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Good morning. Stocks are slipping on renewed Covid-19 concerns, the European Union indicated willingness to compromise in trade talks with the U.K. and central banks are in focus. Here's what's moving markets.

Virus Concerns Dominate

U.S. states including Texas, Florida and Arizona reported a jump in coronavirus cases, increasing concerns about a new wave of infections, just as Beijing's outbreak exceeded 150 in China's worst flare-up since Wuhan. In Australia, Qantas Airways Ltd. canceled most international flights until late October after the government said the country's borders are likely to remain closed until next year. Asian stocks and European and U.S. equity futures slipped as optimism over policy stimulus gave way to renewed Covid-19 concerns. Here's a look at Wall Street's playbook for a second wave.

EU Hints at Compromise

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signalled the EU may be willing to compromise on fishing and the role of its courts in any post-Brexit trade deal -- but warned the bloc isn't prepared to sacrifice its principles for the sake of a agreement. The comments came days after the EU and Britain pledged to intensify talks, spurring some optimism they could break a deadlock in negotiations. Amid the uncertainty, London's biggest homebuilder warned that European buyers are shunning rental investments in the city. U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, meanwhile, had a tumultuous day and a half, with a policy U-turn, a row over the cost of re-painting his plane and a minor car crash as his vehicle left parliament.

BoE Boost Eyed

It's Bank of England decision day and officials are expected to increase bond purchases as they continue to attempt to protect the economy from the impact of the coronavirus. While speculation over negative rates has abated somewhat, there's been some talk that the BoE could impose yield-curve control -- something pioneered by the Bank of Japan -- in the coming months. Data Wednesday showed inflation slowed to just a quarter of the central bank's target in May, boosting the case for some form of action today. Here's what to watch today, with the pound steady this morning.

Bolton Book

Former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton gives a devastating portrayal of Trump's conduct of foreign policy in a new book. Bolton says the president asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help him win re-election by buying more U.S. farm products, according to an excerpt published by the Wall Street Journal. Scheduled to be released next week, the book is poised to further burden Trump's already struggling effort to secure a second term. The Trump administration has been trying to stop the book's publication, while the president told the Wall Street Journal that Bolton was "a liar" and offered a vindication of his foreign policies.

Coming Up…

Among other central banks, Switzerland and Norway are expected to keep their rates as they are and Luis de Guindos of the European Central Bank is on the speaker schedule. Elsewhere, weekly U.S. jobless claims are expected to be above one million yet again and, in earnings, we'll get a report from German payments group Wirecard AG.

What We've Been Reading

This is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. 

And finally, here's what Cormac Mullen is interested in this morning

European stock bulls won't get much encouragement from talking to equity strategists these days. As my colleague Namitha Jagadeesh pointed out Wednesday, they see little room for further gains in the region's shares. A Bloomberg News June poll of 14 strategists projected an average year-end target for the Stoxx 600 of 367. It closed at 366 Wednesday evening. Their single-stock focused analyst colleagues are not hugely more optimistic. Taking the average 12-month target price for each stock in the benchmark and aggregating it implies upside over the next year to the 385 level, a gain of about 5%. That's more or less in line with what a similar analysis suggests for U.S. shares. Asian equity researchers are much more bullish. A bottom-up analysis of MSCI Asia Pacific Index members shows the benchmark is seen climbing about 11% over the next 12 months.

Cormac Mullen is a Cross-Asset reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Tokyo.

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