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Posted on 07/12/2024 4:53:48 AM PDT by bert
A growing number of companies are filing for bankruptcy, according to S&P
There is a "historic surge" of corporate bankruptcies underway in the U.S., as debt-saddled companies struggle to adjust to the new era of high interest rates.
New figures published by S&P Global Intelligence show that 75 companies filed for bankruptcy in June, the highest number recorded in a single month since early 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That pushed this year's total number of bankruptcies so far to 346, which is notably higher than comparable levels seen in the past 13 years.
Before this, the highest half-year figure recorded was in 2010, with 437 companies filing for bankruptcy from January through June.
The S&P report blamed high interest rates, supply chain issues and slowing consumer spending for the spike in bankruptcies this year.
HIGHER INTEREST RATES COULD COST US COMPANIES $380B IN 'SLOWLY UNFOLDING CRISIS'
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates sharply in 2022 and 2023 to the highest level since 2001 in a bid to crush high inflation, bringing to an end more than a decade of ultra-easy money. Officials are now grappling with when they should take their foot off the brake amid signs that economic growth is slowing and inflation is once again falling.
Most investors expect the Fed to begin cutting rates in September or November and are penciling in just one or two reductions this year — a dramatic shift from the start of the year, when they anticipated six rate cuts beginning as soon as March.
THE SILVER LINING OF HIGHER INTEREST RATES: SAVINGS ACCOUNT RATES
Even then, rates will likely remain elevated.
Some economists have called on the U.S. central bank to cut rates sooner, citing concerns that high interest rates pose a risk to the financial system.
"The economy has weathered the Fed’s higher-for-longer strategy admirably well, but there is a mounting threat that the ongoing pressure will expose fault lines in the financial system," Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi wrote in a recent Washington Post op-ed. "As last year’s banking crisis showed, the relentless strain of high rates can cause parts of the financial system to buckle in ways that are difficult to predict and control."
Bankruptcies started to rise notably in April as companies continued to "feel the burden of high interest rates," and as it dawned on many businesses that rates would likely remain at peak levels for some time.
"Fading hopes of lower interest rates are likely contributing to the increase in filings, as companies that may have held out hope for rate cuts at the beginning of the year come to terms with the reality that they will remain higher for longer," the S&P said at the time.
Some of the notable bankruptcies in June included electric-vehicle maker Fisker and Chicken Soup for the Soul, which owns DVD rental chain Redbox.
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Many of these new technologies are linked to AI. Though we usually think of AI as just a bunch of chatbots, AI is working its way into thousands of operations, jobs, machines, and companies...often unseen.
Squeezing Ag with higher interest rates. Hard to sell corn at 3.79 to cover Line of credit @9% interest payments.
I think the government has been lying about economic data for about 4 years. I think the situation is very bad.
If Trump gets in and starts telling people the truth about what has been happening for the past 4 years, the media will pounce and say that all the bad economic data in the news in 2025 is Trump’s fault.
Did anyone notice a few years ago when the ATM’s started spitting out $50 bills instead of $20 bills? Did you notice the same number of $50 bills pay for what the same number of $20 bills covered 4 years ago? Any size business, including those that are now out of business have noticed.
I was on the phone with someone recently who suggested all the high prices on everything was due to corporate greed.
I volleyed back with the question as to why a record number of companies were going backrupt.
Having regained his wits from realizing he had mindlessly repeating media narratives, he mentioning the hiked interest rates and large amounts of debt coming due this year.
I agreed, but also mentioned that wages are wayyy up, and it’s still hard for employers to find people to take positions and that’s not only the reason that prices never came back down after the covid ‘shortages’ which increases burden on the cost side of the ledger for many businesses along with labor rates, but it has also lowered revenue by lowering sales volumes because no one wants to pay for inflated products right now. It’s a double whammy.
Corporations only seem greedy. The effect of higher prices hit everyone. Suppliers have to pay for higher priced raw materials while manufacturers have to pay for the thusly more expensive products from suppliers, and the consumer doesn’t like the price tag, so bankruptcy becomes a chain reaction.
So many companies are close run things. Then, along comes the government and says, “That truck doesn’t meet environmental standards. You have to spend $100,000 on a new one.” That’s it, you’re out of business.
My son is a trucker for a landscape supplier. His main ride is a 2007 Peterbilt semi.
His employer was just purchased by a much larger company. He’s worried that they might make them buy newer rigs with all the emission stuff on them.
A few months ago, I was driving along minding my own business when some idiot in a semi hit the Jake brake right next to me.
A bit later I got a phone call from my son asking if I liked his engine brake. Little twerp.
Many restaurants closing, as well as small businesses, too. The double-whammy of CovidBS-19 and now ridiculous inflation and high interest rates aren’t just effecting the top dogs. :(
What’s closing? Who is failing?
US Government added 80K jobs last month. They are not failing they are growing.
I don’t see Google, Amazon, or the other tech giants, especially those companies with ‘government contracts’ failing.
I see small business collapsing under Joe Biden’s policies. THEY ARE 80% of the employment of the US and they are failing in even areas that survived COVID shutdowns. I see more manufacturing failures.
What you see is the destruction of the middle class of America by Bidenomics. It’s going to accelerate.
Since 2020.
I wonder why that is.
One look at all the boarded up businesses - that have sat empty for two years, with nothing moving in - is all it takes
to know there has been a surge of bankruptcies.
In California, Newsom’s plan to bring fast food workers “into the middle class” via $20/minimum wage has backfired, as expected:
Hoover Institute:
“California Loses Nearly 10,000 Fast-Food Jobs After $20 Minimum Wage Signed Last Fall”
The wages are low and stores are deliberately understaffed to make sure the shareholders get their cut.
Screw the employees. These employees were "heroes" and "essential" during the pandemic but if they complain about the post pandemic world brought on by the corporate profiteering, they are "lazy" and "don't want to work."
During Covid, the elites and the millionaire and billionaire shareholders got a taste of profiteering and unearned profits. Do you really think they are going to give that up?
“I think the government has been lying about economic data for about 4 years.”
************
This regime only tells the sheeple what they want them to know.
The consumer is clearly burdened with inflation and high interest rates. It’s eating away at what little discretionary income is left over after paying for all the daily necessities of life.
The consumer is weighed down by debt and is pulling back, and in a consumer driven economy that spells trouble.
I’m about ready to file for bankruptcy myself. It’s about the only way I’ll be able to finally be able to keep my head above water since my disability applications keep coming back disapproved.
Any group that has political clout is going to protect themselves from inflation at the expense of everybody else.
Large corporations will screw their employees and their customers and smaller business because they can.
Union employees will screw their employers because they can. (Note: at some point, they cannot, because the business closes)
Government employees will screw taxpayers because they can. There does not seem to be any upper limit on that trend.
Politicians will screw taxpayers because they can. There does not seem to be any upper limit on that trend either.
And so on, and so on. The original Democrat plan to "tax and spend and elect and elect" has passed workable limits. We will end with a much smaller government that can spend only what it collects in taxes and does not collect all that much in taxes.
That will not be achieved by voting in "elections". It will be achieved by hyper-inflation, economic collapse and a breakdown of government with a tyrannical leader finally taking charge. Really stupid, with much unnecessary collateral injury. But that is how we are going to do things. It has all been done before. We are in the process of doing it again.
Luckily the pr business prez is going to import high skilled and educated people. Vis a vis the tech worker replacement of the 90s.
But planned parenthood’s cash cow is safe.
Another Bidenomics success story.
Once the shareholders saw a profit during Covid there was no way they were going to reverse course and bring prices back down, even if supply returned to normal.
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