The dollar ended an abbreviated Wednesday U.S. trading session slightly firmer against the euro and the yen although unable to hold its best levels against the European currency. Euro-dollar was trading around $0.8783 around 13:45 EST Wednesday, slightly below the $0.8795 level seen around 7:30 EST. Germany's Ifo research institute reported that sentiment among businesses in that country fell to its lowest level since 1993. The Institute's Chief Economist, Gernot Nerb, said the decline in the index in October shows that the German economy has not yet bottomed out although the data do not point to a German recession ahead. Thin conditions, and a desire to square positions ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday saw traders unwilling to hold onto positions or try to extend euro losses in the face of even modest buying, some said.