Business Briefing
Bankruptcy filings surged 32% in 2009
U.S. consumers and businesses filed for bankruptcy at a pace that made 2009 the seventh-worst year on record, with more than 1.4 million petitions submitted, an Associated Press tally showed.
The AP gathered data from the nation’s 90 bankruptcy districts and found 1.43 million filings, an increase of 32% from 2008. There were 116,000 recorded bankruptcies in December, up 22% from the same month a year earlier.
The numbers indicate clear correlations to recession-weary regions. Arizona saw the fastest increase, a jump of 77% from 2008, followed by Wyoming (60%), Nevada (59%) and California (58%).
TELECOM
More wireless spectrum sought
The Obama administration is calling on federal regulators to make more radio spectrum available for wireless Internet services to compete with broadband plans provided by phone and cable companies.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration says wireless connections offer the best hope for injecting new competition into the duopoly market for broadband services.
The agency, an arm of the Commerce Department, made its stance known in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission.
COURTS
H&R Block settles lawsuit
H&R Block Inc. agreed to refund as much as $19.4 million in fees to customers who bought “Express IRAs,” settling a lawsuit that alleged the retirement accounts were deceptively marketed and almost certain to lose money.
H&R Block, the largest U.S. tax preparer, also will pay $750,000 in fines, fees and costs to New York, state Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo said.
Banker is denied delay in sentence
Bradley Birkenfeld, a key informant in a U.S. investigation of offshore tax evasion aided by Swiss banking giant UBS, must report to prison Friday for a 40-month prison term and can’t put off his surrender date, a U.S. judge ordered.
Birkenfeld, 44, a former UBS banker, sought a postponement of the term imposed Aug. 21 by U.S. District Judge William Zloch in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and a new hearing to seek a shorter sentence. He promised to continue cooperating with prosecutors. Zloch denied the request in a one-page order.
AIRLINES
United leads new fare-hike round
Some airlines are keeping their New Year’s resolution to raise fares. FareCompare.com, a fare-tracking website, said United Airlines added as much as $10 to U.S. round-trip fares. Most of the increases United filed were $6 per round trip.
FareCompare said the other big airlines matched the increase except discounters Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and AirTran Airways. Rick Seaney of FareCompare said the price increases avoided routes that overlap with the cheaper airlines.
The increases also don’t apply to fare sales that run through March.
Continental CEO makes profit vow
The new chief executive of Continental Airlines Inc. says he will refuse to accept his $730,000 salary or annual bonus until the company makes a full-year profit.
Jeffery A. Smisek, who Friday became CEO after Lawrence Kellner stepped down to join a private equity firm, told employees of his pledge.
Continental, the nation’s fourth-largest airline by traffic, lost $367 million in the first nine months of last year.
-- times wire reports
