PRESS DIGEST - New York Times - Feb 13

Feb 13 (Reuters) - The New York Times reported the following stories on its business pages on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* With European Central Bank's cheap financing, some economists warn, sick banks now face less pressure to confront their problems, which could worsen in the years ahead.

* The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a broad examination of the private equity industry, seeking clarity on violation of securities laws of the country's most powerful financial firms.

* After violent protests left dozens of buildings aflame in Athens, the Greek Parliament voted early on Monday to approve a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by the country's foreign lenders in exchange for new loans to keep Greece from defaulting on its debt.

* Facebook's pending initial public offering gives credence to the argument that personal data is the oil of the digital age. The company was built on a formula common to the technology industry: offer people a service, collect information about them as they use that service and use that information to sell advertising.

* One of the senior deal-makers at Goldman Sachs is preparing to retire, according to people briefed on the matter, joining a growing number of high-level executives who have left the Wall Street bank in recent months.

* European lawmakers, who two years ago capped fees for mobile data roaming within the European Union at 50 a month, want to expand the protection to cover the whole world. Extending the price controls is considered likely, but the rates proposed for the new limits through 2014 have been criticized by consumer advocates as too high, exceeding existing prices in Sweden and some other E.U. countries.