Murf takes $1,000 off its Fat Murf Cruiser e-bike for a new $1,995 low
Murf E-Bikes has launched a Labor Day sale through September 8 that is taking up to $1,000 off its lineup of e-bike models. The biggest of these price cuts is on the brand’s best-selling Fat Murf Cruiser e-bikes at $1,995 shipped. This model would normally run you $2,995 most days in our current post-tariff market, with past sales only seeing it fall as low as $2,195. Today though, despite the additional $400 tacked onto the price tag in June, it’s still coming in with a bigger discount than ever giving you $1,000 in savings and landing it at a new all-time low.
Coming in both a step-thru model and a step-over model, the Fat Murf beach cruiser is stocked with a 52V battery (like all the brand’s e-bikes) and a 500W motor (with 750W peak power) that work together to bring the e-bike up to a max speed of 25 MPH for up to 30 miles using only the pure electric throttle or up to 50 miles when using its five levels of pedal assistance. It has a variety of features like its 4-inch all-terrain fat tires for off-the-pavement cruising, a 720-lumen headlight powered by “3 high-power LEDs” for rides at night or early morning, a 7-speed Shimano drivetrain for when you need to get some cardio in, hydraulic disc brakes for greater stopping power, and an upgraded high-resolution display for real-time data and setting adjustments.
Lectric shifts to Labor Day sales with up to $727 taken off popular e-bike bundles starting from $799
Lectric has shifted from its previous Back to School savings to its new Labor Day sale that is still taking up to $727 off its lineup of e-bike bundles, but with some slight price variations. The best of these deals include the XPeak Off-Road High-Step e-bike for $1,399 shipped and its counterpart XPeak Off-Road Step-Thru e-bike that is also at $1,399 shipped – both of which are still coming with $727 in free gear, including the extra battery to double its travel distance. You’re also going to be receiving a rear cargo rack, fenders for both wheels, and an Elite headlight along with the battery. You can learn more below or by reading through our hands-on review.
With the XPeak e-bikes you have two color options that go right along with their designs, either the black high-step model or the white step-thru model, both of which share the same specs. Their slick yet stocky frames house a removable 48V battery with a 750W (1,310W peak) rear hub-motor and five levels of pedal assistance that help the rider up to a 28 MPH top speed for up to 55 miles (which is doubled thanks to the extra battery).
There’s also a nice array of features worth mentioning too, including the 4-inch puncture-resistant fat tires, hydraulic mineral oil brakes, a 7-gear Shimano derailleur, removable pedals, a thru axle wheel attachment system for tool-free installations, kickstand, a hidden cable routing system, plenty of mounting points for add-ons, and an IP65 water-and-dust-resistant LCD display for real-time performance data.
XP 3.0 Long-Range e-bikes with $355 in free accessories
XPedition Cargo e-bikes with $405 and $306 in free accessories
XP Trike with $393 in free accessories
XPress 750 Commuter e-bikes with $306 in free accessories
The Lectric ONE e-bike with $255 in free accessories
XP 3.0 Standard e-bikes with $178 in free accessories
XP Lite 2.0 Long-Range with $246 in free accessories
XP Lite 2.0 e-bikes, 20 MPH for 80-mile range (pre-order): $999 (Reg. $1,245)
with five colors to choose from
XP Lite 2.0 Standard e-bikes with $148 in free accessories
XP Lite 2.0 e-bikes, 20 MPH for 80-mile range (pre-order): $799 (Reg. $947)
with five colors to choose from
GoTrax G6 Commute Electric Scooter hits new $500 low in 1-day Best Buy sale
Courtesy of its Deals of the Day, Best Buy is offering the GoTrax G6 Commute Electric Scooter for $499.99 shipped. Normally fetching $900, it was notably left out of most sales events in 2023 like Prime Day and Black Friday – but did see a fall to its former $540 low during Christmas sales. In February we saw its biggest previous discount of 2024, when Best Buy brought costs down to $600, but that’s been undercut here today with a $400 markdown that lands it at a new all-time low price. It even beats out GoTrax’s website where it is discounted to $699.
