PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 27

May 27 (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.

* Federal authorities alleged Wednesday that a Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) executive assistant and her boyfriend engaged in a ham-handed plot to sell Wall Street traders inside information, first offered in a chirpy missive sent to dozens of investment companies.

* Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's estate sued JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), alleging J.P. Morgan illegally siphoned billions of dollars from Lehman in the days before the troubled investment bank filed for the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

* A senior official in Britain's new coalition government will promise "radical reform" of the country's welfare system on Thursday, the Department for Work and Pensions said.

* Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) incorrectly hid from investors billions of dollars of their debt, similar to what Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc did to obscure its level of risk, company documents show.

* Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), under fire for recent recalls of over-the-counter medicines, had a number of serious quality control problems in manufacturing children's drugs, according to a Wall Street Journal review of company and regulator documents.

* After weathering the economic slump, many companies are facing a new headache just as business starts to pick up: shortages of certain kinds of machine tools and other equipment they need to keep up with demand.

* French luxury house Hermes (HRMS.PA) said Wednesday that Christophe Lemaire, designer of French sportswear brand Lacoste, will replace Jean-Paul Gaultier as its women's fashion designer.

* The European Commission on Wednesday proposed that each European Union government levy a tax on its banks and use the proceeds to create a fund dedicated to ensuring the "orderly failure" of troubled banks.

* The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development raised its forecast for economic growth this year and next, amid risks to recovery posed by euro-zone debt and possible economic overheating in some parts of Asia.

* The U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office has dropped an inquiry into the U.K. operations of AIG Financial Products Corp, a unit of American International Group Inc (AIG.N).