BANGKOK - THAI police said on Friday they have found another 1,500 web sites that allegedly insult the country's revered monarchy and have ordered them to be blocked amid an intensifying crackdown.

The announcement comes just days after the government said it had already prevented access to around 2,300 websites under strict lese majeste laws which protect King Bhumibol Adulyadej and his family.

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - BANK of America Corp was rescued by the US government on Friday through a US$20 billion (S$30 billion) bailout and a guarantee for almost US$100 billion of potential losses on toxic assets to cushion the blow from a deteriorating balance sheet at Merrill Lynch & Co, its recently acquired brokerage.

The bailout makes Bank of America the biggest recipient of taxpayer money next to Citigroup as the government pours cash into the nation's banks to plug holes left by bad loans.

MORE than half of the reviewed complaints of structured products of Lehman Minibonds, DBS High Notes 5 and Merril Lynch Jubilee Series 3 Linkearner Notes will receive some compensation, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore on Friday.

In the latest update, MAS says 58 per cent of investors who have lodged complaints of mis-selling to the financial institutions that sold them the products will receive a full or partial settlement.

EXPORTS slumped for the eighth straight month, marking its worst performance since shrinking 23 per cent in February 2002, figures from International Enterprise Singapore (IE) showed.

The decline was not only deep, but broadbased, cutting across products and markets, as shipments to nine of the top 10 markets fell.