SINGAPORE'S manufacturing sector is finally showing firmer signs of reaching a bottom.

A forward-looking index of production that was released on Thursday indicates that while the sector is still in a slump, the pace of decline has slowed significantly.

WASHINGTON - THE number of new jobless claims in the United States rose more than expected last week to a 26-year high as employers slashed payrolls amid a recession, government data showed on Thursday.

The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 669,000 in the week ending March 28, a 1.8 per cent increase from the previous week and the highest level since early October 1982.

LONDON - WORLD leaders will impose new financial rules on Thursday and triple the war chest of the International Monetary Fund to fight the worst economic crisis since the 1930s, sources at the G20 summit said.

Host Britain conceded there were still gaps to close. France and Germany are demanding concrete measures - not just promises - to clamp down on tax havens and regulate hedge funds and markets.

A TASKFORCE set up to provide early detection of bosses who are at risk of defaulting on salary payments to their foreign workers, identified 43 such employers since it started work in January.

It has already prosecuted two employers for failing to pay salaries and is investigating another nine.