PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Aug 13

Aug 13 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* This year's most vulnerable Democrats are facing what could be an insurmountable problem: increasing gloom about the economy.

* General Motors Co [GM.UL] said it would replace its chief executive with Daniel Akerson, a board member lacking automotive experience but well-regarded on Wall Street, a move whose timing was surprising and appears designed to pave the way for the car maker's return to the public stock market.

* Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) sued Google Inc (GOOG.O) for patent and copyright infringement, a surprise move that could cast a legal cloud over the growing number of cellphones that use the Android operating system.

* Several major U.S. subscription-TV providers are building new tablet-computer applications that offer select TV shows and movies to their existing subscribers.

* Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) said Thursday it plans to open an excavator assembly plant in Victoria, Texas, that will employ more than 500 people and triple the company's capacity to produce excavators in the U.S.

* Less than a month after stress tests calmed concerns about the health of European banks, new problems in the Irish banking sector are making investors nervous once again.

* The consolidation of new-car dealerships in the U.S. continued in the first half of the year, although there are signs the trend is easing. The dealership count fell to 18,223 after 258 showrooms shut their doors between Jan. 1 and July 1, according to Detroit-based consulting firm Urban Science.

* Economists are getting more pessimistic about the strength of the U.S. recovery, but they don't think policy makers should do anything more to support it, according to the latest Wall Street Journal forecasting survey.

* Activist investor Ronald Burkle fired the first shot Thursday in a proxy battle for the future of Barnes & Noble Inc (BKS.N), the country's largest bookstore chain. In a regulatory filing, Mr. Burkle put forward three nominees for directors, including himself, after peace-pact negotiations with the retailer collapsed earlier in the day.

* India became the latest government to turn the screws on smartphone maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM.TO) in the name of national security. On Thursday, officials told Indian telecommunications firms to open two secure BlackBerry services to surveillance by Aug. 31 or face a possible ban on the services.

* A big bet on the World Cup has paid off for the world's biggest beer company. Leuven, Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev NV (ABI.BR) said second-quarter volumes were up 2.1 percent over the same period last year.

* Harrah's Entertainment Inc [HAMLEH.UL] is negotiating with an Ohio developer to build casinos in downtown Cleveland and Cincinnati, the company said, as it seeks new sources of cash to address its sizable debt and dig out of a challenged U.S. gambling market.