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Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Hit Highest Monthly Total In 4 Years

Tyler Durden's picture




The facts as reported by the American Bankruptcy Institute: consumer bankruptcy filings reached 126,434 in July, a 34.3% increase year over year, and a 8.7% increase sequentially (116,365 in June). July's number is the highest monthly bankruptcy total since the October 2005 bankruptcy reform aka the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.

"Today's bankruptcy filing number reflects the sustained and growing financial stress on U.S. households," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "Rising unemployment on top of high pre-existing debt burdens is a formula for higher bankruptcies through the end of this year."

In short, the main driver of US GDP, the consumer, has yet to experience any of the fringe benefits that have driven the S&P up by 50% in the last 4 months. Un-recasted unemployment numbers are in line with an almost straight line decline (still) while consumer bankruptcies continue accelerating. But why should this matter - the US is now at a point where inventory pick up and continued government flows into the economy will singlehandedly propell America as the spearhead of efficient capitalism well into the 22nd century. The only question is whether historians will use a "quadr" or "quint" prefix to the  -illion they describe U.S. indebtedness on December 31, 2099.




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Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:37 | Link to Comment D.O.D.
D.O.D.'s picture

Now that is a green shoot for sure, I mean look what Bankruptcy did for GM and Chrysler, it can only get better from here... Long on GS!!!! Oh... wait....

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:39 | Link to Comment Cheeky Bastard
Cheeky Bastard's picture

green chuts

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:10 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:39 | Link to Comment Cheeky Bastard
Cheeky Bastard's picture

short China; thats what im doing.

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 18:22 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 22:05 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:44 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:54 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:01 | Link to Comment Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh's picture

All the major CRE REITs have been pushing for stock dividends in lieu of cash now.  The sad thing is, shareholders are falling for it and taking the stock (up to 90% stock, in some cases).

 

Nowhere in the text of the dividend options does it state "in order to continue our current Ponzi operations..."

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:23 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:50 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:04 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:54 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:50 | Link to Comment Shell Game
Shell Game's picture

ahh yes, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel now! (accompanied by A LOT of noise...)

-Wiley E. Coyote

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 19:09 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:56 | Link to Comment Phil Gramm
Phil Gramm's picture

All of these problems that Mr. Durden speaks of can be remedied by lowering our taxes and deregulating business. In laymen's terms, if companies paid less taxes and had less restrictions, they could hire more people and less people would need to file for bankruptcy. See, it's not that difficult to understand!

Don't you people understand that supply-side or "trickle down" economics works? It has proven itself time and time again. In addition, lowering taxes on capital gains will allow people to reinvest in this time of a bull market. The benefits of that would far outweigh any stimulus package that Obama can cook up in his kitchen.

Finally, I want to say that most of these people whom are filing for bankruptcy are taking the easy way out. I bet 90% of these people are Democrats whom voted for Obama. The government solution is the answer to everything for these people.

Now I know people are unemployed and they are scared. I feel for them. I am currently very concerned that I may be laid off from UBS. If it does happen, I will suck it up, and sell one of my homes if I have to. It will be very difficult, but it's what we all must do in hard times.

--Phil

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:04 | Link to Comment Countrygenius
Countrygenius's picture

Phil it doesn't matter what folks political affiliation is.

What does matter is they are filing bankruptcy, lost money never to be seen again and on the other side of the bankruptcy is a screwing of someone holding the bag.

 

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:54 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:56 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 16:40 | Link to Comment deadhead
deadhead's picture

phil...you have got it down; great schtick.  as i have asked before, did your good friend JM share some of that alaskan pelt or did lindsey keep it all?

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:56 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:41 | Link to Comment dark pools of soros
dark pools of soros's picture

but they will all get bailed out so it just BK's the future - heck i just got a home and i am thinking of getting another loan and then find a way to ditch $10,000 of credit card debt... who needs unsecured credit once you already have 2 cars and a home?

even if they come after me i can get away with pennies on the dollar

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 12:57 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:02 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:02 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:11 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:32 | Link to Comment Bodhi
Bodhi's picture

BK in this context is 'bankruptcy'  but I prefer Burger King

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 13:43 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:41 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:51 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:05 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:46 | Link to Comment dark pools of soros
dark pools of soros's picture

after the dot bomb era, many many people like me filed for the clean chapter 7 mulligan that it was back then.. now we are all in better positions and will look to slam the system again.

its the game of unsecured debt.  you wouldn't even loan a few hundred to your friends without collateral so what should banks expect?

the sheep do not have to play nice..  no one else does

 

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:56 | Link to Comment grey
grey's picture

Uncle Sam filing for BK will bring out the "Tyler Durden" in all of us?

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:56 | Link to Comment AnonymousMonetarist
AnonymousMonetarist's picture

This certainly justifies the preliminary 1.333 million seasonal adjustment in the July Employment report.

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 14:58 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:07 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:20 | Link to Comment airplanes (not verified)
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:26 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:37 | Link to Comment Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh's picture

Equifax wants their own headline story TD:

 

08-10 14:18: Small business bankruptcy filings up 81% in June, according to Equifax data

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:41 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Tue, 08/11/2009 - 12:11 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:47 | Link to Comment Handle with care
Handle with care's picture

Just further evidence that although many people got caught up in the insane debt mania of the noughties, if you were an actual instigator you get a bail out and only have to keep your bonus flat for a year before rocketing it back up to record levels, whereas if you were simply a normal person who thought that the highly paid people in the banks knew what they were doing and took their "expert" advice you lose everything.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this as a corporate kleptocracy with the democratic system merely a sham for the people to choose between a limited pool of candidates provided by the corporate overlords. 

 

The sad thing is the Founding Fathers foresaw this day and explicitly shackled corporations so they couldn't acquire more power than a citizen.  It took approximately 200 years for the system to be broken, but democracy in America is over, the nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal has reverted to a neo-feudalist state.

 

My advice to all, learn the history of feudal court politics and pick a Lord to toady up to, because government of the people, by the people, for the people has perished in the United States of America.

Mon, 08/10/2009 - 16:48 | Link to Comment Anonymous
Mon, 08/10/2009 - 21:10 | Link to Comment newera22
newera22's picture

At some point the trend has to reverse. So every uptick is still a green shoot cause it is a data point closer to reversing.

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