PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - May 28
May 28 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in the New York Times business pages on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* Chrysler will have some benefits with its new partner, Fiat (FIA.MI), but it will be competing in a brutal marketplace that may make bankruptcy court seem like a refuge.
* German officials narrowed the field of potential buyers of Opel and the rest of General Motors Corp GM.N European operations to two companies, but failed to agree on a crucial bridge loan to keep Opel afloat.
* Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by U.S. President Barack Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday.
* Pequot Capital Management, a $3 billion investment firm, is closing because an investigation into insider trading at the fund is heating up once again.
* The Federal Reserve is spending more than $1 trillion to keep interest rates low and help credit flow, but investors are getting worried that those efforts are starting to falter.
* Toys "R" Us Inc [TOY.UL] announced early Thursday that it had bought FAO Schwarz, one of the oldest toy retailers in the nation and a staple on Fifth Avenue, where the flagship store is guarded by rosy-cheeked toy soldiers.
* A glut of unsold homes continued to grow last month, fed by a new wave of foreclosures, even though sales of existing homes rose, a national real estate trade association said Wednesday.
* Timothy Geithner, who before his confirmation as Treasury secretary unintentionally charged that China was "manipulating" its currency, will make his first trip to that country since taking office and meet with its leaders next week amid rising concern about China's willingness to continue buying United States debt.
* The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp said Wednesday that the number of banks on its list of "problem" institutions had grown to 305 in the first quarter, the most since 1994, and up from 252 at the end of 2008.
* Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), the largest European oil company, announced a corporate reorganization on Wednesday in a bid to improve its performance before a new chief executive takes the helm.
* Fox Broadcasting and the companies that produce "American Idol" said Wednesday that they were "absolutely certain" that the outcome of voting for the winner was not unfairly influenced by free text-messaging services offered to fans of Kris Allen, the winner, at viewing parties in Arkansas last week.
* The advocacy arm of the American Medical Association unveiled a summer-long campaign on Wednesday intended to publicly shame movie studios for depicting images of smoking in their mass-appeal movies.
* Steven Rattner, one of the president's leading advisers on the automotive industry, was an investor in the investment fund that controlled Chrysler and GMAC, according to financial disclosures released by the government.
* Unable to agree on a chief executive, shareholders in TNK-BP on Wednesday appointed one of the Russian co-owners as interim chief.
* Shareholders of Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) rejected proposals on Wednesday to prohibit its chief executive from serving as chairman and to increase spending on renewable fuel.
* The estranged wife of Allen Stanford has asked a judge for permission to intervene in the regulatory lawsuit accusing him of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme.
* Several apparel makers and retailers, including Polo Ralph Lauren Corp (RL.N), posted better-than-expected quarterly results Wednesday, helped by tight management of expenses and inventories.
* TiVo Inc (TIVO.O), the maker of digital video recorders, posted its second straight quarterly loss on Wednesday, but it was smaller than expected as the company reined in costs to offset sliding revenue and slowing user growth.
* Customers are still putting off big-ticket purchases from the office-supply chain Staples Inc (SPLS.O), but the company said it was beginning to see smaller declines in foot traffic and sales to small businesses.
