The ASX is looking at a continuation today of last week’s solid run which saw the market up 2.2% – its best weekly performance for some time.

A quiet week mostly as we approach the end of the second quarter, the June half year and more importantly in Australia, the end of the 2017-18 financial year (see separate story).

June 30 is the most important date of the financial year in Australia and an important one for many other countries and economies such as the US, Japan, China, the UK and across Europe.

The American online sector has been dealt a damaging body blow by a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that will allow US states the right to collect sales taxes on internet companies that do not have a physical presence in their states.

Reserve Bank governor, Dr Phil Lowe has ruled out using monetary policy (interest rates) to try and boost inflation and through that, lift wage growth in Australia from its current sluggish level of around 2%.

The bidding war for assets owned by the Murdoch family’s 21st Century Fox has escalated with Disney adding cash to its offer in an attempt to see off rival media giant, Comcast.

Oil prices heading for a sell off in coming days – with OPEC and Russia due to meet this Friday and Saturday.

It has been coming for a while, but has now finally happened – after years of declining performance, corporate revamps, management changes and incompetence – all leading to weakening profitability, one of America’s foundation industrial giants – General Electric – has been punted from the Dow Jones index after a more than a century.

Financial markets and confidence were rattled yesterday and last night, especially in Asia after President Trump’s threat to apply a 10% tariff to an extra $US200 billion of Chinese imports into America, on top of the 25% impost already applying to $US50 billion of shipments.

Oil and US-China trade will be in the spotlight this week for global markets.

The stronger US dollar hit commodity prices last week, helping drive oil prices lower (see separate story) as well as the prices of gold and other metals plus agricultural commodities.

The ASX will start on a flat note this morning after a weak ending to offshore trading on Friday – hours after the strongest day’s trading in Australia for 11 months.

Oil futures dropped sharply on Friday, ending the week lower, with Brent crude falling to more-than-six-week low on expectations OPEC and its allies (mostly Russia) will agree late this week to boost output by cutting the cap on daily production.

Mixed news yesterday from China’s last batch of major economic data for May even though crude steel production hit an all time high in the month.

Australia’s labour market marked time in May as the big surge in employment in 2017 continued to fade. Seasonally adjusted the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in May from 5.6% in April, thanks to workers leaving the pool of people looking for work.

US cable, TV and film giant, Comcast (a bigger version of 21st Century Fox) lobbed its expected all cash bid for Fox at the Murdoch company, but added $US5 billion to it to bring it up to a massive $US65 billion, on top of the $US31 billion Comcast wants to throw at Fox’s 39% UK based pay TV business, Sky plc.

Global fund managers are getting more worried about corporate debt, but despite that they still like shares – sort of.

America faces a possible two more rate rises in 2018 after the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark federal-funds rate by 0.25% to 2%.

The chance of a rate rise just pushed out even further – possibly into 2020 as the AMP’s Shane Oliver has already forecast after comments yesterday from the Reserve Bank Governor, Phil Lowe and the latest economic forecast from the National Australia Bank are any guide.

The long-awaited legal green light for the $US85 billion takeover by AT&T of Time Warner has finally arrived and subject to any appeal, America could now be in for an orgy of multi-billion dollar bids and deals.