Interest rates mostly rose in the bond markets Wednesday as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed that policymakers disagreed over the risks of inflation.

A gauge of the U.S. service sector returned to growth last month, aided by the holiday season’s retail sales. The expansion reflected a slowly improving economy — but it was too slight to generate much hiring.

Japan Airlines is likely to post a net loss of $13.3 billion this financial year due to a huge restructuring charge, the Nikkei business daily said, dragging down shares of the ailing carrier by 8 percent.

Sen. Christopher Dodd’s decision to retire at the end of the year increases the chances of a Senate overhaul of Wall Street regulations that is bipartisan and friendlier to the financial sector than what President Barack Obama may want.

For years, many Wall Street analysts have touted cash flow as the best measure of corporate health.

Shares of drug maker MannKind Corp. rose more than 3 percent Wednesday after a Rodman & Renshaw analyst reaffirmed his outlook that the company’s inhaled insulin will gain Food and Drug Administration approval in 2010.

Shares of companies that make orthopedic implants were mixed, but one analyst said a report from industry bellwether Biomet bodes well for the rest of the industry.

The Dow and S&P 500 inched higher, while the Nasdaq dipped on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials said they were still worried about labor market weakness and a report on the services sector showed only slight improvement in the economy.

Investors treaded water for a second day Wednesday as a batch of mixed economic reports and signs of division among Federal Reserve policymakers offered little new insight into the economy.

Zumiez Inc., which sells action sports clothes and gear, said Wednesday that its sales at stores open at least a year rose 0.3 percent in the five weeks that ended Jan. 2, much better than the 6.4 percent decline predicted by analysts.