THE first batch of students outside mainstream schools to sit for the Primary School Leaving Examination have done as well as their counterparts elsewhere, with over 90 per cent of them doing well enough to move to the secondary level.

The pupils - who are either schooled at home, in madrasahs or at San Yu Adventist, a private school - were made to sit for the national exams under the Compulsory Education Act, introduced in 2003.

WASHINGTON - THE number of US workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose by a larger than expected 27,000 last week to their highest level in 16 years, Labor Department data showed on Thursday, as a harsh economic environment forces employers to cut back on hiring.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits were a seasonally adjusted 542,000 in the week ended Nov 15 from a revised 515,000 the previous week.

PARIS - FRANCE'S flagship car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen slashed 3,550 jobs on Thursday as the global economic crisis cut a swathe through the world's auto sector.

Peugeot's news came as German luxury marque Daimler, Japanese truck maker Isuzu and car giant Mazda and Thailand's General Motors subsidiary announced similar cuts, in a market sapped by collapsing consumer confidence.

LONDON - OIL prices sank to less than US$50 (S$76.48) a barrel in London on Thursday, reaching the lowest levels for three and a half years, as the market was plagued by weak energy demand.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January tumbled to US$48.54 a barrel - last reached in May 2005. The contract had closed on Wednesday at US$51.72.