Weekly Market News Roundup

This week, the G8 countries held a meeting to address the recent corporate tax evasion issue, Obama talks with  the EU on trade, Swiss lawmakers don’t want to snoop at bank accounts, and US residential mortgage rates are climbing steeply and faster since 2010.

Here is the weekly market news roundup brought to you by Tradespoon.

G-8 leaders pledge to get a grip on corporate tax evasion

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries signed a communique after their meeting in Northern Ireland aimed at fighting cross-border tax evasion and dealing with tax havens. The consensus was to work toward adopting measures that require the disclosure of the owners of corporations and to expand the sharing of information by national taxing authorities.

US and EU free trade talks stumblr on financial-services regulation

The US and EU faced challenges such as regulation of the financial services sector during the ongoing free trade talks. The financial services sector is a crucial morsel in the global financial crisis and it is still an issue for most countries as they strive to protect their financial systems.

Swiss lawmakers vote against tax deal with US

Switzerland stays neutral. Switzerland’s House of Representatives voted 126 to 67 in favor of rejecting a law that would allow banks to give some information on suspected tax evaders to US tax authorities. Opponents said the measure violated Swiss sovereignty. The bill isn’t dead, however, until the House rejects it a second time.

Japan leads gains among mixed Asian-Pacific markets

On Wednesday, Asian-Pacific markets were mixed as investors waited for news from the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed up 1.8%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slid 1.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 1%. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.7%. India’s Sensex was up 0.1%.

U.S. mortgage rates seen as threat to housing rebound

In recent weeks, residential mortgage rates in the U.S. have climbed at the fastest pace since 2010, fueling speculation that the housing market could fall back into a slump, crippling the nation’s economic recovery. There are already signs of possible trouble for housing. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association said refinancing applications declined 11% during the past two weeks.

Housing starts in the U.S. were up 6.8% to an annual rate of 914,000 in May but came in less than the 950,000 rate most analysts expected, according to the Commerce Department. A 21.6% bump in multifamily starts accounted for most of the expansion. Single-family housing starts increased only 0.3%.

Wealthy clients want to work with one adviser, report finds

According to the World Wealth Report 2013 from Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management, 52.6% of wealthy investors want to work with just one advisory firm to manage their resources. The report found that more than 60% of high-net-worth clients have a high level of trust in their financial adviser. So once you snag a deep-pocketed client, hold on tight!

Shale oil will keep oil above $100 a barrel

Shale oil is the next big thing in oil production and US is on top of it. Out of the shale oil producers in the world, only US and Canada has the technology to produce it commercially. Russia is has the largest shale oil reserves but currently, it has no technology to tap this resource. The growing reliance on shale oil may help hold the global price of the fuel above $100 a barrel. The reason? When prices fall, it is easier to shut down hundreds of onshore shale wells than mammoth, conventional production facilities in Alaska and the North Sea, according to The Economist. “Motorists hoping for some rapid relief from high oil prices may be out of luck,” the magazine notes.

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