PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Dec 20
Dec 20 (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.
* BP and Exxon Mobil were charged by an
Alaska state authority with conspiring to withhold natural gas
from U.S. markets and reinforce control over North Slope
supplies in an effort to drive up prices.
* Dutch bank ABN Amro was fined $80 million by the
Treasury and Fed for violating U.S. money-laundering laws and
sanctions against Iran and Libya.
* U.S. President George W. Bush sought again to regain
political momentum. In a White House news conference, he
occasionally blasted critics of his war on terrorism and said
warrantless spying was an essential tool.
* Cablevision Systems Corp. shelved plans for a
special $3 billion dividend, saying it is in technical
violation of at least one banking agreement.
* U.S. Congress voted to raise federal deposit insurance on
retirement accounts to $250,000 and increase ceilings on
deposit accounts.
* China revised its GDP figures in a report that said
output was 16.8 per cent larger last year than previously
reported, largely the result of a better understanding of the
size of its services sector.
* Delphi Corp. withdrew a contract proposal that
would have cut wages by roughly two-thirds, citing talks
between the United Auto Workers union and General Motors Corp.
.
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