| Good morning. The mutated virus has likely spread beyond the U.K., Brexit trade talks aren't offering much progress and U.S. President Donald Trump provided some confusion on pandemic relief. Here's what's moving markets. Already ArrivedJust like the first strain, the new variant of Covid-19 is unlikely to have been contained for long. The mutation with U.K. origins is possibly already in Germany, France and the U.S., health officials in those countries said. Other nations are reacting accordingly: Ireland will effectively ban inter-county travel, Sweden is to enact new laws that give it the right to close businesses, and Switzerland, meanwhile, is trying to track down about 10,000 Brits who entered the country recently. There was positive news though, as BioNTech's boss said the firm's vaccine made with Pfizer will probably work against the new strain. Still Fish We've heard it all before, but Brexit trade talks are said to be hanging in the balance. Officials are trying to wrap up negotiations as soon as today, with Britain due to leave the single market at the end of the month. It's still fishing rights that are keeping the two sides apart. Meanwhile, critical trade and transportation links between the U.K. and continental Europe are to resume after France agreed to end a suspension triggered by the variant virus outbreak. The chaos in Dover may have been a good dry run for the divorce: just ask this small business that's missing 40,000 lemons. Finally for British assets, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly examining whether to move more areas of England into lockdown after Christmas. Change ItU.S. President Donald Trump sparked confusion as he demanded changes to bipartisan stimulus legislation approved by Congress. In a surprise video announcement posted on his Twitter account, Trump called the bill a "disgrace" and said it was full of "wasteful and unnecessary" items. He demanded that lawmakers increase the stimulus checks due to go out to most Americans. President-elect Joe Biden, meanwhile, warned the "darkest days" of the pandemic are still to come and called on Congress to be ready early next year to produce another package. Stock futures are slipping. Apple Versus TeslaApple versus Tesla is building up to be a heavyweight clash. In the latest twist, Tesla boss Elon Musk said Apple's Tim Cook refused to take a meeting years ago to discuss buying the electric carmaker. Musk said he planned to discuss the possibility of selling Tesla to Apple for one-tenth of its current value, indicating a valuation of about $60 billion. The revelation comes after Apple's stock climbed this week, while Tesla slipped on a report that Apple is aiming to produce a driverless car for consumers in 2024. That news created "a new Tesla bear case," according to analysts at Morgan Stanley. The two stocks may now be on a collision course. Coming Up…Data includes Italian consumer confidence and U.S. durable goods. The corporate earnings schedule is all but blank. What We've Been ReadingThis is what's caught our eye over the past 24 hours. And finally, here's what Garfield Reynolds is interested in this morningThe dollar's rebound amid a pandemic resurgence has revived memories of March's turmoil. However, the greenback's slide had been so steep that a turn around was well and truly due. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is still down more than 9% since March 31, set for a largest three-quarter drop than any seen since 2011. If that's not enough to signal a bias for the currency to find a floor, consider that the index was getting close to the lows around 1110 seen in early 2018. The other complicating factor has been Brexit -- which has been throwing the pound all over the place and helping to exacerbate dollar moves against other major peers. This holiday season renaissance for the dollar looks like a limited breakout for now, so unless the Bloomberg index gets back to levels seen in early November, the consensus for weakness in the U.S. currency through 2021 should reassert itself.  Garfield Reynolds is a Markets Live reporter and editor for Bloomberg News in Sydney. Like Bloomberg's Five Things? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. | 
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