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Perth Now
5 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
US trade deficit narrows amid drop in consumer imports
The US trade deficit narrowed in June on a sharp drop in consumer goods imports, the latest evidence of the imprint on global commerce that President Donald Trump is making with sweeping tariffs on imported goods. The overall trade gap narrowed 16.0 per cent in June to $US60.2 billion ($A93.1 billion), the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Tuesday. Days after reporting that the goods trade deficit tumbled 10.8 per cent to its lowest since September 2023, the government said the full deficit including services also was its narrowest since September 2023. Exports of goods and services totalled $US277.3 billion ($A429.0 billion), down from more than $US278 billion ($A430 billion) in May, while total imports were $US337.5 billion ($A522.1 billion), down from $US350.3 billion ($A541.9 billion). The diminished trade deficit contributed heavily to the rebound in US gross domestic product during the second quarter, reported last week, reversing a drag in the first quarter when imports had surged as consumers and businesses front-loaded purchases to beat the imposition of Trump's tariffs. The economy in the second quarter expanded at a 3.0 per cent annualised rate after contracting at a 0.5 per cent rate in the first three months of the year, but the headline figure masked underlying indications that activity was weakening. Last week, Trump, ahead of a self-imposed deadline of August 1, issued a barrage of notices informing scores of trading partners of higher import taxes set to be imposed on their goods exports to the US. With tariff rates ranging from 10 per cent to 41 per cent on imports to the US set to kick in on August 7, the Budget Lab at Yale now estimates the average overall US tariff rate has shot up to 18.3 per cent, the highest since 1934, from between two per cent and three per cent before Trump returned to the White House in January.
Sydney Morning Herald
08-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bill Gates vows to give away 99 per cent of his fortune by 2045
The Gates Foundation plans to give away $US200 billion ($313 billion) over the next 20 years before shutting down entirely in 2045, marking a new deadline for one of history's largest and most influential charities. That target would represent a doubling in spending for the nonprofit, which has disbursed more than $US100 billion since it was co-founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2000. Originally, the foundation was set to close 20 years after the Microsoft co-founder's death. 'I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned,' Gates, 69, wrote in a statement. 'I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.' Foundation Chief Executive Officer Mark Suzman said in a call with reporters that the giving will equate to roughly 99 per cent of Gates' remaining fortune. Gates is the fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth $US168 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He and French Gates have given $US60.2 billion to the foundation from its inception through 2024. The foundation distributes billions of dollars a year to causes around the world — mainly health, global development and education. In its statement on Thursday, it said it has helped save 82 million lives through its efforts to increase access to vaccines in low-income countries and its global funding to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 'People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them.' Bill Gates In its remaining 20 years, the foundation, which employs more than 2000 people, will focus on ending preventable childbirth deaths, eliminating deadly infectious diseases and lifting people out of poverty, according to the statement. On a call with reporters on Thursday morning, Suzman also said the foundation will work to improve education in the US and address climate change-related issues, including developing crops with drought resistance.
The Age
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Bill Gates vows to give away 99 per cent of his fortune by 2045
The Gates Foundation plans to give away $US200 billion ($313 billion) over the next 20 years before shutting down entirely in 2045, marking a new deadline for one of history's largest and most influential charities. That target would represent a doubling in spending for the nonprofit, which has disbursed more than $US100 billion since it was co-founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2000. Originally, the foundation was set to close 20 years after the Microsoft co-founder's death. 'I have decided to give my money back to society much faster than I had originally planned,' Gates, 69, wrote in a statement. 'I will give away virtually all my wealth through the Gates Foundation over the next 20 years to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world.' Foundation Chief Executive Officer Mark Suzman said in a call with reporters that the giving will equate to roughly 99 per cent of Gates' remaining fortune. Gates is the fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth $US168 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He and French Gates have given $US60.2 billion to the foundation from its inception through 2024. The foundation distributes billions of dollars a year to causes around the world — mainly health, global development and education. In its statement on Thursday, it said it has helped save 82 million lives through its efforts to increase access to vaccines in low-income countries and its global funding to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 'People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them.' Bill Gates In its remaining 20 years, the foundation, which employs more than 2000 people, will focus on ending preventable childbirth deaths, eliminating deadly infectious diseases and lifting people out of poverty, according to the statement. On a call with reporters on Thursday morning, Suzman also said the foundation will work to improve education in the US and address climate change-related issues, including developing crops with drought resistance.
