1. RBA signals June rate rise, no longer using patient rhetoric
“Over coming months, important additional evidence will be available to the board on both inflation and the evolution of labour costs,” RBA governor Philip Lowe said in a statement following the bank’s April board meeting. Gone from Dr Lowe’s statement was any reference to the board being “committed to maintaining highly supportive monetary conditions”, or that the board was willing to be “patient” before lifting the cash rate.

“The RBA is progressively clearing the way for a rate hike sometime in the months ahead,” AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said, while JPMorgan’s Ben Jarman said the RBA was clearly flagging a rate hike cycle.

2. Coalition accused of sitting on environment report to dodge further bad news
The Morrison government has been accused of sitting on a major report card -the Australia State of the Environment - that was handed down to the environment minister, Sussan Ley more than three months ago to avoid “more bad news”.

“In an estimates hearing last week, Labor and Greens senators pushed the government to set a date for tabling the report but were told only that the minister would comply with her statutory obligations,” The Guardian reports.

Labor’s environment spokesperson, Terri Butler, called on the government to release the report before Australians cast their votes in May. “Australians deserve to know how the environment has fared under the Morrison-Joyce government so they can decide whether they want a second decade of the same mismanagement.”

The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, questioned why Ley had not released the report when she had received the finished document months ago.“The government must release it before the election is called,” she said.

3. US to send ‘tank-killer’ drones to Ukraine
The Pentagon plans to order and send to Ukraine 10 of the newest model Switchblade drones armed with tank-busting warheads in addition to previously announced deliveries of a less powerful version, according to two people familiar with the decision. “The new Switchblade-600 weapons are part of $300 million in lethal military assistance announced by the Pentagon Friday night,” Bloomberg reports.

4. Biden hasn’t done anything to help renewables, says solar CEO
The Biden administration has a “burning desire” to support renewable energy, but has little to show for it, says Sunnova Energy International Inc.’s top executive.

“I don’t see anything that’s been done,” John Berger, who heads one of the largest U.S. residential solar companies, said Tuesday in an interview. “And that’s the only thing that matters.”

President Joe Biden entered the White House in January last year, aiming to put the U.S. on a path to fully green power grids by 2035. “We certainly have not seen an improvement” in policies since Donald Trump’s presidency, Berger said. Trump imposed separate duties on imported solar. “That’s not a good track record.”

5. ASX to slide as Federal Reserve issues hawkish remarks
Australian shares are poised to follow Wall Street lower as investors reposition for higher interest rates and a potentially faster rate rise cycle. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard said the US central bank will continue to tighten policy methodically and shrink its balance sheet at a rapid pace as soon as May.

ASX futures were down 49 points or 0.7% to 7448 near 6.50am AEST, with the AUD +0.5% to 75.79 US cents. On Wall St: Dow -0.8% S&P 500 -1.3% Nasdaq -2.3%. 2-year yield: US +0.09 (2.51%) Australia +0.11% (1.92%). 10-year yield: US +0.14% (2.55%) Australia +0.02% (2.85%).