Bankruptcy Filings Soar

With a new, more restrictive bankruptcy law scheduled to take effect in five days, consumers last week rushed to file for protection from their creditors at an average of more than 20,000 a day, more than three times last year's rate. For the past three weeks, the number of filings each week has been a record.

Total filings last week: 102,863; For the same week in 2004: 33,317

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