Friday, May 13, 2011 2:36 PM

Economic Bust in Australia:Near-Record Corporate Bankruptcies, Employment Drops Unexpectedly; Rise in Bad Home Loans;Record Low Property Transactions

Those looking for bad news can find plenty of it in Australia, which in my opinion is soon headed for recession and rate cuts.

Near-Record Corporate Bankruptcies

Please consider Rising rents, cautious consumers behind rise in insolvencies http://www.smartcompany.com.au/cashflow ... ncies.html

The number of companies entering insolvency in March reached a near-record high of just under 1,500, according to the corporate regulator, with cautious consumers and rising rents believed to be behind the worrying result.

Figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show the number of company collapses reached 1,491 in March, versus 1,299 in February and 640 in January.

The 1,491 figure is one of the highest ever figures released by ASIC since the late 1990s, and a significant rise on March 2010′s figure of 1,313.

Small Business Council of Australia chief Peter Strong warns we might not have seen the worst yet, with the impact of the flooding and Cyclone Yasi in summer not yet reflected in the numbers.

Record Low Property Transactions

The Sunday Times reports WA suffers record low property transactions http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/wa- ... 6054805452

THE State Government has confirmed that WA’s declining property market has hit rock bottom, with property activity last month falling to 16-year lows.

“The low April figure came on the back of March which was the worst for 14 years, and January and February which saw the lowest activity for nearly two decades,â€