Lessons from a Retail Giant’s Recent Bankruptcy Filing

The retail industry appears to be reaching the crossroads of complete transformation due to a significant shift in consumer sentiment.  Those companies that can embrace the change quickly enough will likely survive.  Those that cannot may simply become legends.  Indeed, we have seen well-known companies such as RadioShack, Brookstone, Frederick’s of Hollywood, dELiA*s, Cache, ALCO Stores, […]

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Distress in the Oil & Gas Industry (Part 1)

With oil prices having fallen more than 50% from June 2014 to January 2015, most pundits expect more companies in the oil & gas (O&G) industry will face significant financial distress in 2015, forcing many to either consolidate or file for bankruptcy.  Already this year several large oil and gas companies, like WBH Energy L.P., BPZ Resources, Dune Energy, Inc., Quicksilver Resources, Inc., […]

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Bankruptcy Filings Are Down

Total bankruptcy filings nationwide for July 2012, decreased 12 percent compared to the previous year, according to data provided by Epiq Systems, Inc.  July bankruptcy filings totaled 97,073, down from the 110,173 filings registered in July 2011. Total commercial filings for July 2012 were 4,513, representing a 22 percent decrease from the 5,800 filings during the […]

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History of Bankruptcy Laws in the U.S.

The notion of being insolvent or being bankrupt dates back numerous centuries. In Ancient Greece, where bankruptcy did not exist, if a man owed a debt and he could not pay, he and his wife, children or servants were forced into “debt slavery,” until the creditor recouped losses via their physical labour. In the Old […]

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