Florida bankruptcies soar

Floridians filed for bankruptcy at a thundering rate through September, up 48 percent from a year earlier. The state’s 70,799 bankruptcies make it second only to California in terms of volume, and 16th nationwide on a per-capita basis, according to AACER, a bankruptcy-data and management firm. Nationwide, over 1 million people filed for bankruptcy through September. Miami consumer attorney Samira Ghazal recently counseled a doctor who lost his job and then his money in the real estate market. Foreclosures prompted many Floridians to take the drastic financial step. [Miami Herald]