The number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States is projected to rise by 45 percent this year, with worldwide business insolvencies expected to increase by 35 percent, according to a new study published today.
It's a situation that the study's sponsor, Paris-based credit insurer Euler Hermes, referred to as a “burial ground” for business.
The Euler Hermes International Insolvencies Outlook paints a dark and gloomy picture of the future of global business, at least in the near term. The study predicts dramatic increases in business bankruptcies for a number of European and Asian countries—75 percent in the Netherlands, for example; 71 percent in Hong Kong. Other locales may fare better. The study projects only a 10 percent increase for Canada this year and a decrease of 8 percent for Brazil.
More than 43,500 U.S. companies declared bankruptcy in 2008, according to the study, second only to France, with 57,650, among the list of 29 countries examined by Euler Hermes and its chief researcher, Karine Berger.
The outlook for 2010 is a bit less grim: Business insolvencies in the U.S. are projected to see a year-over-year decline of 4 percent; 10 other nations also may see declines.