Small Business News You Can Use (4/6)

Applications for U.S. home mortgages gained last week after seven straight weeks of declines, helped by a jump in purchase demand as interest rates retreated, an industry group said on Wednesday. The pace of growth in the U.S. services sector slipped in March after hitting its highest level in a year the previous month, as a gauge of new orders declined, according to an industry report released on Wednesday. According to a recent study on March 2012 lending data by Thomson Reuters and PayNet, small-business lending continues to stagnate. The number of Americans lining up for new jobless benefits fell to the lowest level in nearly four years last week, according to a government report that showed ongoing healing in the labor market.