Australian energy giant Woodside Petroleum said Wednesday it has pulled out of the massive Leviathan gas joint venture off the coast of Israel -- one of the largest deposits found in the world.

The company said it had terminated an early-stage agreement with the Leviathan partners, led by U.S. oil producer Noble Energy, to take a 25 percent stake worth an estimated U.S.$2.5 billion in the discovery.

The price of oil hovered above $102 a barrel Tuesday as the threat of further violence in Libya threw into question the country's ability to ramp up its crude exports.

Benchmark U.S. crude for July delivery was up 18 cents to $102.29 a barrel at 0640 GMT in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Nymex contract for June rose 12 cents to settle at $102.73 on Monday, its last day of trading.

Credit Suisse pleaded guilty and was fined $2.6 billion Monday for helping Americans avoid taxes, the first time in 20 years a major bank has been punished on U.S. criminal charges.

U.S. authorities said the "brazen" Swiss bank, one of the world's largest wealth managers, helped thousands of rich people hide money in accounts under false names and in fake foundations for decades.

Egypt's former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to romp home in this month's presidential election, but his challenge will be fighting poverty and rebuilding the shattered economy.

More than three years after millions of Egyptians demanding "bread, freedom and social justice" ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak, and later his successor Mohamed Morsi, nearly 40 percent of the population -- some 34 million people -- live close to the poverty line.

Norway announced a $63 million aid package to South Sudan on Monday, the eve of an Oslo conference to raise money for desperately needed humanitarian assistance in the conflict-torn country.

The United Nations has warned of a widespread famine in South Sudan if fighting between the government and rebel groups does not stop.

Internet giant Yahoo Japan said Monday it had cancelled plans to buy domestic telecom company eAccess from its parent SoftBank Corp. in a deal that was valued at about $3.2 billion.

In March, Yahoo's Japanese unit -- whose top shareholder is SoftBank -- announced the deal which it said was aimed at growing the firm's Internet services business through smartphones and tablets. 

Thailand's economy shrank 0.6 percent year-on-year in January-March, data showed Monday, as the festering political crisis eroded consumer confidence and frightened off tourists.

The contraction is the first since the last three months of 2011, when the country was hit by massive flooding, and comes as opposition protesters press for the nation's senate to remove a battered caretaker government. 

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has suffered a voter backlash after a budget described as the worst in 20 years with two polls Monday showing support for his government plunging.

The conservative leader's first budget since coming to office last September -- handed down a week ago -- took the axe to health and education spending in an attempt to slash the country's deficit.

Oil prices edged higher in Asia Monday on escalating violence in crude producer Libya following a coup attempt by a rogue general that has raised concerns about potential supply disruptions, analysts said.

The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in June, rose 17 cents to $102.19 in afternoon trade, while Brent North Sea crude for July rose 24 cents to $109.99.

Pinterest on Friday confirmed that another $200 million has been pumped into its coffers to build up search capabilities at the booming, bulletin board-style social network.

The latest round brings to $764 million the total amount of funding raised by the San Francisco-based start-up and gives Pinterest an overall value of $5 billion.