Defaults increase more than 40-fold in 2008

The amount of defaults soared in 2008 to 44 times the amount in 2007 in terms of outstanding debt. In 2007, the total of defaults amounted to approximately $56.3 billion, according to Creditflux's calculations. The total for 2008 massively dwarfs the previous year at $2.5 trillion. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers account for the bulk, at $2.2 trillion.

Creditflux lists defaults by corporates, financials and sovereigns involving $100 million or more of outstanding debt and following credit default swap conventions of what constitutes a default,

Initial calculations show that there were around $28 billion worth of defaults in December (up from $5.3 billion in November), with a flurry of defaults in the final days of the year. For example, Utah-based oil and gas company Flying J filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on 22 December with $474.4 million of outstanding debt. Then, Britain's high streets were hit in the week of Christmas, with Whittards, The Officers Club, and Zavvi all placed into administration on 23 December. Moreover, childrens' wear retailer Adams continues to sit on the verge of collapse.

American packaging companies Chesapeake and Constar International filed for chapter 11 on 29 and 30 December, respectively. Chesapeake owed a total of $557.4 million according to an SEC filing. Constar had missed an interest payment at the beginning of the month, which it failed to pay within the 30-day grace period. It owed $417 million.

Also feeling the deterioration of the broader market, MagnaChip Semiconductor, domiciled in South Korea, missed its interest payment on 21 December with approximately $840 million owed. On the last day of the year, Argentinian gas company Transportadora Gas del Norte missed its interest payment, with $314.4 million owed.

To kick-start the new year, Missouri-based communications company Broadstripe filed for bankruptcy in the US bankrutpcy court of Delaware. Estimated debt amounts to $377 million. A company that may need to be added to the list is Trump Entertainment, whose extended grace period for its missed interest payment on 1 December ends on 21 January.