Here’s what you need to know today

• Job ads in Australia hit a 12-month high in June, according to the ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads index. Rising job ads are a sign that more businesses are hiring, suggesting the economy is doing okay. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• All eyes are on the Reserve Bank of Australia today as it is expected to deliver its first back-to-back interest rate cut since the COVID pandemic. 32 of 36 economists surveyed by the AFR expect a 25 basis point rate cut today, and some of these forecasters are predicting as many as six more rate cuts before the end of 2026. (AFR)
  
  

• While President Trump’s 90-day pause on Liberation Day tariffs is set to expire on the 9th of July, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariffs would be reimposed from 1 August for countries that did not sign trade deals with America. (NY Times)
  
  

• With the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreeing to continue talks on a cross-border payment system, President Trump threatened “Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff.” (Bloomberg)
  
  

• President Trump also responded to Elon Musk launching the ‘America Party’. The US President told reporters, “I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party… I think starting a third party just adds to confusion.” (Reuters)
  
  

• Australian casino giant Star Entertainment may be forced to pay its Hong Kong investors almost $37 million if they are not able to reach a deal for the Hong Kong investors to buy Star’s share of the Brisbane Queen’s Wharf precinct project. Bally’s, an American casino operator that is set to become Star’s new owner, has been critical of the Queen’s Wharf sale. (AFR)
  
  

• Tensions are rising between the European Union and China over climate commitments, adding to long-simmering tensions over trade and Russia’s war on Ukraine. China has reportedly sent multiple requests for a joint statement on their climate commitments, which the EU has refused until China pledges greater efforts to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, the EU proposed an emissions reduction goal of 90% from 1990 levels by 2040. (Financial Times)
  
  

• The malaise of the British markets continue, with the London IPO market falling to a 30-year low. In the first half of 2025, companies raised just £160 million. It is at least a 30-year low, as records only started being kept in 1995, and it falls below the previous low in the aftermath of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, where in the first half of 2009, IPOs raised £222 million. (CNBC)

What the…?

Apple’s Vision Pro headsets launched with a lot of fanfare, but haven’t made too much of an impact since. The latest report is that Apple is now working on their next headset - a pair of smart glasses to rival Meta’s Ray-Bans.

The first of these products are expected to be launched in 2027, and are reportedly one of 7 new extended reality products that Apple is planning over the coming years. All this suggests that Apple sees the future of computing in connected headsets. Both Meta (Oculus and Ray Bans) and Google (Google Glasses) have previously made similar bets, yet the smart glasses category is yet to take off. (Quartz)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Planning for an uncertain future

This is an excerpt from a recent Ask an Adviser episode on Equity Mates Investing with Alex Luck and Scott Taylor from Everest Wealth. (Apple | Spotify | YouTube)

Question: How can someone plan for their financial future if they have no idea what their future looks like?

Yeah, so that's quite a common question we get. If I try to frame when you would see an advisor or who we work with on a day-to-day basis, you will have people come in that very much know what they want to achieve and where they want to be and then we're obviously helping them do that. But then we get plenty of people coming in as well in this sort of situation being like, "I don't really know what I should be aiming for or what I should be doing." And that's really where an advisor can help to show you what could be possible, what you should be working towards. So putting X away is going to get you to Y in 10, 15 years as an example. Just working through that can really help get you that what your goals should look like for yourself.

But a lot of the time, yeah, it is pretty common. People coming in not really having an idea of what's possible. You can’t underestimate the value of someone laying it out for you. What if you just keep doing what you're doing right now? This is what that might look like in five, 10, 15 years. Is that what you want? Because sometimes you’re doing the right things already and just need that validation, but other times it can open your eyes to paths you hadn’t thought of—whether that’s buying property, investing more, or contributing to super. Having someone model that for you can really motivate action.

Interested in watching our full conversation with Alex and Scott? Check it out on the Equity Mates YouTube channel

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