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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (50545)	5/5/2006 6:03:19 AM
From: shades	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Company and Personal Insolvencies Sharply Up In UK In 1Q (perhaps to add to the mastercard story) LONDON (Dow Jones)--The number of companies and individuals becoming insolvent in the U.K. rose sharply in the first quarter of 2006, in a sign that high levels of debt are still troubling large parts of the economy. According to the Department of Trade and Industry, the number of company liquidations in England and Wales rose 7.6% in the first quarter compared with the previous quarter, to 3,439. The number of liquidations was 17.0% higher than in the corresponding period a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of individual insolvencies rose to 23,351 in the first quarter, a rise of 12.9% on the previous quarter, and a 73.4% leap on the corresponding period a year ago. The figures for individual insolvencies were the highest since the government started compiling statistics in 1960, the DTI said. The continuing upward trend in U.K. companies and individuals facing problems with debt has come despite a stronger performance for the broader economy so far this year. After gross domestic growth dipped to 1.8% in 2005, data for the first quarter showed the economy was returning to around its trend growth rate, with growth at 0.6% for that period. But at the same time as bankruptcies have been on the up, unemployment and mortgage arrears have been rising, with the jobless rate now at 5.1%. Howard Archer, U.K. economist at Global Insight, said the number of people getting into difficulty could rise still further should the Bank of England raise interest rates again in the near future. "With unemployment rising and debt levels at record high levels, there is a very real danger that individual insolvencies and mortgage repossessions will climb markedly further over the coming months," Archer said. "This danger would be magnified if the Bank of England started to raise interest rates before the end of the year, which is a growing risk." Co and Personal Insolvencies Sharply Up In UK In 1Q -3- . Louise Britton, head of personal insolvency at business advisers Baker Tilly, said that U.K. households were paying for the "spend now, pay later" culture that has become prevalent in the country. "It's not unusual for people to have up GBP40,000 of credit card debt which, with the high interest rates charged, is a nightmare to pay back," Britton said. "There is a massive culture of people burying their heads in the sand." Britton said that she believed the government should put more pressure on credit card companies to bring the interest rates they charge more in line with base interest rates set by the Bank of England. -By Andrew Peaple, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 8429270; andrew.peaple@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 05, 2006 05:36 ET (09:36 GMT)

To: mishedlo who wrote (50545)	5/5/2006 6:10:01 AM
From: shades	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

German Feb Corporate Insolvencies Down 7% On Year (even the germans are going futher into the rabbit hole) FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--The number of German corporate insolvencies in February fell 7% compared to the same period a year earlier, the Federal Statistics Office said Friday. In February, 2,755 companies went insolvent, 207 fewer than 2,962 in February last year, continuing a downward trend. Corporate insolvencies have fallen since the beginning of 2006, with 445 fewer insolvencies, or 7.7% less, than in January and February 2005. However the number of private household insolvencies increased. In February the number of household insolvencies totaled 6,717, which was 44% higher than 4,667 in February last year. In the first two months of the year, the number of household insolvencies was 50% higher than in the same period the year before. The total number of insolvencies in February, including corporate, private household, self employed and others, totaled 11,889, an increase of 19% from 10,018 in the same period the year before. Total insolvency debt totaled EUR2.3 billion in February, down from EUR2.5 billion in the same period the year before, the statistics office said. The drop in total insolvency debt is helped by the decrease in corporate insolvencies, as corporate debt accounts for about 60% of total debt. Web site: destatis.de -By Maeve Curtin, Dow Jones Newswires; +49 69 29 725 515; maeve.curtin@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 05, 2006 04:44 ET (08:44 GMT) Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 04 44 AM EDT 05-05-06