itsa figures for oct to dec 2011, page-2

KearneyMaurice,

Excellent post, thanks. Just going down the burrow on the ITSA website:

http://www.itsa.gov.au/dir228/itsaweb.nsf/docindex/Statistics-%3EStats%20Overview%20Documents%202/$FILE/web%20overview%201211.pdf?OpenElement

Bankrupcies Comparison:

JUL/SEPT: 2011/12 - 2224, up 0.54% from 2212 in 2010/11
OCT/DEC: 2011/12 - 2031, up 2.88% from 1974 in 2010/11.

Not huge increases, but positive for FSA. Given that FSA is already very cheap on an earnings basis, even slight increases in people needing to be helped should mean a continuation in strong earnings.

I have heard it suggested that uncertainty about the global outlook has meant people are being more conservative with their retail expenditure, and as such bankruptcies might decline. However, these figures do not support that view currently. And if things get worse dragged down by Europe*, FSA will be one of the few counter cyclic companies who benefits from adverse conditions.

Death, taxes, and debt relief. Things that can be relied upon, particularly in tough times.

FSA is very cheap on an earnings basis, and there is every reason to think that earnings may rise further as conditions worsen.

Yaq

* With many debt-laden economies at a tipping point in terms of their bond rates and servicing their debt, and even France and Germany falling into negative growth, such a Europe-led crash seems only a matter of time...