The G6 Commute is an affordable solution for your daily travel needs to work, the store, parties, and more. It comes equipped with a 500W motor and a 48V battery that reaches top speeds of 20 MPH for up to 48 miles on a single five-hour charge. It was the first of GoTrax’s e-scooter models to feature a front-wheel suspension system alongside the back suspension and also sports nine-inch pneumatic tires, a folding frame for easier storage options, a reactive taillight, cruise control functionality, and an integrated LED display that gives you real-time data like speed, mileage travelled, and battery status. Through the display you’ll also be able to put in a digital code that gives this model extra security benefits.
Lectric XP Lite 2.0 Long-Range e-bikes with $148 in free gear (pre-order): $999 (Reg. $1,245)
Lectric XP Lite 2.0 e-bikes with $148 in free gear (pre-order): $799 (Reg. $947)
Other new Green Deals landing this week
The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.
U.S. President Donald Trump with Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, at the start of the Group of 20 summit on 28 June 2019.
Bernd von Jutrczenka | picture alliance | Getty Images
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The wealthy Arab Gulf states are in a better position than many other regions of the world to manage the economic impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, economists and regional investors say. But a shaky outlook for the price of oil could put some countries’ budgets and spending projects at risk.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar make up the Gulf Cooperation Council. Together, they comprise around $3.2 trillion in sovereign financial assets, accounting for 33% of the total sovereign assets worldwide, according to GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
The GCC also holds approximately 32.6% of the world’s proven crude oil reserves, according to the Statistical Center of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf.
That makes it both an asset for the Trump administration as well as vulnerable to its policies, as Trump has long pushed for OPEC, the oil producer alliance led by Saudi Arabia, to pump more oil to help lower oil prices and offset inflation in the U.S.
A lower oil price, however, can significantly impact the budget deficits and spending plans for those countries, whose economies — despite diversification efforts — still rely heavily on hydrocarbon revenues.
Beneficial relations with Trump
Ben Powell, BlackRock’s chief investment strategist for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, who is based in Abu Dhabi, said the region’s warm relations with Trump strengthens its hand when it comes to potential tariff negotiations. Some GCC countries have also expanded their role in global diplomacy. One example is Riyadh’s hosting of peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has made it ever more important to Washington.
“I do think the Middle East, with the deep relationship with the U.S. that they have, should come out okay,” Powell told CNBC’s “Access Middle East” on Monday.
“I think we’re all going to be swept into the maelstrom over the next short period of time. That’s inevitable. But the Middle East, with the balance sheet strength that they have, with the energy support that they still have, providing funding on a near ongoing basis … for me, the Middle East — maybe not today, but over time — should be a relative winner within that mix” when it comes to emerging markets, Powell said.
In considering what the firsthand impact of tariffs might be, Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, noted that the U.S. is not a major export market for the Gulf.
“The GCC should be in a relatively favourable position to withstand headwinds, especially the UAE,” she wrote in a report for the bank on Friday.
While the region faces the blanket 10% universal tariff as well as previously imposed tariffs on all foreign steel and aluminum — products that the UAE and Bahrain both export — “we expect the direct impact to be relatively contained, as the US is not a key destination for Gulf exports, averaging just c.3.7% of the GCC’s total exports in 2024,” she said.
Threat to spending plans
But the oil price outlook is critical for Gulf states’ budgets and future spending plans — particularly for Saudi Arabia, which has embarked on trillions of dollars worth of ambitious mega-projects as part of Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s sweeping initiative to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil. The success of the plan, perhaps ironically, relies heavily on oil revenues.
Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $61.44 per barrel on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. in London, down nearly 17% year-to-date. Additional pressure was put on the price after OPEC+, the oil producer alliance led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, made a surprise decision to accelerate planned crude production hikes, further bolstering global supply.
