G-7 nations agree to phase out coal-powered energy - May 27, 2022

Home listings surged by 9% last week as sellers attempt to cash in on a hot housing market. Despite the rise in listings, pending home sales fell in April for the sixth month in a row as high interest rates and prices curb some demand. Mortgage rates also fell for a second week to 5.1% after the steepest increase in decades. This week, the Federal Reserve discussed the possibility of raising rates high enough to deliberately slow economic growth to combat high inflation. The Group of Seven leading economies pledged to end greenhouse gas emissions from their power sectors by 2035 and agreed to phase out coal-powered energy. While the original draft included a target to end unabated coal power generation by 2030, Japan and the U.S. both indicated they could not support that date. In the U.S., the Supreme Court announced it would allow the Biden administration to use a higher estimate for the costs of greenhouse gas emissions in regulatory actions. The government uses the estimate for rule making related to new drilling permits as well as assessing the costs of crop losses and flood risks. Demand for gas hit one of its lowest levels for this time of year in nearly a decade as prices prompt some Americans to change their driving habits ahead of Memorial Day. Even as travel expenses rise, travel experts predict that millions will travel this weekend and more will plan summer trips after two years of pandemic-suppressed demand. Republicans demanded answers from the Biden administration regarding the Department of Energy’s plan to backfill the country’s petroleum reserves to ease costs at the pump. A bipartisan group of senators met to quickly compromise on new gun laws in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. The Senate Democrats’ first attempt to pass a domestic terrorism bill that would open the debate on gun policy was blocked by Republicans. H.R. 8, a background check bill first championed after the Sandy Hook massacre, could see a similar fate after it stalled in the Senate. The National Rifle Association begins its