PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Dec 1

Dec 1 (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.

* The swiftly launched attacks in Mumbai brought one of the world's largest cities to its knees. This account of the three days of the battle shows just how vulnerable any major city can be to this type of urban warfare.

* Retailers got off to a better-than-expected start for the big holiday shopping season, with consumers spending an estimated 7.2 percent more this year than last. But momentum ebbed on Saturday, raising concerns that shoppers were merely exploiting massive sales.

* General Motors Corp (GM.N) management, racing to craft a plan to show Congress, is confronted with a board that wants to reserve Chapter 11 as an option.

* Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N., as it integrates its fleet with that of recently acquired Northwest Airlines Corp, plans to seek significant changes to aircraft orders that both carriers had placed individually with Boeing Co <BA.N, according to people familiar with Delta's plans.

* In tackling the national economic downturn, President-elect Barack Obama and his newly appointed economic team might want to study how Japan and Sweden weathered similar storms during the 1990s.

* The credit crisis and slowing economy are creating new pressures for chief financial officers, spurring turnover and increasing demand for experienced finance professionals.

* Christopher Viehbacher is likely to have big changes in store for French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA (SASY.PA) when he takes over as chief executive this week.