Saudi Arabia needs oil at more than $90 a barrel to balance its budget, the International Monetary Fund estimates. Goldman Sachs this week lowered its oil price forecast for 2026 to $58 for Brent and $55 for U.S. benchmark WTI crude. That’s a significant move lower from its forecast just last Friday of $62 for Brent and $59 for WTI in 2026.
“A weaker global demand and greater supply adds downside risk to our Brent forecast for 2025, though we wait for more market clarity before making any changes,” ADCB’s Malik told CNBC on Monday. OPEC+ is meant to increase oil production levels again in May, and she predicts the group will pause that plan if crude prices stay where they are or fall further.
“Our greatest concern would be a sharp and sustained oil price fall, which would require a reassessment of spending plans – government and off budget – including capex, while also potentially affecting banking sector liquidity and wider confidence,” Malik warned.
Aerial view of containers for export sitting stacked at Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal on April 5, 2025 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China.
Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images
The United Nations shipping agency is on the cusp of introducing binding regulations to phase out fossil fuel use in global shipping — with the world’s first-ever global emissions levy on the table.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will this week hold talks at its London headquarters to hammer out measures to reduce the climate impact of international shipping, which accounts for around 3% of global carbon emissions.
Some of the measures on the table include a global marine fuel standard and an economic element, such as a long-debated carbon levy or a carbon credit scheme.
If implemented, a robust pricing mechanism in the shipping sector would likely be considered one of the climate deals of the decade.
An ambitious carbon tax is far from a foregone conclusion, however, with observers citing concerns over sweeping U.S. tariffs, a brewing global trade war and reluctance from members firmly opposed to any kind of levy structure.
Sara Edmonson, head of global advocacy at Australian mining giant Fortescue, described the talks as “absolutely historic,” particularly given the potential for a landmark carbon levy.
“I think it would be an absolute game-changer. No other industry on a global level has made a commitment of this size and I would argue most countries haven’t made a commitment of this size,” Edmondson told CNBC via telephone.
She added, however, that “the jury is still very much out” when it comes to a global carbon price.
It’s not really a question of whether they get agreement, it’s just how ambitious it is, how effective it is and how many unhappy people there are.
John Maggs
President of the Clean Shipping Coalition
“There are also a lot of discussions around levy-like structures because obviously the word levy in very polarized countries like the U.S., like Australia and even in China, can be very challenging. But I think there are really good discussions around levy-like structures that would ultimately have an equivalent effect,” Edmondson said.
The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) is scheduled to conclude talks on Friday.
‘A great opportunity’
Some of the biggest proponents of a global greenhouse gas emissions charge on the shipping industry include Pacific Island states, such as Fiji, the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu, and Caribbean Island states, including Barbados, Jamaica and Grenada.
Those opposed to a carbon levy, such as Brazil, China and Saudi Arabia, have raised concerns over economic competitiveness and increased inequalities.
“For countries like Vanuatu … we see the UNFCCC isn’t moving fast enough — and this is the great opportunity,” Vanuatu Minister Ralph Regenvanu said Monday.
Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Arsenio Dominguez delivers a speech at the IMO Headquarters, in London, on January 14, 2025.
Benjamin Cremel | Afp | Getty Images
The UNFCCC refers to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, a multilateral treaty that has provided the basis for international climate negotiations.
If adopted, it would be “the first industry-wide measure adopted by a multilateral UN organisation with much more teeth than we could get in the UNFCCC process,” Regenvanu said.
Delegates at the IMO agreed in 2023 to target net-zero sector emissions “by or around” 2050 and set a provision to finalize a basket of mid-term carbon reduction measures in 2025.
Calls for a ‘decisive’ economic measure
“We’re going to get something,” John Maggs, president of the Clean Shipping Coalition, a group of NGOs with observer status at the IMO, told CNBC via telephone.
