Rumors have been circulating for almost a month about Borders' (BGP) possible bankruptcy filing. People familiar with the situation told The Wall Street Journal that the filing could come as early as the middle of this month.

Borders has been trying to hold off the filing by delaying payments to vendors. But this is only temporary. Now the matter has reached a critical stage. The company has obtained about $500 million to $550 million in debtor in possession financing that would keep the company operating after a court filing.

Reports surfaced Thursday that Borders (BGP) started negotiating with banks for financing to help keep the bookstore chain liquid during bankruptcy proceedings. Later in the evening, GE Capital made a $550 million financing commitment to the embattled company.

This financing should allow Borders the financial flexibility and level of liquidity to advance its restructuring plan. The plan includes closing stores, cutting costs, expanding its rewards program, and increasing non-book offerings -- all with the goal of improving cash flow and profits. Borders did note that it will explore alternative possibilities, such as restructuring its debt under court supervision.

Personal bankruptcy filings have been climbing steadily since 2007 when the U.S. tumbled into a deep recession. With unemployment near 10%, bankruptcy filings are on the rise.

For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, more that 1.5 million non-business bankruptcy filings were processed, according to data released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and reported in CNNMoney. That's a 14% increase from 2009.

Early Thursday morning, Blockbuster (BLOKA) announced that it filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions. The move comes after an agreement with bondholders to recapitalize the movie and game rental chain.

According to the company, the filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York applies to the company and its domestic subsidiaries, but not to the non-U.S. operations or the group's franchisees. Reportedly, the group has agreed on a deal with bondholders to swap secured notes for equity in a reorganized Blockbuster.

Ambac Financial Group (ABK) took the earnings stage Monday night -- and the stock took a quick dive right out of the gate Tuesday morning, if that gives you any indication about the quarterly results. The bond insurer swung to a loss of $57.6 million in the second quarter, and warned that a bankruptcy filing is likely if it can't come up with a plan to restructure its liabilities within the next year.

The company's official release stated the matter quite plainly: "Ambac has insufficient capital to finance its debt service and operating expense requirements beyond the second quarter of 2011 and may need to seek bankruptcy protection."

There are rumors that BP (BP) may declare bankruptcy. That way it can avoid some of the liabilities from the giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. No one knows what BP will do, and it seems to be making a concerted effort to do the right thing, especially since the president of the United States has taken a personal interest. We can only hope for the best.

As investors, however, it's important to know how a bankruptcy works and how it affects stockholders of a company that goes through it. In a nutshell, you get screwed. Here's how.

The first thing to understand is that a company is a legal entity unto itself. While there is management to run it, the company, in the eyes of the law, is almost like a person, responsible for its actions. So think of it as a breathing, living being.

Earlier this year, General Growth Properties Inc. (GGP) rejected a $10 billion buyout offer from rival Simon Property Group (SPG), but Simon Property is not giving up completely. Wednesday Simon Property announced it would up its offer to $10 per share for GGP in exchange for 25% of the company.

The offer that was quickly rejected a couple of months ago placed a $9 value on GGP stock, and rose some anti-trust concerns.

Earlier Wednesday morning, General Motors announced that it lost $4.3 billion in the first half of 2009. The automaker struggled as it tried to emerge from bankruptcy protection while repaying government loans. Of course, the downturn in GM's US sales didn't help much either. During the first half of 2009, GM recorded revenue of $557.5 billion. These totals were achieved as the company turned to fresh-start accounting, which gives companies the chance to completely revalue their assets following bankruptcy. By its own estimation, GM is the largest company to go through the fresh-start process.

The race is on for first-time home buyers to close their contracts before April 30. That is when the $8,000 first-time home buyers credit ends. Buyers who are selling a home and buying a new home are eligible for $6,500.

This last minute rush has bumped up the National Association of Realtor's Pending Home Sales Index 8.2% to 97.6, from 90.2 in January. The index is 17.3% higher than February 2009.

A day before it was set to go under the gavel, the sale of Sex.com stalled. The domain name was set to be auction, but an involuntary Chapter 11 filing by three of the company's creditors has put the brakes on the bidding. Escom LLC, which owns Sex.com, his on the hook, it seems, for an eight-figure tab.

The creditors' petition, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court shortly after noon yesterday by Washington Technology Associates, iEntertainment, Inc. and AccountingMatters.com LLC, claims that Sex.com owes them $10,092,118.68, according to a report by adult entertainment industry trade publication AVN (NSFW).

TheStreet.com ran an article stating that Blockbuster (BBI) may be forced into bankruptcy if its cash flow doesn't improve and it can't restructure debt. According to the article, BBI's debt has been as high as $1 billion. In a filing with the SEC, BBI stated: "These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern."

The company currently faces $855.9 million in debt and is in talks with Hollywood studios in hopes of reducing BBI's DVD costs. The company also stated that increased competition from the likes of Netflix (NFLX) and Redbox has severely hurt its market share.

General Growth Properties (GGWPQ), the mall operator that shuffled into bankruptcy protection last year, says it has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) once again. The company hopes to begin trading on the Big Board as of March 5, using its previous ticker of GGP.

"Trading again on the NYSE will mark an important milestone in GGP's restructuring process," said CEO Adam Metz in a press release. The shares currently trade over the counter.

The commercial real estate sector is rumbling as General Growth Properties (GGP) attempts to exit from bankruptcy. Several big names have weighed into the fray, including Simon Property Group (SPG) and Canadian firm, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). At present, General Growth has made an overture at splitting itself into two separate companies.

For a long time, Erin Callan was considered one of the most powerful women on Wall Street.

Somehow, a controversial stint as CFO of Lehman Bros. shortly before its collapse hasn't helped that status. After being pushed out of Lehman, she joined Credit Suisse, but in February of 2009, five months after joining, she went on a leave of absence for unspecifiied personal reasons.

We're all pretty happy to put 2009 behind us, especially those who submitted the 1.4 million bankruptcy petitions last year, making it the seventh-worst on record.

Data gathered by the Associated Press from the 90 bankruptcy districts in the U.S. shows that filings surged 32% from 2008, with 116,000 bankruptcies in December alone. The 22% jump last month, though substantial, was at least below the annual average. That said, the holiday season may have chewed up time that people would use to file, so the apparent reprieve (if you can call a 22% increase in bankruptcies a reprieve) may not be real.