For you investment freaks::
Edward Altman came up with a scoring system that predicts bankruptcy for companies back in the 60s. It's called the Altman Z scoring system. it has better than 70% accuracy in predicting bankruptcy within 2 years. Every investment I make I run it through altman z.
Here are a few links.
Wiki.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-Score..._Analysis_Tool
White paper.
http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/old/16641866.htm
Book.
http://www.amazon.com/Bankruptcy-Cre...02811&sr= 8-4
calculator.
http://www.creditguru.com/CalcAltZ.shtml
This site has the altman z score calculated.
http://www.advfn.com/p.php?pid=finan...ymbol=NYSE%3AM
A few warnings I've had to discover myself.
1. It is not designed to work on financials.
2. there are two versions. One for manufacturers, one for non.
3. If a company has a large finance arm (GE, CAT) you should subtract out the financial receivables from the assets
4. You should subtract out goodwill and intangibles from assets