The Dow Jones claws back heavy losses of up to 2 per cent to close higher following fears of a new Covid variant spreading. U.S. Congress finally passes the latest virus relief bill worth $900bn, sending it to President Trump to sign off on – it’s the first tranche of federal funding since spring. London holds emergency talks with Paris in a desperate bid to reopen the Channel, while Prime Minister Boris Johnson insists the UK can cope with a no-deal Brexit. And in tech news, Apple overshadows Tesla’s first S&P 500 trading day with the announcement it will produce its own electric vehicles by 2024. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.