PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Nov 17

Nov 17 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* In a closely watched move that may be followed across Wall Street, the top executives at Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) have decided to forgo their 2008 bonuses. In doing so, they are giving up potentially tens of millions of dollars in payouts in a year that reshaped the securities industry.

* Auto-parts makers are requesting access to the government's $700 billion financial-industry rescue fund, and Democratic lawmakers are planning tough conditions -- including a government oversight board -- on a proposed aid package for Detroit's troubled auto companies.

* The bear market provides an opportunity to buy blue chips at bargain prices, investment advisers say.

* Mining firms are shuttering operations and firing thousands of workers as metals prices tumble amid the global economic slowdown.

* With nearly all retailers under the gun to cut costs and improve profit margins, "labor-waste elimination" systems are sweeping the industry.

* The U.K. recession will be worse than previously expected, driving up unemployment to nearly three million by 2010, a major British industry group said Monday.

* Already struggling in a tough economy, many small employers are about to face another big hit: markedly higher increases in health-insurance premiums as they head into 2009.

* Intel Corp (INTC.O) on Monday is rolling out one of its most important products in several years, the latest sign that development cycles run counter to business cycles at high-tech companies.

* The cellphone industry is poised for its first major shake-up since the beginning of the decade as the global economic downturn hurts sales of handsets and components, leaving some companies better protected than others.

* Japan has slipped into recession for the first time since 2001, joining Europe in a global economic downturn, as Japanese companies cut spending amid weak exports and consumer demand failed to lift the world's second-largest economy.

* Six years ago, Swiss drug giant Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) hired a new head of research and began retooling its search for new medicines. Wednesday, investors will get an update on how that work is progressing.

* After hammering giant public real-estate companies, pain in the commercial-property market is now hitting some small, private investors. DBSI Inc, a privately held real-estate firm that catered to mom-and-pop investors, filed for bankruptcy protection last week, tossing into turmoil at least 8,500 investors and nearly 240 commercial properties valued at $2.4 billion in over 30 states.