U.S. Bankruptcies Rise in Second Quarter

Bankruptcy filings rose during the second quarter of 1997, fueled by an all-time high in personal bankruptcies, according to statistics released by the administrative office of the U.S. Courts. Personal bankruptcies led the rise, jumping 10% over first-quarter filings to 353,177 and 23% over the number in the second quarter of 1996. Business filings increased 1.7% from the first quarter of 1997 and held steady with the second quarter of 1996, the statistics showed. This increase marks the sixth straight quarterly rise in bankruptcies. The total number of bankruptcies filed in the first two quarters of 1997--702,241--was larger than the total number filed in 1989, at 679,461, the figures showed.