(Now 4 months into what may be a disturbing trend) ....Jan Feb show big upsurge in business bankruptcy filings --- Smashes COVID record. Hits 12-year high

It’s hard to know what to make of two months data. Is an anomaly??
Is it the beginning of a trend??

S&P Global

US corporate bankruptcy filings hit 12-year high in first 2 months of 2023

and

Markets Insider

Private bankruptcy filings are blowing past their COVID-era peaks as credit stress builds for small businesses

  • Private bankruptcy filings this year have surpassed a peak set in the early stage of the pandemic, UBS said.
  • Bankruptcies were on the rise before the banking turmoil caused by the collapse of SVB and Signature Bank.
  • Rising bankruptcies among smaller businesses are “underappreciated signs of distress in US corporate credit.”

Don’t have official information yet from the Judicial Conference for the first quarter of 2023, which closed on March 31st. They are usually a little faster getting the bankruptcy figures than other figures, but still probably won’t be available until towards the end of April.

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I assume the numbers are accurate.

But there are at least 2-3 possible explanations.
“Head for the hills, the economy is crashing” is only one of them.

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Well the statistical anomaly continued in March.

Three months STILL does not prove a trend, but it does provide evidence

70 major bankruptcies in 4 months is disturbing.