Bankruptcies rise in US

Personal bankruptcies soared 24 percent nationwide in the last quarter of 1979 compared with the same period in 1978, says a report in the National Law Journal.

The jump coincides with the first three months that the liberalized federal bankruptcy code was in effect, according to figures supplied by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Another big contributing factor to the increase is the sliding economy, say bankruptcy attorneys and judges.