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Times Staff and Wire Reports
The number of Americans filing personal bankruptcies last year surged past 1 million for the first time, intensifying criticism that too many Americans take court protection from creditors too lightly, according to figures by Santa Ana-based CDB Infotek, a public records research firm. . . . Barney’s Inc.’s creditors rejected as too low a $240-million takeover bid from Hong Kong retailer Dickson Concepts International Ltd. . . . Morgan Stanley Group Inc. said it named former U.S. Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor senior advisor to the firm’s investment banking division.
