PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Oct 12

Oct 12 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* China's CNOOC Ltd (0883.HK) and a Ghanaian partner are in talks about making a rival $4 billion bid, against Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), for a stake in a new oil discovery off of West Africa.

* Since confronting potential calamity back in early March, global stock markets have recovered smartly -- and while some indexes have fallen back from recent peaks, global investors remain remarkably upbeat.

* Numerous U.S. companies have awarded stock options to their top executives while engaged in negotiations to be acquired, according to academic research and a Wall Street Journal review of company filings.

* Chinese leaders, concerned that foreign suppliers are inflating commodity costs, are using their three futures exchanges to fight back.

* Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said a technical snafu has likely caused the loss of contacts, photos and other personal data for users of the T-Mobile Sidekick, for which it supplies software and online services.

* Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) temporarily halted enrollment of new patients in a clinical trial of an experimental lung-cancer drug, saying the drug was associated with a higher rate of adverse events, including fatalities, than for patients who didn't get the drug.

* KB Home's (KBH.N) disclosure late Friday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its accounting is the latest in a series of regulatory scrapes for the Los Angeles-based home builder.

* Lazard Ltd (LAZ.N) Chief Executive Bruce Wasserstein was in serious condition Sunday night after being hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat, the investment bank said in a statement. The brief statement said: "His condition is serious, but he is stable and recovering."

* The 10.6 billion pounds UK pension fund for oil company Royal Dutch Shell Group PLC is moving forward with a strategy to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in alternative assets, potentially including hedge funds for the first time.

* Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHAG.DE), which stumbled badly with previous efforts at onboard communications connectivity, is expected to unveil plans to provide long-distance passengers with the most extensive array of cellphone and Internet services available on any airline, according to people familiar with the matter.

* New data suggest that foreclosures in the U.S. are rising in more expensive housing markets. About 30 percent of foreclosures in June involved homes in the top third of local housing values, up from 16 percent when the foreclosure crisis began three years ago, according to new data from real-estate Web site Zillow.com.

* The bickering between India's billionaire Ambani brothers and their Reliance companies took yet another twist Sunday when the younger brother, Anil, asked for divine help to solve what court cases and a nasty publicity campaign have failed to fix.

* Textron Corp (TXT.N) is well-positioned to take advantage of long-term growth of the unpiloted air-vehicle market for defense and commercial use, Scott Donnelly, president and chief executive-elect, said.

* South Korea's Lotte Shopping Co (023530.KS) is in talks to buy a controlling stake in China's Times 1832.HK to strengthen its retail business in China where it has already operations, a person with a direct knowledge about the matter told Dow Jones Newswires.

* The U.S. Federal Communications Commission opened an inquiry into whether Google Inc's (GOOG.O) phone-management service is restricting calls as regulators grappled with how to regulate new-media products.