PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Nov 27
Nov 27 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* At least 101 people were reported killed in blasts and gun attacks across south-central Mumbai late Wednesday evening, as gunmen took hostages in two of the area's most popular hotels for business travelers and tourists.
* The U.K. government has extracted a pledge from credit-card issuers to give struggling borrowers an extra 60 days to pay, in its latest effort to ease the impact of the financial crisis on the economy.
* The Federal Reserve Board officially approved Bank of America Corp's (BAC.N) acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co MER.N on Wednesday in a deal that will make the country's largest depository institution even bigger.
* German auto maker Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) Wednesday said talks to sell its remaining 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler LLC to Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] have run into trouble as the downturn in the U.S. auto market pushes Chrysler into a precarious financial position.
* Spending is declining in the consumer and capital sectors, as demand for expensive goods took its biggest spill in two years in October and consumption dropped at the sharpest rate in seven years. Meanwhile, jobless claims fell slightly but remain at elevated levels.
* New-home sales tumbled to the lowest level in 17 years during October, while prices kept retreating.
* The European Commission on Wednesday dropped its electricity antitrust case against German energy giant E.ON AG (EONGn.DE), saying the company's promise to sell capacity and part of its grid would address competitive bottlenecks in the market.
* The $42 billion takeover of BCE Inc (BCE.TO), Canada's largest phone company, was thrown into doubt Wednesday when the company warned it might not be able to meet the conditions of the merger agreement.
* Just days after Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu raised his stake in Saks Inc (SKS.N) to nearly 18 percent, the beleaguered luxury retailer has adopted a shareholder rights plan intended to thwart a potential takeover.
* Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) posted a 57 percent decline in fiscal third-quarter net income, reflecting weak U.S. sales and a large year-earlier gain from the sale of its Tokyo flagship store.
