An international study of retirees shows Australians have been the hardest hit by the global financial crisis. The report by HSBC shows the crisis has caused the biggest drop in incomes for Australians entering retirement among the 15 countries surveyed. The reason is the big exposure that superannuation funds have to shares, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The owners of Sydney's Cross City Tunnel are blaming the New South Wales Government for the company having to be placed in voluntary administration, ABC News reported. Cross City Motorway, which is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, EISER Infrastructure and Leighton Contractors, was placed in voluntary administration on Friday. It could soon be the second time owners of the two-kilometre tunnel linking the western and eastern fringes of Sydney's CBD have gone into receivership.

Australian employers unexpectedly cut payrolls in August as weaker demand discouraged hiring, underscoring the challenge for Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott to boost the nation’s economy. The local currency declined. The number of people employed fell by 10,800 from the previous month, when it declined by a revised 11,400, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. That compares with the median estimate for a 10,000 increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 28 economists. The jobless rate rose to 5.8 percent from 5.7 percent.

For more than two decades, Australia's economy has avoided recession, fed by a mining boom that forged one of the world's richest societies. Now, that once-in-a-generation expansion—stoked by China's demand for Australia's natural resources—could be coming to a close, The Wall Street Journal reported. As China's economic engine slows, sending prices for iron ore and coal sharply lower, Australia is facing an economic dislocation, with unemployment rising to a 12-year high and growth slowing rapidly.

Aston Metals Ltd., a mining exploration company owned by Nathan Tinkler, was placed in receivership as the latest piece of the former billionaire’s empire in Australia to be offered for sale to repay creditors, Bloomberg reported. John Park and Quentin Olde of FTI Consulting Inc. were appointed as receivers in Australia, according to a statement from the West Palm Beach, Florida-based company. Madison Pacific Trust Ltd., representing funds that hold Aston notes, named Park and Olde, according to an e-mail from FTI.

Gippsland Secured Investments is expected to be placed in receivership today, owing 3500 investors about $150 million, after a last-ditch attempt to save the mortgage fund was rejected by the Federal Court, The Australian reported. A group of businessmen with close ties to Gippsland, including former Woolworths chairman John Dahlsen, had been battling to save the company from collapse in recent weeks.

The owner of popular Australian fashion labels Ksubi, Insight and Something Else has been placed in voluntary administration, as the group prepare for a restructure, SmartCompany.com.au reported. Sydney-based company Bleach Group entered administration on August 27. It now has a new corporate ownership thanks to a share placement from an unnamed US private equity group. Bleach Group says the move was motivated by the closure of its Asian-based supply chain. "The need for a voluntary administration... is regrettable," chief executive Mark Byers said in a statement.

Billabong International Ltd. said its 40-year-old surf brand was worthless after the company’s losses tripled amid store closures, firings and a breach of debt terms. The stock fell the most in almost three weeks, Bloomberg reported. Founded by Gordon Merchant in 1973, Billabong helped sell Australian surfing culture worldwide and rose to a market value of A$3.84 billion ($3.45 billion) at its peak in 2007. Earnings have plummeted in the last two years as competitors including Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

The future of online retailer Ruslan Kogan’s budding mobile business, Kogan Mobile, hangs in the balance after its wholesaler ispONE entered into voluntary administration and cancelled all services from its telco provider, Telstra, Business Spectator reported. In a statement, Telstra Wholesale confirmed that it would continue to support one of the two major telco brands serviced by ispONE. Up to 280,000 customers from both brands are set to be affected by the move.

One of Australia’s leading bedroom product companies, Sleepmaster, has gone into receivership as the tough retail sector claims another victim, The Motley Fool reported. Sleepmaster is the owner of iconic brands including Jason, a pillow and quilt brand, blanket brand Onkaparinga and Trailmaster camping equipment. It describes itself as Australia and Asia’s leading manufacturer of bedroom product including quilts, pillows, mattress protectors, underblankets and underquilts.