10 companies that could go bankrupt
The B-word is in the headlines like never before. There were 7,843 commercial bankruptcy filings in March, according to AACER, a bankruptcy data management company. That's up 23% from the previous month and a staggering 65% from a year earlier. And the number of filings is accelerating.
"Bankruptcy typically has a lag behind what is going on in the marketplace," says Mike Bickford, the president of AACER, or Automated Access to Court Electronic Records. "So I think you are going to see increases in bankruptcy. . . at least over the next 12 to 18 months."
One potential victim: Blockbuster (BBI, news, msgs). On April 7, auditors speculated that the movie rental giant may have to declare bankruptcy before the year's end.
What company will be next to go? To find out, MSN Money took a look at credit default swaps. Swaps and other derivatives have been labeled "financial weapons of mass destruction" (by Warren Buffett himself), but they do serve legitimate purposes. Think of swaps, for instance, as a form of bankruptcy protection. Creditors that own swaps lower their risk of a debtor not paying back a loan, because a third-party insurer is on the hook for some of the unpaid debt.
Follow the link for the entire story
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.co...companies-that-may-go-bankrupt-this-year.aspx
The B-word is in the headlines like never before. There were 7,843 commercial bankruptcy filings in March, according to AACER, a bankruptcy data management company. That's up 23% from the previous month and a staggering 65% from a year earlier. And the number of filings is accelerating.
"Bankruptcy typically has a lag behind what is going on in the marketplace," says Mike Bickford, the president of AACER, or Automated Access to Court Electronic Records. "So I think you are going to see increases in bankruptcy. . . at least over the next 12 to 18 months."
One potential victim: Blockbuster (BBI, news, msgs). On April 7, auditors speculated that the movie rental giant may have to declare bankruptcy before the year's end.
What company will be next to go? To find out, MSN Money took a look at credit default swaps. Swaps and other derivatives have been labeled "financial weapons of mass destruction" (by Warren Buffett himself), but they do serve legitimate purposes. Think of swaps, for instance, as a form of bankruptcy protection. Creditors that own swaps lower their risk of a debtor not paying back a loan, because a third-party insurer is on the hook for some of the unpaid debt.
Follow the link for the entire story
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.co...companies-that-may-go-bankrupt-this-year.aspx