Singapore - The link between income and trade is stronger between Asia and the West than between North America and Europe, according to a study by the Economist Intelligence Unit which was released in Singapore Wednesday.

A 1 per cent increase in combined income between an Asian country and a Western country would deliver a 1.36 per cent increase in trade, said the study, which the research company did for international couriers DHL.

Trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the West would rise 1.35 per cent for every one per cent increase in combined income, compared to trading relations between two Western countries, where a 1 per cent increase in combined income delivers a 1.14 per cent increase in trade.

Singapore  - Singapore courts have prosecuted 1,052 employers in the first 11 months of this year for providing sub-standard accommodation to their foreign workers, news reports said Wednesday.

The city-state's Manpower Ministry found hundreds of dormitories that failed to meet health and safety standards, The Straits Times and Channel News Asia reported.

Checks by the ministry found that some sites were overcrowded and located in areas with a high prevalence of dengue fever and the viral disease chikungunya, while others were illegally converted dormitories at factories.

The highest fine of 20,000 Singapore dollars (13,320 dollars) was imposed on an employer for housing his workers in a collection centre for rubbish bins.

Singapore - Singapore share prices rose by 5.4 per cent on Tuesday, pushing the Straits Times Index up 89.25 points to close at 1,748.42.

The Singapore Exchange closed with 324 gainers against 131 losers. Volume totaled 1,338.6 million shares.

Analysts said the gains were supported by bullish performances in the region's markets, although the city-state's economic outlook remains bearish for the next quarter.

Economic output could shrink by 7 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009, Citigroup equity research chief Chua Hak Bin told a seminar on Friday.

Singapore  - Singapore is expecting more job cuts in the first quarter of next year, according to a survey reported by the Straits Times Tuesday.

About half of the 629 bosses surveyed intend to cut jobs in the first three months of 2009, compared to 10 per cent who were polled on staff cuts between October and December this year.

The jobs cuts will be through retrenchments, not replacing staff who leave, and freezing hiring plans, it said, citing the survey by global human resource consultancy Manpower Inc, which had polled the 629 employers in Singapore.

In order to improve ground handling and cargo operations at various airports, the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) has proposed to set up joint venture companies with Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (SATS).

Sydney - Australian journalist Peter Lloyd was jailed for 10 months Tuesday after pleading guilty to drugs charges in a Singapore court, the national broadcaster ABC reported Tuesday.

Lloyd, 42, ABC's South Asia correspondent, was arrested in July for possession of 0.4 grams of methamphetamine, a drug commonly called ice.

Lloyd had agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of possession in return for the more serious charge of drug trafficking being dropped.