There are signs in the Northern Mariana islands to declare the national pension fund bankrupt, a move that would put an abrupt stop to fortnightly payments to retirees, Radio Australia reported. The Retirement Association has angrily opposed the idea, calling on the government to cut back spending on what it sees as "bloated" agencies to ensure pension payments aren't jeopardised. It's a sorry turn-around for the fund, which five years ago was worth close to half a billion US dollars, but is now down to $US140 million. It's having to draw on its assets to meet pension payments.

A senate Inquiry has been told that hundreds of overseas students from the failed Sterling College in Sydney have still not been transferred to new courses, a month after the college collapsed, ABC News reported. The Federation of Indian Students of Australia says only 34 students have been found new places. About 500 mainly Indian students were affected when the college, which offers courses in information technology and community welfare, went into voluntary administration at the end of July. Read more.

Nursery furniture retailer BabyCo has gone into voluntary administration and only four of the company's 22 shops in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia will remain open, Big Pond News reported. Deloitte partners Tim Norman, Sal Algeri and Simon Cathro have been appointed as voluntary administrators of the company on Friday. Mr Norman says slow sales and the competitive nature of the retail industry prompted the company to appoint administrators.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Julius Baer Holding AG are among potential buyers of ING Groep NV’s private banking operations, three people familiar with the matter said. Amsterdam-based ING, the biggest Dutch financial-services company, is seeking at least $1.8 billion for the assets, two of the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity, Bloomberg reported. DBS, ANZ Bank and Julius Baer are among companies picked by ING to enter final bidding for its Asian and Swiss private banking units as early as next week, they said.

Households wilting under mortgage stress and credit card blowouts are set to receive greater protection from bankruptcy, Australia’s Herald Sun reported. Changes to be unveiled today make it harder for creditors to force battlers into personal insolvency. And extra time will be allowed for debtors to reorganise their affairs instead of plunging headlong into bankruptcy. The changes come as households face added pressure amid prospects of interest rates rising to pre-November 2008 levels. Recent years have witnessed a surge in non-business bankruptcies.

The policy-making board of the Reserve Bank of Australia said for the first time since slashing rates in late 2008 that there could be risks in leaving interest rates too low for too long, and that it is discussing tightening policy. The central bank also said it will look to economic data to determine the timing of interest-rate increases. When discussing the "timing and process" of such a move, it added, the board would weigh the risk of "overstaying a very accommodative setting in a recovering economy" against the risk that an early tightening could choke confidence and demand.

Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens warned Australian homeowners and home buyers today to prepare for higher interest rates from the current "emergency" lows, as the economy starts to strengthen, The Australian reported. The central bank chief said the global economy was starting to improve, but there were still potential risks which could damage the recovery both in Australia and offshore.

The author of an editorial linking Rio Tinto Group’s actions in China to 700 billion yuan ($102 billion) in excess charges for the steel industry said the article was his own opinion and used previously published data, Bloomberg reported. Jiang Ruqin, an employee with the Jiangsu Province Administration for the Protection of State Secrets, said he has no involvement in a legal case against four Rio employees detained last month, and that no “leaders” assigned him to write the essay or reviewed the piece before publication.

Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Alan Joyce said he doesn't expect Australia's national carrier to merge with another airline for at least a decade, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr. Joyce also predicted that at least one competitor will drop out of the cramped Pacific route between Australia and the U.S, and confirmed that Qantas has suspended plans to list its frequent flyer business indefinitely. Merger talks between Qantas and British Airways PLC. fell through last year and Qantas has also held merger discussions with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

The number of companies forced into liquidation jumped by 20 per cent in the 12 months to May, driven by the end of mining and property booms in Queensland and Western Australia, a report shows. The report by insolvency practitioners SV Partners based on Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) data shows there were 2934 court-ordered liquidations in the year to May 30, up from 2428 in the year to May 2008, The Australian reported on an AAP story.