Marathon Petroleum (NYSE: MPC) this week is expected to get first-round bids of between $15 billion and $18 billion for its Speedway gas station chain.
Why it matters: The price tag is large, but still reflects a pretty steep pandemic discount. Marathon had been in exclusive negotiations to sell Speedway for between $20 billion and $22 billion to 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings, before talks fizzled in early March.
Tesla is enjoying arguably the best stretch of its 17-year history — despite a shambling economy, CEO Elon Musk's latest PR grenades, manufacturing quality concerns, and circling would-be competitors.
Why it matters: Beyond being a fascinating corporate drama, Tesla's success affects the pace of electric vehicle adoption, especially in the U.S., where it dominates what's still a rather niche market.
The House approved the Great American Outdoors Act on Wednesday, setting aside $900 million in federal oil and gas revenues for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, The Hill reports.
Why it matters: The bipartisan legislation comes with President Trump's support, even though he previously proposed cutting LWCF's budget by roughly 97%, The Hill notes. His reversal comes as the 2020 election inches closer.
The Earth's average global temperature will likely warm anywhere from 4.1°F to 8.1°F (or 2.3°C to 4.5°C) if deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels continue at the current rate, the Washington Post reports, citing a major new study.
Why it matters: The best-case scenario of this estimate exceeds the previous minimum range first established in a 1979 report, which expected the planet to warm between 2.7°F and 8.1°F (1.5°C to 4.5°C) if the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were to double. The world is on track to hit that milestone within roughly the next 50 years, according the Post.
Tech giants' climate pledges are getting bigger and, more importantly, at least somewhat more specific.
Driving the news: Microsoft yesterday unveiled new info about implementing its January vow to be "carbon negative" by 2030 and help its customers and suppliers cut emissions too.
The pandemic and the presidential election are together putting a fresh spotlight onto the scope of residential energy demand and how to cut emissions from homes and buildings.
The big picture: Lockdowns and remote work are moving energy demand from offices and business to residences — and projections of working from home outlasting the pandemic suggest that some of that shift will persist.
European Union power generation from renewables exceeded fossil fuel-based electricity for the first time in the first half of 2020, per new analysis Wednesday from the U.K.-based climate think tank Ember.
Why it matters: It appears to be an inflection point. Ember electricity analyst Dave Jones tells Axios that he does not expect fossil generation to regain a bigger share than renewables.
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