The Murdoch clan has a new best friend in the voting shares in 21st Century Fox after San Francisco hedge fund and activist investor, ValueAct, picked up 30 million of the securities for around $US1 billion. That’s a stake of around 15%, making the fund the second largest holder of the voting shares in Fox.

The big rise in Chinese exports in July and the fall in imports grabbed the headlines, but for Australia the important data was the third highest level of iron ore imports on record – contrary to what the forecasts of falling sales and prices from the usual collection of worryworts and local ‘experts’ in recent months.

Good news from the early July figures on the Chinese economy with exports up sharply, imports down, and a record trade surplus of more than $US47 billion and inflation stable, with house price growth continuing to ease as the property boom subsides.

The Australian June 30 reporting season hits top gear this week with 36 major companies due to release earnings, which will tell us a lot about the sustainability of the market at current levels, especially the shares of big banks and their long two-year rally.

What a difference a day and an "assurance" from the Russian government makes to market sentiment – even allowing for the return to bombing in Iraq by the US on Friday.

The Australian June 30 reporting season will dominate this week (see separate report), along with a couple of key bits of official data on wages growth.

The brief, four months of trade surplus late last year and in early 2014, sparked by higher iron ore prices and exports, as well as a fall in imports of capital goods, helped the Australian trade account rebound more than $14 billion, into surplus in the year to June 30.

As expected, the Reserve Bank has left its official interest cash rate steady on 2.5%, 12 months after cutting it to that record low.

Once again the Reserve Bank won’t be swayed by another set of promising economic figures. The central bank will again decide to continue sitting on interest rates for the time being at its August board meeting later today.

We are now approaching the season for markets to correct – the end of the northern summer and early autumn when share markets tend to take a breather and produce a sell-off.

In the US, where the sell-off is concentrated, the fretting about the ending of the Fed’s huge sending spree (and then rising interest rates) will continue to dominate investor sentiment from now until October – November.

Central banks in Australia, Europe, India, Japan and the UK will hold some of the attention this week for investors, although a large drop of key Australian figures, and at the end of the week, the monthly economic data from China, will also share the spotlight.

There’s more evidence that size no longer is the be all and end all for international companies, whether its in mining, retailing, manufacturing or even financial services.

It could have been the end of financial year loan boom for personal investors and business, or it could have been a real increase in demand for loans from more and more businesses and consumers, but whatever the reason the growth in private lending in the country hit a six year high in June.

For whatever reason – and there are quite a few – markets in Europe and the US turned lower and finished July in the red, leaving Asian markets out on a limb somewhat after their very strong month.

It was a losing month for many commodities, led by the old stagers in gold and oil, but assisted by the major grains and cotton.

Signs are growing that the Japanese economy, our second biggest export market, is weaker than thought, and that the impact of the radical economic policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are fading.

No joy for the markets from the release of two key data releases in the US overnight.