From a blurb by Kent Hoover in the Atlanta Business Chronicle –

More than 70 percent of respondents to a recent American Bankruptcy Institute online poll expect middle-market bankruptcies to increase substantially this year.

Business bankruptcies declined in 2006 thanks to a strong economy, low interest rates and other factors, according to ABI.

Consumer bankruptcies, meanwhile, fell to their lowest levels since the 1980s last year due to bankruptcy reform legislation that forces more debtors to pay off more of their debts.

But 61 percent of ABI poll participants expect consumer bankruptcy filings to increase by at least 20 percent this year.

For more information, see http://www.abiworld.com.