** US auto sales softened at the end of last year as higher financing costs and near-record prices took their toll on would-be buyers.
** General Motors said it will make sure its new electric vehicles remain price competitive even as new rules from U.S. Treasury disqualify some of the carmakers’ electric vehicles for the $7,500 consumer tax credit this year.
** A federal appeals court says it will not reconsider its 2023 decision to overturn Berkeley, California’s ban on natural gas hookups in new construction.
** The U.S. Supreme Court and federal district courts are weighing several cases this year that could significantly limit federal energy regulators’ ability to oversee climate and infrastructure policy.
** Kentucky implements a new $120 annual fee on electric vehicles and $60 for hybrids and electric motorcycles.
World
** Libya’s largest oil field halted production after protesters entered the facility, according to a person with direct knowledge of the operations.
** Container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S said it will once again stop letting its vessels sail through the Red Sea, a vital trade corridor, after another of its carriers came under attack in the space of a few weeks.
** The U.K. is drawing less power from natural gas and coal than it has at any point in the last 66 years. Last year, fossil fuels supplied 33 percent of British electricity, while renewables provided 43 percent, according to an analysis from CarbonBrief. Nuclear power and imported electricity accounted for most of the remaining supply.
** A union of truck and bus operators in India has asked members to end their two-day-old strike after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government assured them that it will implement the new penalties in hit-and-run cases only after consultations.
** The Italian government is considering a €930 million ($1 billion) plan to encourage people to turn in their gasoline or diesel cars and buy electric vehicles instead, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg.