SYDNEY -- Long known as "the lucky country," Australia finally saw its fortunes take a turn for the worse as its economy staged its biggest slump on record in the second quarter through June, sending the country into its first recession in 29 years.
Gross national product for the April-June period shrank by 7% on the quarter in real terms, data released Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. The drop was the largest by percentage since comparable records started being kept in 1959.
