Australia's NAB earnings up after Clydesdale spin off

National Australia Bank earnings jumped as bad debt charges fell but it booked a hefty Aus$1.74 billion (US$1.29 billion) interim net loss Thursday from spinning off troubled British asset Clydesdale. Cash profit in the six months to March 31 for Australia's fourth biggest lender, the financial industry's preferred measure which strips out volatile items, was up 6.5 percent to Aus$3.31 billion. "This is our first result squarely focused on our Australian and New Zealand business," said chief exe