PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - May 17

May 17 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* BP PLC's arctic exploration agreement with Russia's state oil company looked imperiled, after BP failed to buy out partners in another Russian joint venture.

* Hedge fund Jana Partners LLC said it expanded its stake in El Paso Corp to just over 4 percent, in what many viewed as an effort to help force the natural-gas provider to break up.

* Gripes over pay have erupted into internal spats between UBS AG investment-banking chief Carsten Kengeter and his deal makers, contributing to an exodus from the Swiss bank and questions about its commitment to the operation.

* Wal-Mart Stores Inc threatened Monday to walk away from a proposed $2.4 billion merger with South African retailer Massmart Holdings Ltd if procurement conditions are imposed after recommendations by the country's competition commission.

* Goldman Sachs Group Inc , revving up its investment-banking operations as deal volume accelerates, added a top executive to the unit's leadership and overhauled its senior mergers-and-acquisition ranks.

* Microsoft Corp said it will further tailor its Bing search results with data gleaned from users of Facebook Inc, as Microsoft and the social network deepen their ties.

* Hyundai Motor Co said Tuesday it will invest $173 million to double capacity at its engine plant in Alabama so that most engines for its popular Elantra compact car can be produced locally rather than shipped to the United States from South Korea.

* HSBC Holdings PLC said Tuesday it plans to hire at least 2,000 people in mainland China and Singapore over the next five years, as the U.K. banking giant continues its push to capture wealth in the Asia Pacific region, the fastest-growing part of its business.

* Netflix Inc said it reached a multiyear deal with film distributor Miramax to stream hundreds of titles through the movie rental company's instant-viewing service.

* BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd tacitly acknowledged the inroads Apple Inc's iPhone and devices based on Google Inc's Android software are making in the corporate smartphone market, with its recent decision to offer companies tools for managing and ensuring the security of BlackBerry rivals.

* 3M Co appointed Inge Thulin as chief operating officer, a new position, putting him in a stronger position to succeed George Buckley as chief executive officer of the St. Paul, Minn.-based industrial conglomerate.

* Germany's SAP AG sees the business-software industry's future in a decidedly consumer-oriented tool-the app.

* Gold One International Ltd said Monday it has accepted a takeover offer from a Chinese consortium that values the Africa-focused gold producer at roughly 600 million Australian dollars, adding that the deal will provide funding for the miner's expansion plans and could lead to the company's listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. (Compiled by Isheeta Sanghi; Bangalore Equities Newsdesk +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)