PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Oct 7
Oct 7 (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.
* Markets around the world tumbled, reflecting investors' lack of confidence despite stepped up relief efforts by the Fed and European governments. The Dow industrials fell below 10000 and European stocks fell to 20-year lows, a stark sign that the crisis may be outpacing policy makers' ability to contain it.
* Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) slashed its dividend and announced plans to raise $10 billion in new capital. Profit fell 68 percent.
* Wachovia Corp WB.N and suitors Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) agreed to a two-day truce in their legal bickering, a move aimed at giving some breathing room to negotiators trying to reach a compromise in the fight to buy Wachovia.
* Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) agreed to pay more than $23 million to three executives ousted just days before the firm collapsed. Lawmakers grilled CEO Richard Fuld.
* The Federal Reserve announced Monday it will begin paying interest on depository institutions' required and excess reserve balances in a move the central bank said would give it "greater scope" to address ailing credit markets.
* Rising fears of a global slowdown are sinking crude oil prices and driving down shares of major oil companies.
* Looking for new growth engines as it struggles to revive its flagship auction site, eBay Inc (EBAY.O) agreed to acquire Bill Me Later Inc for about $945 million and revealed plans to cut 10 percent of its work force.
* Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG.N) said it will receive a $2.5 billion capital investment from German insurer Allianz SE (ALVG.DE) while also warning of a big third-quarter loss and announcing a 40 percent cut to its quarterly dividend.
* Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N) on Tuesday is announcing a broad plan to cut costs by spinning off its manufacturing operations to a new joint venture, according to people familiar with the matter.
* Fighting for financing in the midst of tight credit markets, MGM Mirage (MGM.N) said it received a $1.8 billion credit facility from a group of banks for its massive CityCenter project of hotels, condos, retail stores and restaurants in Las Vegas.
* Chicago Mercantile Exchange parent CME Group Inc (CME.O) and hedge-fund powerhouse Citadel Investment Group are preparing to launch an exchange-like platform to trade and clear credit-default swaps, the derivative contracts that have been at the heart of some of Wall Street's woes in recent weeks.
* A group of investors led by private-equity firm Stone Point Capital are investing $225 million in Amherst Holdings LLC, a closely held financial-services company that specializes in underwriting and trading residential mortgage securities.
* ImClone Systems Inc IMCL.O on Monday agreed to a $6.5 billion takeover by Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N), prompting Bristol-Myers Squibb Co(BMY.N) to abandon a rival bid for the biotech company but setting the stage for a possible legal battle over ImClone's future cancer-drug revenue.
