PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - March 29

March 29 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The New York Times business pages on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Many farmers, both in the United States and abroad, are expected to chase the higher profits to be made in cotton, with consequences that could ripple across the globe.

* In downturns, companies reduce the size of some products, disguising price rises and avoiding comparisons on same-size packages.

* The term "rolling blackouts" has become shorthand for noting one way Japan is trying to cope with its national calamity. Shorthand should not be confused with short term. Utility experts and economists say it will take many months, possibly into next year, to get anywhere close to restoring full power.

* Banks will be forced to retain some risk when they securitize all but the most conservative mortgages under rules that regulators are expected to vote on Tuesday. But the banks are likely to be given wide leeway in determining what risks to keep.

* Facebook is trying to establish a presence in the nation's capital so it will be better prepared to fight future battles on issues like privacy.

* Time Warner Cable Inc , under fire from some in the television industry for its iPad streaming app, says it has done nothing wrong.

* Amazon is offering a digital music locker, ahead of Apple Inc and Google , but experts say the service is legally ambiguous.

* Retailers are facing more pressure to comply with crowd safety guidelines issued by the government, after a decision last week that upheld a fine against Wal-Mart Stores Inc in the 2008 trampling death of an employee.

* Doctors with private financial conflicts of interest dominated some of the panels that wrote guidelines on cardiovascular health in recent years, according to a medical journal study released on Monday.

* Michigan, whose unemployment rate has topped 10 percent longer than that of any other state, is about to set another record: its new Republican governor, Rick Snyder, signed a law Monday that will lead the state to pay fewer weeks of unemployment benefits next year than any other state.

* EBay Inc , the online marketplace and owner of PayPal, is acquiring GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion in a deal that will heighten its rivalry with Amazon.com Inc .

* As Twitter tries to manage its explosive growth, two of the company's founders have traded roles. Jack Dorsey will lead product development at Twitter, while Evan Williams is stepping back to work on a new start-up.

* The judge presiding over New York State's suit against Maurice R. Greenberg, the former chief executive of American International Group, said on Monday that he would not quit the case as Mr. Greenberg asked, citing an appeal court's stay of the trial.

* At the insider trading trial of Raj Rajaratnam on Monday morning, his lawyer continued to spar with Rajiv Goel, a former Intel executive Corp who has pleaded guilty to passing on confidential information about Intel to Mr. Rajaratnam.

* A report from the French government's Invest in France Agency showed that the number of foreign direct investments rose 22 percent last year from 2009, to 782 projects creating 31,000 jobs. It was the highest number in 15 years and came after stagnation for the two previous years.

* Minnesota's attorney general accused the Encore Capital Group Inc of cutting corners by filing "robo-signed" affidavits in debt collection lawsuits, the same practice for which banks have come under fire in home foreclosures.

* After seizing control of critical oil fields and terminals in eastern Libya over the weekend, Libyan rebels are now trying to sell oil in international markets, potentially raising hundreds of millions of dollars to buy weapons and supplies.

* A private investigator was charged by French authorities with fraud and faking receipts to document work examining claims of espionage at Renault , AgnEs Labregere-Delorme, a spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutor, said on Monday.

* Consumer spending rose for an eighth consecutive month in February as households faced higher food and energy prices.

* The eight-year criminal prosecution related to Enron's broadband unit came to a close Monday with the final sentencing in the case.

* The drug company AstraZeneca said on Monday that it had reached an agreement with tax regulators in the United States and Britain to pay $1.1 billion to resolve outstanding issues. (Compiled by Mary Meyase; Bangalore Equities Newsdesk +91 80; 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)