“The timetable is quite clear and they are working really, really hard to stick to it. So, I think it’s not really a question of whether they get agreement, it’s just how ambitious it is, how effective it is and how many unhappy people there are,” Maggs said.
Clean Shipping Coalition’s Maggs warned that a sizable gap still exists between progressive and more conservative forces at the IMO.
“My feeling from the progressive side is that people are optimistic and confident because the case they are making is a sound one and they’ve got the technical expertise to back them up,” Maggs said.
“But, at the end of the day, China and Brazil and others aren’t just going to go, ‘OK you can have your way.’ There is going to be payment exacted in some way or other,” he added.
PORTSMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOM – OCTOBER 28: The container ship Vung Tau Express sails loaded with shipping containers close to the English coast on October 28, 2024 in Portsmouth, England.
Matt Cardy | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The international shipping sector, which is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of global trade, is regarded as one of the hardest industries to decarbonize given the vast amounts of fossil fuels the ships burn each year.
Angie Farrag-Thibault, vice president of global transport at the Environmental Defense Fund, an environmental group, said a successful outcome at the IMO would be an ambitious global fuel standard and a “decisive” economic measure to ensure shipping pollution is significantly reduced.
“These measures, which should include a fair disbursement mechanism that uses existing climate finance structures, will encourage ship owners to cut fossil fuel use and adopt zero and near-zero fuels and technologies, while supporting climate-vulnerable regions at the speed and scale that is needed,” Farragh-Thibault said.
The US wind industry installed just 5.2 gigawatts (GW) in 2024 – the lowest level in a decade, according to Wood Mackenzie’s new US Wind Energy Monitor report. Installations are expected to rebound in 2025, but the real concern lies in US wind’s sharply downgraded 5-year outlook. As for the reason behind that bleak forecast, we’ll give you one guess as to why, and it starts with a T.
Wood Mac reports that 3.9 GW of onshore wind came online last year, along with 1.3 GW of onshore repowers and 101 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind.
Onshore wind
The US is expected to achieve more than 160 GW of installed onshore capacity by 2025, and onshore growth is projected to bounce back from 2024 and surpass 6.3 GW this year.
“The cliff in 2023 and 2024 created by the Production Tax Credit (PTC) push in 2022 will come to an end,” said Stephen Maldonado, research analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “Despite the uncertainty created by the new administration, the massive number of orders placed in 2023 culminating in projects now under construction support the short-term forecast.”
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The pipeline for onshore has 10.8 GW currently under construction through 2027, with another 3.9 GW announced.
GE Vernova led onshore wind installations in 2024 with 56% of the market and will continue to lead in connections for the next five years. It was followed by Vestas (40%) and Siemens Gamesa (4%).
Offshore wind
Offshore wind is projected to increase in 2025 as well, with 900 MW of installed capacity, up from a disappointing 101 MW in 2024. However, several projects have been shelved in the wake of Trump’s anti-wind executive orders, which downgraded the five-year outlook by 1.8 GW.
Electrek’s Take on US wind’s 5-year outlook
According to Wood Mac, 33 GW of new onshore wind capacity will be installed through 2029, along with 6.6 GW of new offshore capacity and 5.5 GW of repowers. However, due to Trump’s anti-wind policy and economic uncertainty, this five-year outlook is 40% less than a previous total of 75.8 GW. Growth will happen, but it’s going to be slower.
The main reason is Trump’s flourish of his Sharpie on executive orders that include “temporary” withdrawal of offshore wind leasing areas and putting a stop to onshore wind on federal lands. Plus, firing all those federal employees will likely make permitting wind farms a slower process. (Trump just wrote more executive orders today allowing coal projects on federal lands; he won’t have federal employees to issue permits for those, either.) He’s worked to throw up obstacles for wind projects in favor of fossil fuels. He won’t stop the wind industry, but he’s managed to get some projects canceled, and he’ll make things more of a slog over the next few years.
If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –trusted affiliate link*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.