** The Biden administration is considering replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when oil dips below $80 a barrel, just two years after Democrats blocked former President Donald Trump from filling the reserve at a fraction of that price.
** Investors got a rude awakening with Tuesday’s hotter-than-expected inflation numbers, and the decline in gas prices since June may have contributed to their sense of shock.
** Democratic Senator Joe Manchin is enlisting the help of energy-industry executives to marshal Republican support for his plan to speed up the process of getting federal approvals for energy projects, according to people familiar with the matter.
** A growing number of Democrats in the U.S. House oppose fellow party member Senator Joe Manchin’s energy-permitting bill that speeds fossil fuel projects including a natural gas pipeline in his state of West Virginia.
** US banknotes are set to mark two historic precedents in coming months, as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen swore in Lynn Roberge Malerba as treasurer on Monday. Yellen’s signature on Federal Reserve notes will be the first in US history by a female Treasury secretary. And Malerba’s will become the first by a Native American treasurer.
World
** The European Union is in talks with energy powerhouse Norway as part of its efforts to cut the price of gas and tame the damage to its economy caused by lost Russian supplies.
** Japan’s biggest oil refiner is drawing up plans to consolidate production as domestic demand slumps because of a shrinking population and efforts to cut emissions.
** Germany could reap around 10 billion euros ($10 billion) by skimming off windfall profits from energy companies benefiting from market disruption, according to Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
** Lights at the Eiffel Tower will be turned off several hours earlier than usual in a bid to save energy, the Mayor of Paris has said, as the capital city joins a nationwide effort to reduce electricity consumption by a tenth.
** The European Union is set to propose a mandatory target to cut power use — a step toward rationing — along with measures to funnel energy company profits to struggling consumers as it tries to stem the crisis.