Finance news

Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties continued to see upward movement in the number of bankruptcy filings last month.

Only Palm Beach County showed some moderation in the number of business bankruptcies when compared to August 2009.

In the three-county area, personal bankruptcy filings were up 59 percent, to 3,387 from 2,127 in August 2009, and up 6 percent from July. Business bankruptcy filings rose 7 percent, to 119 from 111, a year earlier, but were down 17 percent from July.

In Miami-Dade County, personal bankruptcy filings rose 74 percent, year-over-year, to 1,788 cases opened, and 5 percent over July. There were 49 new business bankruptcies for Miami-Dade in August, up from 40 last year, but down from 57 in July.

Personal bankruptcy filings in Broward rose 50 percent over last year, to 1,067 cases opened, and rose 12 percent compared to July. There were 43 new business bankruptcies filed in Broward County in August, up from 41 last year, but down from 47 in July.

Palm Beach County personal bankruptcies rose 36 percent, year-over-year, to 532, but decreased by 4 percent compared to July. There were 27 new business bankruptcy filings in Palm Beach County in August, down from 30 cases last year and 40 cases in July.

The American Bankruptcy Institute said August consumer filings nationwide rose 6 percent to 127,028 from 119,874 a year earlier, but fell 8 percent from the July total.

“While monthly filings are volatile, consumer bankruptcies are still the highest they have been since Congress overhauled the bankruptcy law in 2005,” ABI Executive Director Samuel Gerdano said. “Consumer filings remain on track to top 1.6 million filings in 2010.”

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