One of Sydney's most famous car dealers, with a sprawling dealership that has become a city landmark, has hit a roadblock, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Rick Damelian's Damelian Group, which made headlines when it unsuccessfully tried to sell Lara Bingle's Aston Martin, was placed in receivership yesterday owing National Australia Bank about $80 million. The receiver, Ferrier Hodgson, moved quickly to calm customers by insisting no new car buyers would be left out of pocket.

The Queensland Government says there was nothing it could do to prevent one of the biggest tourism developments at Airlie Beach, in the Whitsundays region of the state's north, from going into receivership, ABC News reported. Administrators took control of the $200 million Meridien Marinas Port of Airlie project earlier this week. The development includes 56 apartments, 15 beachfront land lots, marina berths and a retail and dining precinct.

One of the few bright spots in real estate amid a three-year global slump, Australia now faces falling home prices and fears of overbuilding, The Wall Street Journal reported. A downturn in Australia's real estate market will add to concerns of a two-speed economy in the resource-rich nation. Mining profits are surging due to heavy demand from China and other fast-growing Asian countries, but consumer businesses and manufacturing have faltered under the weight of the swollen Australian dollar, which is trading near 30-year highs to the U.S. currency.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed concern Thursday about the outlook for global growth, warning that Europe's sovereign-debt crisis is far from being resolved and the U.S. is only beginning to deal with its fiscal problems, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a wide-ranging interview Thursday, Ms. Gillard said the inability of Europe's leaders up to now to calm markets worried over the economic health of the euro zone was the world economy's biggest challenge. Confidence has also been dented by a "spectacular" political deadlock in the U.S.

China Petrochemical Corp.'s partner in its only oil production venture in Australia appointed administrators Monday, a move that underscores how some of China's earliest investments in the resource-rich country have struggled to meet expectations, The Wall Street Journal reported. AED Oil Ltd. raised US$561 million in 2008 when it sold 60% of its underperforming Puffin oil field in the Timor Sea to China Petrochemical Corp., also known as Sinopec.

The chairman of the $75 billion Future Fund has warned the debt crisis engulfing Europe and the United States could take at least 20 years to resolve, causing ongoing market volatility, The Australian reported. David Murray warned the post-global financial crisis environment would continue to be characterised by a series of market shocks, with investor uncertainty heightened by concerns over the ability of political systems to contain any emerging meltdown.

Shadow broker Kinetic Securities is to appoint administrators Monday in a collapse its directors blame on the global financial crisis, sluggish post-GFC low-volume market conditions and increasing regulatory requirements, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The appointment of voluntary administrators, expected to be Ferrier Hodgson, comes just weeks after the corporate regulator suspended its Australian Financial Services Licence then reinstated it and follows a move by a creditor to wind it up.

Yet another fashion retailer has collapsed in the midst of the worst trading conditions in 50 years, with Brown Sugar placed in voluntary administration putting the future of 50 full-time staff and 170 part-time crew in doubt, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Deloitte Corporate Reorganisation Group, Sal Algeri and Tim Norman, have been named as joint voluntary administrators to the clothing group which has 40 stores in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Queensland property franchise Go Gecko has been placed into voluntary administration, but the company says its franchisees will be unaffected by the move, StartupSmart reported. Go Gecko was founded in 2006 by Geoff Doyle and operates more than 50 outlets across the country, describing itself as the “pioneers of capped commission real estate”. It’s been revealed the Brisbane-based company called in administrators on Tuesday, highlighting the tough conditions plaguing the property market.

The teetering retail empire Austexx, one-time owners of the Direct Factory Outlet shopping centre in Sydney, is again in crisis with receivers called in to take control of its Spencer Street property in Melbourne over a debt of up to $360 million, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. In another hammer blow for the troubled group, the financier BOS International appointed Craig Shepard and Leanne Chesser of KordaMentha receivers over two companies that own the struggling shopping centre above Southern Cross station.