PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - Dec 11

Dec 11 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in the New York Times business pages on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* The House voted on Wednesday to approve a $14 billion government rescue of the American automobile industry, but the bailout plan, which would provide emergency loans to General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler, was in jeopardy because of strong Republican opposition in the Senate.

* Chinese exports registered their largest drop in nearly a decade last month, suggesting that the global recession could be far worse than many economists had previously predicted.

* Federal regulators are about to approve use of a critical new electrical component for implantable heart devices without adequately testing for its potential risks, a prominent cardiologist warned Wednesday.

* General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) have viable reorganization plans in place, provided Congress authorizes billions of dollars in loans to help them survive the severe economic downturn, but Chrysler's demise is all but inevitable regardless of whether it receives government aid, a forecasting firm said Wednesday.

* Congressional lawmakers gave the Treasury Department two pieces of advice on Wednesday about the nation's financial rescue plan: First, follow the money. Second, fight more aggressively against the rising tide of home foreclosures.

* Faced with falling oil prices, Russia is preparing to announce that it will work with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to coordinate a reduction in output, the minister of energy said Wednesday.

* Wholesalers cut their inventories in October by the largest amount since the period after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and their sales fell by a record amount.

* The argument of an employment discrimination case at the Supreme Court on Wednesday was full of references to one of the court's more controversial decisions in recent years - the 2007 ruling against Lilly M. Ledbetter.

* National Public Radio, citing an unexpected revenue shortfall, said Wednesday that it would cut 64 jobs, or about 7 percent of its work force of 889, and would cancel two weekday programs, "Day to Day" and "News & Notes".

* Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L), the mining company, said on Wednesday that it would cut 14,000 jobs and sharply reduce spending as demand for raw materials slows.

* A little-noticed provision in the proposed bailout plan for Detroit's automakers blesses an aggressive tax shelter sold by large banks and insurers to municipal transit agencies across the country.

* The Eastman Kodak Co EK.N said Wednesday that it had withdrawn its full-year 2008 operating profit and sales forecast because of a weak economy and a stronger dollar, and said executives would not receive a salary increase next year.

* In what some viewed as an act of brinksmanship, GMAC issued a statement Wednesday morning saying that it did not have adequate capital at the moment to qualify to become a bank holding company.