Bankruptcy requests rising in Britain

LONDON, May 17 (UPI) -- Bankruptcy applications were up 12 percent in the first quarter of the year in Britain compared to the previous quarter, figures show.

Ministry of Justice figures indicate that during the first three months of 2008, there were 13,080 official requests for bankruptcy status, reversing 2007's downward trend, The Independent reported Saturday.

The number of creditor bankruptcy petitions during 2008's first quarter also rose dramatically when compared to the last quarter. This year's quarter reached 4,851 petitions from people attempting to collect borrowed money, marking a 6 percent rise from 2007's final quarter.

Global Insight economist Howard Archer told the British newspaper that rising fuel and energy prices would likely cause additional rises in bankruptcy rates throughout this year.

"It's a trend that I would expect to continue going forward," he said. "The economy was still growing in the first quarter of last year, and it was really only late last year and so far this year that the economy has started to slow markedly."