U.S. business bankruptcies rose 7 pct in January

* An average 342 companies filed per day in January

* Data suggests more bankruptcy filings in 2010 than 2009

* Bankruptcy filings rise, even as economy improves

By Chelsea Emery

NEW YORK, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. business bankruptcy
filings rose 7 percent in January from a year ago, according to
a bankruptcy data provider on Wednesday, as the sluggish
economy hurt sales and hindered businesses' ability to
refinance heavy debt obligations.

Companies from a range of industries including educational
publishing group Haights Cross Communications Inc [HAIGH.UL],
financial company FirstFed Financial Corp (FFEDQ.PK) and
airline Mesa Air Group MESAQ.PK MESA.O were among the 6,502
companies that filed for bankruptcy protection in January,
compared with 6,055 in the same month last year, according to
Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER), a
database of U.S. bankruptcy statistics used by attorneys and
lenders.

"(The numbers) indicate that there's going to be more
filings in 2010 than in 2009," said Mike Bickford, president of
AACER.

Still, he said, bankruptcy data from the next three months
will provide a better prediction for the year to come.

"February, March and April (data). That's what's going to
tell the tale," Bickford said. "That's when filings
historically reach the level that you can make some reasonable
judgments about what's going to happen in the year."

Per day, 342 companies sought protection from creditors in
bankruptcy court, compared with 303 last year.

AACER's count of commercial cases includes bankruptcy
filings from companies, as well as individuals who say they are
running a business.

Though economic conditions appear to be improving -- the
economy grew at a faster-than-expected 5.7 percent annual pace
in the last quarter of 2009 -- Bickford said bankruptcy filings
will not slow in the near future.

"You don't see a recovering economy in bankruptcy numbers
until 12 to 18 months after the economy has actually begun to
recover," he said.
(Reporting by Chelsea Emery, editing by Matthew Lewis)