National Australia Bank Ltd. plans to raise up to 2.75 billion Australian dollars (US$2.24 billion) in fresh capital to help shore up its balance sheet as loans continue to sour, The Wall Street Journal reported. Melbourne-based NAB said that total charges for bad and doubtful debts were A$1.064 billion for the three months ended June 30, as asset quality continued to deteriorate. Bad and doubtful debts for the six months to March 31 came to $A1.8 billion. NAB joins Australia's other major banks in bolstering its capital position as a buffer against deteriorating economic conditions.

Australia's trade minister said on Monday China's detention of Rio Tinto employees would not hurt economic relations if handled properly, but said the case was a signal to everyone looking to invest in China, Reuters reported.

A large dairy in south-east South Australia has gone into receivership with debts of more than A$12 million, ABC News reported. The Carilla dairy in Tintinara operates about 3,000 head of cattle and employs about 18 staff. There is another $2 million that is owed to a group of unsecured creditors. The receiver of the dairy, Martin Lewis, has taken over the property - he said plummeting milk prices have contributed to the collapse. Read more.

A unit of National Australia Bank Ltd. said Thursday it could face a tax bill of up to NZ$654 million plus possible penalties after the nation's High Court ruled against it in relation to a long-running tax dispute. Bank of New Zealand said it is likely to appeal the decision, which relates to amended tax assessments for six structured finance transactions with offshore parties between 1998 and 2005. The amount of tax in dispute totaled NZ$416 million. The bank could also be liable for interest of NZ$238 million as of June 30.

Acting Australia Prime Minister Julia Gillard has condemned the Fair Pay Commission's minimum wage freeze as a “disappointing” decision that will cut real wages for the nation's lowest-paid workers, The Australian reported. The minimum wage remains $564.78 a week, despite unions pushing for a $21 rise. Business groups successfully argued for no rise for 1.3 million low-paid workers, warning it would cost jobs. Ms Gillard said although the Government believed minimum wages should be set by an independent umpire, this time the commission had failed to strike the right balance.

New Zealand-born workers in Australia are among the worst hit by job losses as the global financial crisis bites, new research shows. Research published in The Australian newspaper said the number of New Zealanders employed in Australia's workforce had dropped by 20,800 to 304,100 in the year to May. Full-time New Zealand-born workers across the Tasman dropped by 11,000 to 236,700, while part-time workers dropped by 9800 to 67,400. It increased the rate of unemployed New Zealanders in Australia to 7 percent, up 2.8 percent in the year to May.

Australian start-up Strategic Airlines has bought Australian charter carrier OzJet, which went into voluntary administration in May, Flightglobal reported.

Bank of Queensland is the subject of an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, The Australian reported. The regional bank that is based in Brisbane said it was made aware that it was under investigation yesterday. The news comes after the bank told the stock exchange yesterday there was no evidence it had acted dishonestly in relation to clients of collapsed investment group Storm Financial.

Bank of Queensland says there is no evidence of dishonest practices by the bank in connection with Storm Financial clients, the Brisbane Times reported. BOQ sought on Thursday to clarify its position given what it said was "significant misinformation'' in the media about its dealings with Storm Financial and Storm customer accounts. Based on "the bank's knowledge and enquiries to date'', it said, "there is no evidence of improper or dishonest practices or conduct by the bank in connection with Storm clients''.

Strains in pensions systems, in both private and public provision, threaten to turn the financial crisis of the past two years into a social crisis lasting for decades, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warned on Tuesday. In its annual analysis of the health of pensions systems globally, the Paris-based organisation found private pension plans lost 23 per cent of their value last year, while higher unemployment “leaves little room for more generous public pensions”, the Financial Times reported.