U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

WTO chief Pascal Lamy was in Washington Wednesday for talks with US officials and lawmakers amid an uphill effort to wrap up the long-running Doha Round of global trade talks by this year.

AP - Dollar General Corp. has filed a federal lawsuit against rival discount chain Fred's Inc., claiming the smaller company is using its trademark yellow and black colors.

AP - Nationalized mortgage lender Northern Rock said Wednesday that it returned to profit in the second half of 2009 as interest income rose and losses on loans fell.

Reuters - The Canadian dollar hit its highest level in almost five months against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, helped by firm oil prices, the prospect of rising Canadian rates and speculation it will return to parity with the greenback. The currency reached as high as C$1.0216 to the U.S. dollar, or 97.89 U.S. cents, but quickly retreated as oil prices turned lower. Oil, which held above $81 a barrel, headed lower around noon.

AP - Sonic Automotive Inc. said Wednesday that it has priced $210 million of senior subordinated notes due in 2018.

BusinessWeek - It's no secret that small businesses in the U.S. face difficulties accessing credit. According to a survey of a random sample of 751 small businesses conducted by Gallup at the end of 2009 for the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation, 44% of small businesses seeking credit in 2009 received only some or none of the money they sought. This level of credit access compares poorly with mid-2000, when nine of every 10 companies seeking credit received it. While there is broad agreement that a small business credit problem exists, there is less consensus about its causes.

The contract, which is new business for CACI, was competitively awarded under the Defense Information System Agency's ENCORE II contract vehicle.

Business groups say the Democratic legislation will hurt companies by adding new taxes and requirements, while failing to control medical costs.

Wholesalers make up about 30 percent of all business stockpiles. Factory inventories, which make up about 38 percent of the total, climbed 0.2 percent in