Oil prices might have bounced more than 50% to over $US45 a barrel in the past four months, and US oil production continues to slide, but that has done little to ease the continuing pressure on the sector.

Australia’s big four banks are facing a new crackdown on lending to key sectors of the NZ economy – a move that could force them to allocate more capital.

A blocked takeover, a weak result from Disney, and a surprisingly poor update from department store giant, Macy’s and higher oil prices conspired to send Wall Street shares lower – reversing the previous day’s 200 plus surge which was the biggest gain in two months.

For a company that has seemed impervious to what has been happening in the US economy (with the exception of insurance services), Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has shown itself to be surprisingly vulnerable to the impact of falling oil and gas prices.

The four-year slump in Chinese producer prices continued to moderate in April, easing the long strains on companies facing sluggish demand and high debt levels. China’s consumer prices remained steady.

Iron ore prices are sliding and Australian investors had better wake up. They have slept (or ignored) most of the 22% slide in the global spot price in the past three weeks – with most of that happening since the start of last week.

China dominates the week for investors here and offshore.

China produced a weak trade report for April as March’s surge in exports faded.

Gold futures dipped, copper fell and oil futures dipped – despite Friday’s rise off the back of the bad fires in Canada.

A messy week last week for share markets here and offshore, and the monthly data dump from China will ensure something of a repeat this week.

Ratings agency Moody’s has emerged as the most credible critic of the Federal Government’s 2016-17 budget. So concerned is Moody’s that it seems to be preparing the way for a possible official warning about the viability of our AAA rating later this year.

Markets in Europe and the US sold off sharply overnight as oil prices fell, more weak figures from China worried investors and European banks fell sharply on weak results. As a result, the Aussie market is facing a 63 point fall on the ASX 200 this morning – not all of yesterday’s surprise 111 point surge off the back of the Reserve Bank’s surprise rate cut, but enough to give the Federal budget a rough welcome this morning.

The ASX surged and the Aussie dollar plunged after the Reserve Bank cut the cash rate to a record low of 1.75% yesterday in a bid to halt rising price disinflationary pressures triggering a bout of actual deflation.

The Government’s policy thrust in the 2016-17 budget, if you can believe Treasurer Morrison and Prime Minister Turnbull, is another three word slogan redolent of Tony Abbott in “Jobs and Growth”.

The Reserve Bank got confirmation yesterday from the National Australia Bank’s April business conditions and confidence report that the economy is not weak and in need of help from a rate cut. But the NAB believes otherwise and sees a rate cut emerging from today’s meeting.

April turned out to be the best month for ages for commodities, led by the most unlikely candidates in iron ore, oil and aluminium.

The old adage for May from Wall Street veterans is to ‘go away’, meaning summer is coming, sell and take your profits and come back in September. Not this year, with gains so far in 2016 scarce and the outlook for more volatile trading and growing concerns about a commodity bubble.