Bankruptcies and Business Failures are lower this year: “Business bankruptcies and failures continued to decline this year; however, the pace was slower than in Q4 2011. Overall, business bankruptcies and failures are lower this year in the U.S. and around the world. This is a confidence booster for many businesses and the growth in the small business segment – firms with fewer than 500 employees – is another driver of confidence for the U.S. economy. Both business bankruptcies and business failures continued to decline in Q1 2011, with business failures declining at a slower pace. Business bankruptcies, as reported by the U.S. courts, fell by 8.4%, whereas business failures fell by only 2.2% during the 12 months ending March 2011. Business failures better reflect the state of the economy as formal bankruptcies tend to understate the overall failure rate by not capturing hidden failures.”