Business Bankruptcies Up by Nearly 50% in April

naked capitalism: Business Bankruptcies Up by Nearly 50% in April: "Business Bankruptcies Up by Nearly 50% in April

A sharp increase in business bankruptcy filings is not only a tangible sign of business distress, but bodes ill for employment. Although the Bloomberg report does not break out Chapter 11 filings by size of entity, it's a no-brainer than they would be concentrated in smaller companies, and it is those smaller entities that have been the source of job growth in this cycle (large businesses had been shedding jobs even in a nominally strong economy)l. Small businesses also rely far more than large companies on real estate and credit cards for financing, and lenders have been tightening up on both types of loans.

From Bloomberg:

Business bankruptcy filings in the U.S. increased 49 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain so far in 2008, as the slowing economy prompted more companies to shut down."