PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Sept 30

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

* The fate of CIT Group Inc (CIT.N) was hanging in the balance Tuesday as the large commercial lender readied a plan that would likely hand control of the company to its bondholders.

* Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N), the struggling insurer that received $3.4 billion in government aid, named Liam McGee, a former head of consumer banking at Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), chief executive.

* The government said the fund that protects consumer bank deposits has fallen into the red and will remain there into 2012, a pointed symbol of how the aftershocks of the financial crisis will reverberate for years as banks continue to fail at a high rate.

* Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) Chief Executive Mark Hurd, in what would be one of his biggest moves yet to overhaul HP's inner workings, is finalizing a plan to combine HP's printer and personal-computer businesses into one unit under current PC chief Todd Bradley, said people familiar with the situation.

* Home prices rose once again in July, but a drop in consumer confidence in September underscored the fragile state of the economy's recovery.

* General Motors Co [GM.UL] is ending a seven-week experiment to sell new cars in California with eBay Inc (EBAY.O), as many dealers report the online marketplace didn't help sell more vehicles and led shoppers to offer low-ball prices.

* In a rare shake-up inside one of the nation's strongest banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) changed the management of its investment bank, pushing out a longtime executive and igniting a contest to eventually succeed James Dimon at the helm.

* A New York state appeals court dismissed Dan Rather's lawsuit against his former bosses at CBS Corp (CBS.N) on Tuesday, dealing a possible knockout blow to the news anchor's high-profile dispute over the circumstances of his departure from the television network.

* A former head of compliance at Moody's Investors Service is expected to testify Wednesday at a congressional hearing about concerns that he flagged earlier this year to the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding practices at the New York credit-ratings firm.

* Medical-device makers including Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) are warning of delays in device approvals after the Food and Drug Administration announced a major review of the process that has allowed quick clearance for thousands of products.

* In an escalating battle over the largest U.S. hotel bankruptcy, a group of creditors led by Starwood Capital Group is trying to wrest control of the bankruptcy of Extended Stay Inc, people familiar with the matter said.