PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - July 30

July 30 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) deal to join forces with Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) in the search and ad businesses may help Steve Ballmer end the worst slump in his career at the helm of Microsoft.

* Wealthy taxpayers have inundated the Internal Revenue Service with requests to come clean for past tax evasion. One factor driving the clemency-seeking spree: U.S. efforts to investigate taxpayers who failed to report income earned from undeclared accounts with UBS AG (UBSN.VX).

* A U.S. senate panel has subpoenaed financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE), seeking evidence of fraud in last year's mortgage-market meltdown, according to people familiar with the situation.

* The pace of decline in U.S. economic activity has "moderated" or "begun to stabilize," the Federal Reserve's latest survey of regional economic conditions found, and a Commerce Department report showed the steep drop in U.S. business-investment spending appears to be bottoming out.

* A clutch of Japanese and European car makers reported dismal earnings as the global economic crisis continued to hammer auto industry's sales.

* British Airways PLC BAY.L is pressing Boeing Co (BA.N) to renegotiate installment payments on 787 Dreamliners the carrier has ordered -- a money-saving effort that highlights a new headache for airlines and plane makers amid the credit crunch and plunging air traffic.

* Sanofi-Aventis SA (SASY.PA) is close to announcing a deal to buy Merck & Co's (MRK.N) half of a joint venture that makes drugs for animals, according to people familiar with the matter.

* The court-appointed official in charge of recovering money for Bernard Madoff's investors is suing his wife, Ruth, for at least $44.8 million, claiming she lived a "life of splendor" on the gains from the fraud perpetrated by her husband.

* Two key U.S. House Democrats reached a broad agreement on regulating derivatives and are weighing a ban on speculators in certain types of trades, a proposal that is raising hackles on Wall Street.

* ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's largest steelmaker, swung to a $792 million loss after charges in the second quarter and said a recovery is strengthening outside of the U.S. and Western Europe, prompting a moderate increase in prices and output.

* The International Monetary Fund said it will significantly ramp up assistance to low-income countries to as much as $17 billion over the next five years, with favorable terms that include charging no interest through 2011.

* Lincoln National Corp (LNC.N) and Hartford Financial Group Inc (HIG.N) each swung to a second-quarter loss, as Lincoln recorded several charges and Hartford reported higher net realized losses.

* Time Warner Inc's (TWX.N) second-quarter profit fell 34 percent, dragged down by the spinoff of its cable-television provider and continued advertising deterioration at its AOL and magazine businesses.