PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Dec 6

Dec 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Nelson Mandela, who rose from militant anti-apartheid activist to become the unifying president of a democratic South Africa and a global symbol of racial reconciliation, died at his Johannesburg home. ()

* The U.S. Gulf Coast - home to the world's largest concentration of petroleum refineries - is suddenly awash in crude oil. So much high-quality oil is flowing into the area that the price there has dropped sharply. ()

* What's good news for shareholders is often bad news for bondholders, or so the adage goes. It is a lesson owners of Time Warner Cable's bonds are learning the hard way. ()

* Microsoft took action against what it says is a major ad-fraud "botnet," working with law enforcement overseas to cut off communication links to servers considered the mega-brain for an army of zombie computers. ()

* Edward Lampert, struggling to stem heavy losses at Sears, is facing an exodus of money from his hedge fund, which is returning billions to clients of Goldman Sachs. ()

* U.S. auto maker General Motors will pull Chevy from Europe to focus on promoting Opel, its German car brand as part of a broader move to reverse a steady loss of market share in the region. ()

* The Volcker rule will require bank executives to guarantee their firms are in compliance with the regulation, said people familiar with the rule, another setback for Wall Street firms that lobbied against such a requirement. ()

* The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into JCPenney Co's controversial offering of about $800 million in stock this fall. ()

* Banks are increasingly looking to algorithms to help root out illegal behavior by traders. On trading floors, declaring "I want Chinese take-away" doesn't seem so innocent anymore. The firms are tapping a cottage industry of software companies that use complex algorithms to monitor traders' calls and emails - looking for catch phrases as well as changes in tone - to try to detect signs that traders may be colluding or placing unauthorized bets. ()

* Retailers on Thursday reported weaker-than-expected sales in November as a slew of deals and promotions, particularly during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, weren't enough to entice shoppers to open their wallets. ()