More than 30,000 U.S. businesses filed for bankruptcy protection in the first half of 2009, a 64 percent increase from first half 2008, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI).
The number of Chapter 11 business reorganizations increased by 113 percent, to 7,396, and Chapter 7 business liquidations jumped by 57 percent, to 20,375.
ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano expects personal and commercial bankruptcies to surge past 1.4 million by year end.
A total of 381,073 bankruptcy cases were filed in the quarter ended June 30—the highest quarterly number since 2005, when filings surged in the weeks before tougher bankruptcy laws went into effect.
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