PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - Oct 20

Oct 20 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories on The New York Times business pages on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Listeria outbreak traced to Cantaloupe packing shed: The outbreak, the deadliest incident of foodborne illness in the last 25 years, grew out of unsanitary conditions at a Colorado farm, investigators found.

* Citigroup agreed to settle a civil complaint by the SEC that it had defrauded buyers in a $1 billion portfolio of mortgage-related investments.

* U.S. solar panel makers say China violated trade rules. A trade case seeks huge tariffs and accuses Chinese makers of using government subsidies to sell panels for less than the cost of making them.

* UBS is trying to shrink its investment banking business enough to satisfy investors and Swiss regulators without disrupting its other operations.

* Groupon is preparing for an investor road show for its planned initial public offering, with a valuation sharply below initial expectations.

* By breaking off its research pharmaceutical business, Abbott Laboratories will follow others that have turned to corporate breakups to bolster shareholder value.

* Leaders in Europe take time from a farewell to negotiate a bailout deal. Key figures in addressing the debt crisis gathered under intense pressure to deliver a response, but tried to dampen expectations for a grand gesture.

* Though Ford workers showed they were not happy with a labor agreement, they eventually approved it rather than risk hefty bonuses and thousands of new jobs.

* Julian Pike, a lawyer who acted for the tabloid The News of the World, said he knew the company's claim that the practice was limited to one "rogue reporter" was untrue.

* Morgan Stanley , buoyed by solid performances in all its core divisions and a one-time accounting gain, rebounded from a loss of $91 million a year earlier.

* Three major publishers said on Wednesday that they would allow their authors to access book sales data directly online, a move that appeared to challenge Amazon and its continued efforts to woo authors.

* Rick Perry announced his support for a flat tax on Wednesday, sharpening the contrast with his Republican rival Mitt Romney and capitalizing on popular frustration with the tax system among Republican primary voters.

* A rise in food and energy prices pushed up the index for consumer prices in the United States in September, although the increase was slower than in August, according to government statistics released on Wednesday.

* Wrapping up his three-day bus tour on an intimate note, President Obama dropped in at a suburban firehouse here on Wednesday and urged firefighters and rescue workers to pressure Republicans to support his jobs bill.