PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - June 9

June 9 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* The Obama administration is backing away from seeking a major reduction in the number of agencies overseeing financial markets, people familiar with the matter say, suggesting that the current alphabet-soup of regulators will remain mostly intact.

* Chrysler's sale to Fiat (FIA.MI) was thrown into uncertainty as the Supreme Court issued a stay while it decides whether to hear an appeal of the deal.

* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked more than two dozen pension fund managers and financial firms for information concerning pension fund business dealings, the agency said.

* The U.S. wants European banks to be subjected to more rigorous stress tests, to help ensure they will survive if the economy worsens.

* The U.S. Treasury Department expects an initial payback from the nation's largest banks of at least $50 billion in bailout funds, according to people familiar with the matter, double the amount the government initially expected to recoup.

* Procter & Gamble (PG.N) is naming Robert McDonald, currently chief operating officer, to succeed A.G. Lafley as CEO. The transition comes at a crucial time for the company.

* Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co has invested about $350 million in East Resources Inc, a privately held company engaged in natural-gas exploration and development in a rock formation stretching from West Virginia to New York.

* Apple (AAPL.O) halved the price of its entry-level iPhone to $99 and rolled out a next-generation model, looking to sustain the momentum for its popular smart phone amid the recession and fresh competition.

* Citigroup Inc (C.N) said its delayed plan to convert billions of dollars of preferred shares into common stock will occur this week, clearing the way for the government to own as much as 34 percent of the struggling bank.

* Qwest Communications International Inc Q.N called off the auction for its long-distance network, signaling that the company failed to find a buyer willing to pay as much as it wanted.

* Global luxury-car sales remained weak in May as the economic downturn continued to eat into demand, but Audi AG (NSUG.DE) narrowed the gap with its two larger German rivals: BMW AG (BMWG.DE) and Daimler AG's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz brand.

* TPG is close to a deal to offload at least part of its $1.5 billion controlling stake in Shenzhen Development Bank (000001.SZ) to China's No. 2 insurer, providing an exit route for the U.S. private-equity firm's highest-profile investment in China.

* Texas Instruments Inc TXN.N sharply raised its second-quarter guidance after the market closed Monday, a sign of improved demand for semiconductors.

* The Federal Aviation Administration's new chief, Randy Babbitt, will face his first major test Wednesday when lawmakers question him about whether the agency has adequately policed safety at commuter airlines -- until recently one of the industry's fastest-growing segments.

* Some Wall Street firms will stop offering independent research, as their obligations the landmark 2003 settlement lapse.

* Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) and Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) agreed to settle claims that employees misled investors about the value and safety of certain securities during the financial crisis.

* Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) agreed to pay $15.5 million to settle a lawsuit over the 1995 deaths of Nigerian author and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and others.

* U.S. President Barack Obama said he was "not satisfied" with the pace of the economic-stimulus effort and called for cabinet members to accelerate the spending in the weeks ahead, countering criticism of his economic strategy.

* Skinnet, a South Korean company, has decided to pull out from a troubled industrial complex in North Korea amid tensions on the peninsula over the North's recent nuclear and missile tests, officials said.

* As Sprint Nextel (S.N) and Palm PALM.O market their new Pre smart phone, one of their biggest challenges will be to break the spell Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhone has cast on consumers.

* FedEx Corp (FDX.N) is starting what it describes as a multimillion-dollar campaign to derail proposed federal legislation that would make it easier for the company's workers to unionize.

* Russia is ready to sell Telenor's (TEL.OL) multibillion-dollar stake in Russian mobile operator OAO Vimpel Communications (VIP.N) to repay damages owed.