http://www.reuters.c...TRE50B6FI20090113

A rush of bankruptcies and restructurings is in store for Corporate America this year, as dwindling revenues and tight lending markets force companies ranging from retailers to casinos and home builders to make tough changes or shut their doors.

"I think there's going to be a tsunami of restructurings," said Bryan Marsal, co-chief executive officer of turnaround advisory firm Alvarez & Marsal.

Bankruptcies have taken off already this year, as firms that held on through the Christmas season begin to go under. I expect there to be a bunch of these, there already more then normal and the trend is upwards fast. Companies that do go into bankruptcy are also more likely to liquidate this year then in the past, as loans are so much harder to get.

One particularly amusing one:
http://www.google.co...4szdMaIQD95LSPCG0

Interstate Bakeries Corp. has not nailed down financing necessary for the company to exit bankruptcy more than a month after getting a judge's approval.

The Kansas City-based maker of Hostess Twinkies and Wonder Bread said Monday that it's still negotiating with lenders. It also said it couldn't be sure that it would get the deal done.

Interstate Bakeries has actually been chapter 11 for 4 years now. In the current market, finding somebody else that wants to take a high risk bet on them is not going to be easy.

The one I'm watching though is Circuit City. The number two electronic retailer in the US, their collapse would be the first really big retail chain to go under and it likely to provide some good bargains at the liquidation.
http://www.timesdisp...13-062816/176553/

Circuit City Stores Inc. goes on the auction block at noon today.

Potential buyers will bid on the troubled Henrico County-based consumer electronics company as a whole, per store or on individual assets.

The auction, being carried out in the Manhattan offices of Circuit City Stores Inc.'s attorneys, is scheduled to finish tomorrow.

If this auction doesn't go well, the chain will go under. They could be in liquidation by this weekend, depending on how long the liquidators take.

Jay

I know I'll be stopping by the liquidation to see what the deals are. To a certain extent, that will keep me from going to any other electronics store.

It won't cost them a lot from me personally, since I don't buy movies, not that many games, few music CDs, very little electronics and only buy computer parts when I need something right now. But the accumulated effect across a lot of customers could be big.

In any case, I don't think it will take them to March to liquidate though. The Circuit City here is pretty thread bare anyway, it's been obvious since then went Chapter 11 that suppliers where pulling out or limiting what they had. I'll stop in and check out the sales a couple of times, but that is only because I drive by a couple of times a week anyway.

It's been my experience that there are two good times to check out liquidation sales. Right at the start, when they still have the good stuff, and right at the end when the prices are really discounted. But you have to have a good idea about the prices, at the start the 10% off prices are often more then you could buy the item elsewhere.

Jay

The discount is up to 30% to 50%, they are selling the store furniture and they are putting whatever junk they find in the back out front. That means the liquidation is entering it's final phase. I just did a loop of all the local Circuit Cities to see if I could find a good deal on a big screen TV. Ended up getting an 42LG50 at 30% off, which finally made it cheaper then I could get it online.

The discount has some odd exceptions, they still trying to push computers at 10% off. Which makes them still grossly overpriced.

Some of the junk they are pushing now is amusing. The local Warminster store has some HD DVD units they are trying to find a sucker for. The next one over had a huge pile of odd cables and connectors they where putting in plastic bags.

If your looking for a big screen TV though, all three of the stores I went in still had some good ones and since they finally reached a good price, now is the time to strike.

Jay