PLP Advisors, LLC

Dennis Tubbergen Writes About Italian Companies and Bankruptcy

 

Grand Rapids, MI -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/28/2013 -- For those of us people who are too busy to stay on top of events in the world's economy, financial advisor Dennis Tubbergen can give a little help. Tubbergen is a financial advisor, author, radio show host and CEO of PLP Advisors, LLC.

Tubbergen does his best to give brief updates when it comes to some of the latest significant events in U.S. and world economics and politics and how these events could possibly impact us.

Whether people enjoy his weekly newsletter at www.moving-markets.com or his blog at www.dennistubbergen.com, Tubbergen can be counted on to share his viewpoints and opinions. On March 21, 2013 his blog was titled Italy: 1,000 Companies per Day Going Bankrupt.

"The credit crisis in Italy is hitting extreme levels with more than 1,000 companies per day declaring bankruptcy according to a report published in The Financial Post," began Tubbergen.

Tubbergen quotes below from The Financial Post article published on March 13, 2013.

Italy's industry chiefs have warned that the country faces a "full credit emergecy" as thousands of companies run out of critical funding, threatening a slide into deeper depression.

Confindustria, the business federation, said that 29% of Italian firms cannot meet "operational expenses" and are starved of liquidity. It said that a "third phase of the credit crunch" is under way that matches the shocks in 2008-09 and again in 2011.

It said the economy was caught in a "vicious circle" where banks are too frightened to lend, driving more companies over the edge -- with 1,000 going bankrupt every day.

Franco Bernabe, head of Telecom Italia, said firms are "dying from lack of liquidity" and called on the Bank of Italy to take bold action to head off a disaster. "The Italian economy is being suffocated. The country must intervene rapidly to reinject funds into the economy," he said.

Fulvio Conti, head of the energy group Enel, exhorted Rome to give the economy an immediate shot in the arm by paying euros 48-billion in arrears to companies, arguing that this can be done without breaching EU deficit rules.

Late payments have become a chronic problem across the board in Italy, with 47,000 official complaints last year. The research group CGIA di Mestre said that half of small companies cannot pay their staff on time.

The pleas for action come as a new report by Standard & Poor's Wednesday warns that default rates in Europe have reached the highest level since the global crisis in 2009, with most of the carnage concentrated in the Club Med bloc.

S&P said the default rate for Italian non-investment grade bonds jumped to 9.5% last year from 5.7% in 2012 as local banks shut off funding. It was even worse in Spain, doubling to 14.3%

The default rate in France has rocketed from 0.8% to 8.7%, the latest in a blizzard of bad news from the country as the delayed effects of tax rises, fiscal tightening, and the strong euro do their worst. Britain and Germany bucked the trend, falling slightly to 5.4% and 4.4%.

"The Italian economy continues to implode with half of the country's small businesses now unable to pay their employees on time," concludes Tubbergen. "The default rate on non-investment grade bonds in Italy has almost doubled, now totaling almost 10% of the outstanding bonds. These are classic winter symptoms with money and credit becoming scarce; and, unfortunately, they are just beginning."

To read the blog in its entirety go to http://www.dennistubbergen.com and select his March 21, 2013 entry.

Tubbergen’s syndicated radio show can be heard on metro Michigan stations WTKG 1230 AM and WOOD Newsradio1300 AM and 106.9 FM.
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About Dennis Tubbergen
Dennis Tubbergen has been in the financial industry for over 25 years and has his corporate offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Tubbergen is CEO of PLP Advisors, LLC and has an online blog that can be read at www.dennistubbergen.com. To view Tubbergen’s latest Moving Markets? newsletter, go to www.moving-markets.com.

The opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of USA Wealth Management, LLC. This update may contain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements as to future events that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those that were forecasted. Therefore, no forecast should be construed as a guarantee. Prior to making any investment decision, individuals should consult a professional to determine the risks, costs, benefits and fees associated with a particular investment. Information obtained from third party resources is believed to be reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed.