** Nikola Corp. founder and former Chief Executive Officer Trevor Milton was ordered to spend four years behind bars for lying to shareholders about the electric-truck maker’s progress. He was sentenced by a Manhattan judge.
** Goldman Sachs trimmed its price expectation for Brent crude in 2024 by $10 per barrel to between $70 and $90, saying strong production from the United States would moderate any upside in oil prices.
** The United Steelworkers is urging US regulators to scrutinize Nippon Steel Corp.’s $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp. as it rebukes the iconic American company for agreeing to sell to the Japanese producer.
** The warmest autumn in the northern hemisphere in nearly a century and a half has pushed natural gas prices in the U.S., Europe, and Asia lower at the start of the winter. Prices are also weighed down by record-high U.S. production, record-high inventories, and weak industrial demand in Europe, as well as tepid consumption and fuller storage sites in Asia.
** California regulators set to vote to renew rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.
World
** Germany and France are among European Union nations aiming to decarbonize their power systems by 2035, setting a key milestone on the way to net zero by mid-century.
** Coal-fired power plants operated by South Africa’s state utility are emitting pollutants that primarily cause respiratory diseases such as asthma at almost 42 times the intensity of those in China.
** China’s Sinochem Corp has bought a million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil for arrival in December, a rare purchase as the state oil and chemicals group capitalises on Washington’s suspension of sanctions on the South American producer.
** While pandering to an audience of far right-wing politicians in Italy, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made a startling claim: that oil and gas get a bad rap. The CEO, who has made it his mission to wean the planet off coal and gas by selling electric cars and solar infrastructure, said that our worries over an impending climate crisis are unfounded, as Reuters reports.