Australian voters turned against center-left opponents pushing aggressive strategies to combat climate change when they re-elected Australia's conservative government in the country's national elections on Saturday, WSJ reports.
Our thought bubble: The elections indicate that Australia will continue to closely resemble the Trump administration's positioning on climate change.
Modest production hikes are on the table for June's OPEC meeting following a gathering this past weekend in Saudi Arabia of the Middle Eastern-led oil group and other producing countries.
Driving the news: "Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters at the event that he was recommending 'gently' driving oil inventories down. But he added that OPEC would not make hasty decisions about output ahead of the June meeting," CNBC reported.
GM on Monday unveiled a new electronic platform for future vehicles — essentially giving them a transplant of the brain and central nervous system — that will power advanced self-driving features and enable future software updates like smartphones.
Why it matters: As cars become more advanced, their electrical systems are rapidly reaching their limits. GM's new digital vehicle platform, with 5 times more processing speed than today's systems, will power smarter, electric vehicles that can improve over time, similar to what Tesla is already doing.
Uber's explosive growth to a valuation of more than $3 billion within three years of its seed round has been notable, but today's scooter startups have ascended even faster.
Why it matters: Scooter companies like Bird and Lime benefitted from the optimism ride-hailing companies created about transportation services. But they're now facing an increasing number of questions about their ability to sustain this growth including concerns about seasonality and vehicle costs.
Corporate America is calling on Congress to pass big climate policy in the most aggressive and united way since 2009.
Driving the news: Companies across virtually all sectors of the economy, including big oil producers, are beginning to lobby Washington, D.C., to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions.
Waves of severe thunderstorms struck the Southern Plains Saturday, bringing tornadoes, large hail and flooding rains, and the National Weather Service warns more severe storms are set to hit the region.
Details: The NWS Norman said an EF2 tornado with winds of up to 130 mph struck east of Geronimo, Oklahoma, early Saturday. It destroyed at least 2 homes and left 1 person with minor injuries, AP reports. Power lines downed by winds left tens of thousands of people in Oklahoma and Arkansas, where a suspected tornado damaged the roofs of numerous homes, per AP.
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