Business gazetteer: Credit squeeze hits business high-flyers

IT'S NOT only workers with ropey credit histories who are being caught up in the fallout from the credit squeeze.

Iva.com, the individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) comparison website, is reporting a leap in the number of inquiries from high-flying professionals such as property developers, accountants, lawyers and even investment bankers.

Website director Terry Balfour says: "We have seen the number of inquiries from professionals in higher wage brackets increase significantly since the beginning of 2008. The level of contact from people whose finances would usually be regarded as watertight indicates just how pervasive the current crisis is and points towards more casualties to come throughout the year."

Property professionals – directors of construction companies and property development firms – are one group said to be particularly vulnerable as the housing market faces its most uncertain future in a long time.

"The average debt volume is around £25,000 – but we have seen people owing as little as £6,000 wondering whether to go down the IVA route," adds Balfour.

FACT OF THE DAY: $8.5bn
GOOGLE co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each took home their customary $1 annual salary again in 2007, while a steep decline in the web search giant's share price chopped more than $8.5 billion (£4.3bn) from each of their massive holdings of Google shares, according to a regulatory filing. Chief executive Eric Schmidt also received his customary $1 salary as well as a payment of $480,561.

KILLER QUOTE
THE United States' economy is probably in recession now but will likely have real growth this year of around 0.5 per cent, so very, very, slow growth and probably a couple of quarters of negative growth."

Jim Owens, chairman and chief executive of Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of earth moving equipment.

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BAD DAY
Laptop users
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