In 2009, 372 cases of bankruptcy were filed in the Midland Division of the Western District of Texas’ US Bankruptcy Court. This figure was a rise from the 243 filed in 2008 and represented an increase of about 53%. Most of these were filed by companies under Chapter 11 bankruptcies. In a typical year, an average of 80% of bankruptcies are Chapter 11 ones. But of late, there has been also a rise in filings by individuals who file either under Chapter 7 or 13.

Well-known appliance retailer, Appliance World stores in Denver, Colorado have been closed because its parent company, GCF Holdings LLC filed for bankruptcy three months ago. This does not only affect its Denver operations but also involve its other metropolitan stores namely those in Arvada, Aurora, Highlands Ranch, Littleton and Colorado Springs.

The Philadelphia Orchestra needs $15 million to stay afloat. Its newly appointed President and CEO, Allison Vulgamore is faced with the daunting task of increasing ticket sales and finding a new musical director. Verizon Hall, the Orchestra’s home is only 62% full at best this season, even after offering tickets at discounted prices. This is down from 80% last year.

Under a $10 billion turnaround plan, Japan’s national airline JAL has filed for bankruptcy due to its crippling debt of about $25 billion. The airline plans to continue its operations but will be laying off some of its staff, cancel routes that are not making profit and ground some of its older planes. At present, the plan is that JAL will cut its workforce to 36,201 from 51,862, retire its 37 Boeing 747-400s and halt several of its international and domestic routes.

In these economically challenging times, the number of bankruptcy filings has skyrocketed, to no surprise. Take Wisconsin for example. In 2009, the figure rose by 30% compared to the previous year, which itself had risen 35% compared to the year before that. Nationally, the picture is just as gloomy. More than 1.4 million bankruptcies were filed last year, representing an increase of 32% from the year before.