BANKRUPTCY
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BANKRUPTCY
Filings Rose 38 Percent Last Year
Bankruptcy filings jumped 38 percent last year as many consumers struggled with higher mortgage payments and other debt loads, a nonprofit group said.
There were 850,912 bankruptcy filings in 2007, up from 617,660 the previous year, the American Bankruptcy Institute said, citing data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Consumer bankruptcy filings rose 37.6 percent, to 822,590 from 597,965. Business bankruptcies, meanwhile, increased 44 percent, to 28,322, from a record low of 19,695 in 2006, the ABI said.
The largest increases in filings came from California and Nevada, the ABI said, where the real estate bust has hit particularly hard. The increase follows a significant drop in bankruptcy filings in 2006, after a new law made it more difficult for consumers to seek bankruptcy protection from creditors.
Delphi Exit Is Months Away
Delphi, the former General Motors parts subsidiary, is months rather than weeks from exiting bankruptcy, the company's chairman said.
Delphi must wait until capital markets stabilize before it can leave court protection, said Chairman Steve Miller, left. The supplier is in a holding pattern after an investor group withdrew from a planned $2.55 billion investment April 4. The bankruptcy exit is stalled primarily because the company, based in Troy, Mich., promised to restore a shortfall in its pension obligations, Miller said.
Miller said that the company's operations are "fixed" and that Delphi has won $20 billion to $30 billion in new business each year it has been in bankruptcy. The company filed for court protection in October 2005.
TELECOM
Comcast Wants 'Bill of Rights'
Comcast, under federal investigation for interfering with the traffic of its Internet subscribers, said it wants to develop a "bill of rights and responsibilities" for file-sharing.
The announcement expands on Comcast's new policy toward file-sharing: It said last month that rather than singling out such traffic and blocking some of it, the company would move toward a system that treats all types the same.
The document would codify "best practices" for Internet providers to deal with file-sharing traffic, which can place substantial loads on the networks of cable companies. It would also clarify what controls consumers should have over peer-to-peer file-sharing applications on their computers.
