The corporate regulator is claiming success with its crackdown on the insolvency profession and says it will continue to be a key area of focus, The Australian reported. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has broken new ground by issuing its first annual report into the insolvency industry, identifying and describing recent enforcement actions in the wake of being granted additional funding to increase surveillance.

Australia's slowing economy was given a shot in the arm Tuesday when the central bank cut a hefty half-percentage point from official interest rates, signaling a shift in its focus away from fighting inflation and toward safeguarding growth amid an uncertain global outlook, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Embattled miner Kagara has gone into voluntary administration after failing to meet its debt obligations, putting up to 325 jobs at risk, The Australian. The Perth company announced yesterday it had appointed Taylor Woodings as voluntary administrator after suspending its shares from trading last week because it had failed to refinance a $40 million debt facility with ANZ. Administrator Michael Ryan said the administration process would provide the company and stakeholders with breathing space and protection to make decisions about the future in a considered way.

National Australia Bank illustrated the tough market facing sellers of UK banking assets on Monday, scrapping plans for a sale of its British banking operations and saying it would instead shrink them by cutting 1,400 jobs, Reuters reported. The Australian bank, which operates 337 Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank branches, looked at a number of options including a sale or expansion but decided neither was realistic given the UK's return to recession last week.

Australia is ready to help beef up the International Monetary Fund's war chest but needs to see a firm commitment from Europe's leaders to tackle the crisis in their region, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Wayne Swan said in an interview. "We have to ensure from a global perspective that the IMF has the resources that it requires to deal with any challenges in the future," Mr. Swan told Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal Wednesday ahead of the spring meetings of the fund and the World Bank this week in Washington D.C. Mr.

Julia Gillard has put the onus on the Reserve Bank to bring down interest rates to boost the economy, arguing that Labor has delivered on spending cuts and a budget surplus and there is now room for monetary policy to play a role, The Australian reported. The Prime Minister will tell a business audience in Perth Thursday that cutting interest rates to boost struggling sectors of the economy would be fully consistent with the Reserve Bank's obligations to "best contribute to economic prosperity and full employment".

South Korea has begun collecting a levy on domestic banks and local branches of foreign banks it introduced in August, hoping to help the economy guard against shocks stemming from rapid capital flows in and out of the country, the Finance Ministry said Sunday. The Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. paid $759,000, making it the first foreign or domestic bank to pay what is called the "macroprudential stability levy" to the Bank of Korea.

Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard may be forced to follow U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke by increasing mortgage purchases as house prices slump and the nation’s biggest banks extend their grip on the home-loan market, Bloomberg reported. Non-bank lenders including Greater Building Society and CUA say more government purchases of residential mortgage-backed securities will be needed as Europe’s debt crisis saps investors’ appetite for risky assets.

Thousands of travelers were stranded Friday after budget airline Air Australia went into voluntary administration, immediately grounding its entire fleet, The Washington Post reported. The Brisbane-based international and domestic airline, formerly known as Strategic Airlines, said all flights had been canceled and the airline would not be accepting new bookings because it could no longer pay its bills. Voluntary administration in Australia is similar to bankruptcy protection in the U.S., and can buy a company time to trade out of its financial problems.

Fledgling carrier Air Australia yesterday hit out at rumours that ANZ Bank is considering winding up the company amid worries from some creditors about outstanding payments. A spokeswoman rejected suggestions parent company Strategic Group was being put into receivership or administration. She did not respond to suggestions the company was as much as $30 million in debt or that several creditors were chasing payments.