Apr 6, 2020 - World

G20 emerges as option for talks to calm oil markets

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The G20 is emerging as a venue for cooperative efforts to try and calm the oil market, and Bloomberg and others report that a potential meeting of G20 energy ministers could be Friday.

Driving the news: U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette discussed the G20 role during a wider discussion over the weekend with his Saudi counterpart, a DOE spokesperson tells Axios.

  • "Secretary Brouillette participated in a productive discussion with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, about ongoing challenges and instability in global oil markets," according to Shaylyn Hynes.

What they're saying: "[T]he two energy ministers agreed to continue this dialogue through a G20 Energy Ministers meeting in the near future," Hynes said.

Catch up fast: The Saudis currently hold the G20's rotating presidency.

  • International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol tweeted yesterday that he spoke with Seamus O'Regan, Canada's natural resources minister, and they agreed the G20 "could play a leading role in boosting market stability."
  • Birol has also held recent talks with U.S. and Brazilian officials.

Go deeper: Imagining a new energy normal after coronavirus

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Mark Zuckerberg: Social networks should not be "the arbiter of truth"

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday that social media platforms should not police political speech, and that "people should be able to see what politicians say.”

Why it matters: Zuckerberg was responding to Twitter's decision this week to fact-check a pair of President Trump's tweets that claimed that mail-in ballots are "substantially fraudulent." Twitter's label, which directs users to "get the facts" about mail-in voting, does not censor Trump's tweets.

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House Democrats pull FISA reauthorization bill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

House Democrats pulled legislation Thursday that would have renewed expired domestic surveillance laws and strengthened transparency and privacy protections amid broad opposition from President Trump, House GOP leadership and progressive Democrats.

Why it matters: The failure to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) comes as Trump continues to attack the intelligence community, which he claims abused the law to surveil his 2016 campaign and Trump administration officials.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

U.S. GDP drop revised lower to 5% in the first quarter

Data: Bureau of Economic Analysis; Chart: Axios Visuals

The U.S. economy shrunk by an annualized 5% in the first quarter — worse than the initially estimated 4.8% contraction — according to revised figures released by the government on Thursday.

Why it matters: It's the worst quarterly decline since 2008 and shows a huge hit as the economy was just beginning to shut down because of the coronavirus. Economists are bracing for the second quarter's figures to be the worst ever — with some projecting an annualized decline of around 40%.

1 hour ago - Economy & Business