Eurozone business activity slipped slightly in May but held near a three-year high, suggesting a modest economic recovery remains on track, a closely watched survey showed on Thursday.

However the report also highlighted continuing problems for France, lagging further behind powerhouse Germany which goes from strength to strength, analysts said.

Chinese manufacturing activity saw a sharp improvement in May, hitting a five-month high, HSBC said Tuesday, but it warned more government action was needed to kickstart the world's number two economy.

The British banking giant said in a statement its preliminary purchasing managers' index (PMI), which tracks activity in the nation's factories and workshops, came in at 49.7 this month, well up from a final reading of 48.1 in April. 

China signed a long-awaited, 30-year deal Wednesday to buy Russian natural gas worth $400 billion in a financial and diplomatic boost to diplomatically isolated President Vladimir Putin.

Negotiations on the price for the gas had continued into the final hours of a two-day visit by Putin to China, during which the two sides had said they hoped to sign a deal.

Singapore's central bank on Wednesday warned citizens of the risks attached to buying properties overseas, after data showed a surge in Singaporeans' investment in real estate abroad.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said local real estate agencies had handled overseas property deals worth Sg$2 billion ($1.6 billion) last year -- a 43 percent rise since 2012.

Luxury fashion group Burberry reported a jump in annual profits on Wednesday, as new head Christopher Bailey said expansion in Japan would help the company build on record sales. 

Profit after tax rallied 27 percent to £322.5 million ($543 million, 396 million euros) in the 12 months to the end of March.

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.