Business failure rate may have peaked.

Business failures in the first half of 1991 were 56.9% above 1990's already high levels, but the Small Business Administration believes the failure rate may fall during the balance of the year (see business failures chart on page 22).

Normally, failures peak around midyear and decline in the second half as retail, wholesale and service companies gear up for the holiday buying season. If, as expected, the economy hits bottom in the second quarter of 1991, the decline in business failures could be even more pronounced this year.