U.S. bankruptcy filings slip 14% in year's 1st half

The number of U.S. businesses and consumers filing for bankruptcy fell 14 percent in the first half of 2012. The total could end the year at the lowest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, according to data released Thursday.

New bankruptcy filings declined to 632,130 in the first six months of the year from the year-earlier period, according to Epiq Systems Inc. It manages documents and claims for companies in bankruptcy.

The number of businesses filing for bankruptcy dropped 22 percent to 30,946. The number of consumers seeking court protection from creditors fell 13 percent to 601,184.