... aber leider ein nachlaufender Indikator. Der Bankrott kommt bekanntlich immer am Schluss, weil es der Schluss ist.

Aber immerhin:


2000 bankruptcies down
Number of U.S. individuals, businesses
filing for bankruptcy down 5% from
1999
February 23, 2001: 3:43 p.m. ET


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. individuals and businesses
filing for bankruptcy fell for the second year in a row in 2000, according to new
data released on Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The total number of bankruptcies filed during 2000 was 1.25 million, down 5
percent from the 1.32 million filed in 1999 and down more than 13 percent from
the record high of 1.44 million reached in 1998. Filings in the fourth quarter of
the year totaled 310,169, down 3 percent from the same period in 1999 though
up slightly from 308,718 in the third quarter.

Spurred by a steep rise in filings during the 1990s, Congress has grappled for
several years with an overhaul of the bankruptcy code. It is currently moving
quickly on legislation to make it harder for people to wipe out their debts.

***DAS ist interssant. Eine Rückkehr zu einem etwas"strafferen" Kapitalismus, und das wird beim Ausbuchen (und der dann folgenden Erholung) helfen.

However, personal bankruptcies have now been on the decline for two years,
falling 5 percent in 2000 to 1.22 million from 1.28 million in 1999. In the fourth
quarter, they rose slightly to 301,756 from 300,507 in the third.

And signs the economy may be slowing have spurred forecasts that
bankruptcies will again be on the rise in 2001, with estimates ranging from 5
percent to as much as 15 percent.

Congressional efforts have focused
on making debtors judged able to
repay some of their debts do so by
bringing them under Chapter 13 of
the bankruptcy code rather than
Chapter 7.

In Chapter 7, individuals are allowed to liquidate their assets and wipe out
unsecured debts, such as credit card bills. Chapter 13 plans require them to
pay back some of those debts.

According to the Administrative Office, the number of Chapter 7 bankruptcy
filings fell 7 percent in 2000, while Chapter 13 bankruptcies rose by just under
1 percent. Chapter 11 filings, which facilitate business reorganizations,
increased 6 percent over the year.

The bankruptcy overhaul easily cleared both the House of Representatives and
Senate last year, but was blocked by former President Bill Clinton, who said it
would be too harsh on struggling debtors.

** Dabbelju entpuppt sich als ein etwas strengerer Herr.

But with the new Bush administration signaling support for the Republican-led
effort this year, its backers are eager to move the reintroduced, identical
measure quickly through Congress and, this time, to see it signed into law.

Congressional leaders have indicated the bill could come up for votes in both
the House and Senate as early as next week.

A full breakdown of the latest bankruptcy data is available on the U.S.
judiciary's Web site.

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