German investor sentiment rose slightly in June, with hopes for a gradual recovery in the second half of the year, the ZEW economic institute said Tuesday. "The financial market experts are sticking to their assessment," the institute said. "The German economy is likely to gain momentum in the second half of 2013. The survey results indicate, however, that the economic recovery will proceed timidly." fz/kjm/hd

Oil prices rose in Asian trade on Tuesday, fuelled by growing concern over the Syrian conflict and political unrest in Turkey, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, gained five cents to $97.82 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for August delivery added three cents to $105.50. "It's the Syrian war," said Kelly Teoh, market strategist at IG Markets in Singapore. "Oil is always very sensitive to any type of crisis or potential crisis."

SEOUL, June 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's finance minister said Tuesday that government policies should not put a damper on ordinary business activities, emphasizing that the country's economic recovery hinges on brisk corporate performance. The remarks by Hyun Oh-seok came amid concerns that the government's pursuit of the so-called economic democratization aimed at tackling unfair business practices by large conglomerates over smaller companies might hamstring overall business activities and entrepreneurship.

The OECD provided ammunition Tuesday for an expected G8 offensive against tax evasion in a report outlining how to bring about automatic sharing of financial information that would shoot a hole through banking secrecy. Prepared at the request of G8 leaders meeting in Northern Ireland, the report outlines how to swiftly achieve their goal of tightening the noose of information exchange around tax havens. It suggests that countries adopt broad, relatively standardised, framework legislation so that bilateral information-sharing agreements can be quickly and easily negotiated.