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Here’s what you need to know today

• Here’s a startling stat: more than 50% of Australian adults now rely on the government for their main source of income. Now, before we evoke images of welfare fraud, this includes public-sector wages, NDIS payments and aged-care and childcare subsidies. What it does show is how much of Australia’s economic growth is tied to government spending. That is the context for Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ three-day Economic Reform Roundtable coming up in August. (AFR)
  
  

• The US and Japan have reached a trade deal. Earlier this month, President Trump had written a letter to Japan warning of 25% tariffs from 1 August. This deal will see that tariff level lowered to 15% with Japan promising a US$550 billion investment in US industry. Trump also said Japan would open its market to American cars and rice. (Financial Times)
  
  

• General Motors and Stellantis (maker of Chrysler and Jeep) both reported results this week and both had a similar message: they are feeling the effects of tariffs. Stellantis reported a $350 million hit from “the early effects of U.S. tariffs” (Quartz) while General Motors pointed to a $1.1 billion tariff expense as second quarter profit declined 35%. (Associated Press)
  
  

• American steel-makers Cleveland Cliffs and Steel Dynamics both raised prices this week. This comes after the US raised their tariff on foreign steel from 25% to 50% last month. (NY Times)
  
  

• Aussie biotech Telix Pharmaceuticals fell 14% after the US Securities and Exchange Commission subpoenaed Telix seeking documents related to its disclosures on its prostate cancer therapies. Telix said the subpoena related to therapeutic candidates and did not relate to its already approved commercial drugs. (AFR)
  
  

• French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi has agreed to buy Vicebio for up to US$1.6 billion. The University of Queensland will be a significant winner, given Vicebio was commercialising technology developed at the university and UQ held a 10% stake in the company. (Capital Brief)
  
  

• Patients of Australia’s third-largest IVF provider, Genea, have been informed that their sensitive information was revealed in a cyber attack. This information, which includes medical information, has reportedly been posted on the dark web. (ABC News)
  
  

• AstraZeneca is the latest pharmaceutical company to announce a big investment in the US. The British drugmaker pledged to spend $50 billion in the US by 2030. These pledges come as the pharmaceutical industry tries to convince President Trump to back down from his threatened 200% tariff on drugs made overseas. (NY Times)
  
  

• Universal Music Group has filed to go public in the US. The record label behind the likes of Drake, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and Taylor Swift has not disclosed the terms of the deal or its proposed valuation. (NY Times)
  
  

• US Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, shut the House early for its summer break in an attempt to avoid a vote on the Epstein material. Republican Thomas Massie had enough Democratic support to force a vote on a bill that would require the Department of Justice to release all files relating to Epstein’s case. Rather than face the vote, Johnson shut the House down early to avoid it. (ABC News)

What the…?

China is so desperate to get its hands on Nvidia’s most advanced chips, it is starting to resort to drug-smuggling tactics. Singaporean authorities have recently arrested suspects in an attempt to smuggle chips worth $390 million.

Some of the chips were stashed in crates labeled as tea or toys while others were stashed underneath live lobsters to avoid detection. And these are just the shipments that have been caught.

An estimate from the think tank the Centre for New American Security suggests that between ten thousand and several hundred thousand banned Nvidia chips were smuggled into China in 2024 alone. (Quartz)

Investing is a lifelong journey

Here’s what you can learn today.

Property or Stocks: Which one has been better for Queenie Tan?

This is an excerpt from an interview 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 this conversation? Every Get Started Investing episode is posted in full on YouTube. Check it out:

A message from Scouting Australia Podcast 

The 10 Key Pillars to Building a 100+ Property Portfolio

Join Sammy Gordon, Equity Mates’ regular property expert, as he sits down with Jimmy Ibrahim to unpack the 10 key pillars behind building a 100+ property portfolio.

From mindset to leverage and debt recycling, they break down exactly what it takes to scale, whether your goal is 10 properties or 100. This episode is packed with practical frameworks and high-level insights for serious investors.

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