Aust hit in US-China spat, rates to fall, ancient city found
Published: July 07, 2025
Aust hit in US-China spat, rates to fall, ancient city found
News in brief
Interest rates are on the way down, including a probable cut at 2:30pm today, but home loan borrowers are mostly opting to keep repayment levels unchanged, effectively paying more than the minimum requirement off their mortgages.
Gold stocks were the big winners in the 2025 financial year, but the precarious nature of their success was demonstrated yesterday when market leader, Northern Star, said output would be at the lower end of its forecast range, sending its share price down nearly nine per cent.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says her government is preparing to introduce legislation to ban face coverings, attachment devices and terror symbols at protests, following a spate of antisemitic attacks.
Donald Trump has lashed out at Elon Musk after the billionaire unveiled plans to launch a new US political party, calling him a “train wreck” in an escalation of the feud between the US president and his former buddy.
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of an ancient city in Peru's northern Barranca province. The 3,500-year-old city, named Peñico is believed to have served as a key trading hub connecting early Pacific coast communities with those living in the Andes mountains and Amazon basin.
Fear-o-meter
The timing of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to China this week is relevant. Just as the PM heads to Beijing to meet President Ji Xinping, to continue the détente between the two countries, our greatest “friend”, the United States, will officially impose ten per cent tariffs on Aussie exports.
China wants to take advantage of the disruption caused by the Trump Administration. Beijing’s top diplomat locally, Xiao Qian, suggests deepening economic ties between Australia and China, boosting collaboration around critical minerals, electric vehicles, semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
These are the pain points between China and the US, and winning Australia over by including them in a free trade deal would be a coup for Beijing, but would not be welcome in Washington.
The Trump Administration is putting middle ranking countries like Australia in a difficult position. Do we shift our bias away from the US towards China and the rest of Asia, or do we just accept the tariffs and get on with life?
Who's talking today?
"It's been like a Christmas grinch for a while with those budget updates, I'll be honest... all the state ones this year have been pretty poor for SMEs and the federal budget, it had nothing... apart from the electricity rebate."
It is Tuesday the 8th of July and Australia is getting caught up in the cross-fire between the world’s two big economies, the US and China, with America set to impose a 10 per cent tariff on Aussie goods just as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese heads to Beijing.
Greed-o-meter
| City | Rediscovered |
|---|---|
| Machu Picchu, Peru | 1911 |
| Vilcabamba, Peru | 1964 |
| Babylon, Iraq | 1899 |
| Pompeii, Italy | 1748 |
| Helike, Greece | 2001 |
| Angkor, Cambodia | 1840s |
| Petra, Jordan | 1812 |
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The discovery of an ancient city in Peru's northern Barranca province raises the question: what are the most famous lost cities. One of the disappointments in doing the research is finding out that the sunken city of Atlantis, spoken about by Greek philosopher Plato, was made up. Putting that disappointment behind us, the major lost cities, according to Readers Digest, are as follows.