuster for $2.2 billion.
• The Army Corps of Engineers rejects Alaska gold and copper mine. 
• IBM is planning to fire 10,000 more of its employees.
• China’s fintech giants are scrambling to rethink IPOs.
• How to socialize in cold weather without being miserable.

What you’ll want to read in Bloomberg Pursuits

We Have New Thanksgiving Traditions For You

The question for Thanksgiving 2020 is not whether it will look like years past. Of course, it won’t. The real question is do people want to hold on to tradition as much as possible, or is this the year to throw everything out—to acknowledge that you never liked turkey and cook up a new vision of the holiday? We think you know the answer.

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The Bloomberg 50 is Bloomberg Businessweek’s celebration of the year’s most notable icons and innovators as well as our identified Ones to Watch. On Dec. 3, we reveal the 2020 honorees live in a dynamic virtual event. Sponsored by Salesforce, the program will feature conversations with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Mastercard President Linda Kirkpatrick, Emmy-winning director Jason Hehir, DJs Swizz Beatz and Timbaland and many more. Register here.

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