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Here’s what you need to know today

• The fallout from the split of the Coalition continues. As the Liberals and Nationals go their separate ways, at least for now, former Prime Minister John Howard has urged them to reconcile quickly, noting the longer they spend apart the harder it will be to reconcile. (AFR)
  
  

• The American market is up 5% since Trump’s Liberation Day announcement on 2 April but JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has a warning - he thinks investors are showing “an extraordinary amount of complacency” (Quartz)
  
  

• The latest Allianz Trade Global Survey has been released, surveying 4,500 companies from 9 countries that together account for almost 60% of global GDP. The key takeaways? 54% plan to raise prices and 45% expect exports to decline as a result of this trade war. (Allianz)
  
  

• The Australian share market hit a 3-month high as investors basked in the afterglow of the RBA’s rate cut (and the hope of more to come). Before the minutes of the RBA’s meeting were released, markets were suggesting a 36% chance of another rate cut in July. After the minutes were released, markets reassessed and are now giving it a 70% chance. (AFR)
  
  

• Australian sports tracking and data analytics company Catapult saw shares jump 14% after it reported revenue grew 19% to US$116 million and its net loss narrowed from $19m to $9m. The number of professional sports teams using Catapult’s technology grew 9% to 3,600. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Lithium prices have fallen to their lowest level since February 2021. Earlier this year there was hope prices had stabilised after falling 90% since 2022. However, since April, prices have fallen another 22%, dropping from $US800 a tonne to $US625 a tonne. (AFR)
  
  

• Britain and the European Union have placed more sanctions on Russia, targeting its financial intermediaries and its shadow oil fleet. European leaders urged America to follow suit but the White House is yet to respond to those calls. (Reuters)
  
  

• America and Iran continue talks over Iran’s nuclear program, with the next round of talks scheduled for this weekend in Rome. US officials have suggested Iran should cease all uranium enrichment, to prevent the development of nuclear weapons, which Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called “excessive and outrageous.” (BBC)
  
  

• Elon Musk was the Republican Party’s top donor last year, reportedly contributing $290 million. He has now said he will cut back on political spending, saying that he has “done enough”. (NPR)
  
  

• Qatar has dismissed suggestions the $400 million jet they offered President Trump was a bribe. Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, called it a “normal thing that happens between allies”. (Reuters)

What the…?

Today is the day the Enhanced Games will announce the host city and competition dates for their inaugural events. Backed by investors including Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. the Enhanced Games will allow athletes to use performance-enhancing substances without being subject to drug tests.

Australian swimming champion James Magnussen has become the poster boy for the games, taking on a $1.5 million challenge to break the 50m world record. Magnussen will be in Las Vegas today for the announcement of the inaugural games. (SMH)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

How Queenie Tan built a $1m net worth

This is an excerpt from our conversation with Queenie Tan on Get Started Investing. (Apple | Spotify | YouTube)

Ren: So property, stocks and crypto, you've invested in all three. What do you reckon has been the biggest contributor to that net wealth number that you were sharing earlier?

Queenie: That's a really good question. I've actually run the numbers, which was really interesting. So I was just curious to see which one had actually made me more money over the past five years. Was it stocks? Was it property?

The two bedroom apartment that we bought was actually a home to live in, so there were so many perks of being first home buyers. We didn't have to pay stamp duty because it was less than the stamp duty threshold, which was amazing. And then of course, we didn't have to pay rent anymore because we were living in that property.

Because of those two factors, property actually slightly outperformed the money that I've made through stocks and share investing.

But if I were to run the numbers as if that unit was an investment property from day one and I didn't get the stamp duty exemption and I still had to pay rent, then stocks would've outperformed property. I really think it kind of goes to show that they're both really great investments and it's just important to get started.

Prefer to watch our conversation with Queenie? All Get Started Investing episodes are now released on their own YouTube channel. Check it out:

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