Nov 3 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The New York Times business pages on Tuesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
* The government is trying to counter what it says are ads that trick consumers into paying for credit monitoring. But while the government has taken issue with the ads, it has had little to say about credit monitoring services themselves, a rapidly expanding niche approaching $1 billion in sales for which millions of people have signed up, often unwittingly. The problem, say critics, is that most people really don¿t need it.
* Ford Motor Co had its first profitable quarter in North America in over four years and said that, at least for now, it had stopped rapidly burning through its cash reserves.
* The federal government has granted General Motors Co permission to use $2.8 billion in borrowed money to help its former parts division Delphi Corp. GM said it received $1.7 billion last month from a federal escrow account to buy an interest in the reorganized Delphi, which spent four years mired in Chapter 11 protection before successfully exiting last month.
* Newly empowered by the Supreme Court, the attorneys general of several states hit hard by the housing collapse are exploring consumer fraud suits against major mortgage lenders. Unable to do much about runaway foreclosures, the states¿ top lawyers are thinking of suing banks for fraudulently marketing mortgages.
* The Supreme Court appeared reluctant to allow judges to take on a major role in policing the compensation of mutual fund investment advisers. But some justices nonetheless suggested that pay arrangements could be so outsized that the courts may have to step in.
* The heads of the nation¿s largest banks were summoned by the U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Monday to discuss what is perhaps the most contentious issue of the post-bailout era: pay.
* The health insurance industry likes to cite figures showing that 87 cents of every dollar in premiums is spent on medical claims. But a new Senate analysis suggests that for-profit insurance companies are spending much less than that, especially for policies sold to individuals and small businesses.
* For nearly three decades, Stanley Works and Black & Decker Corp, two of the most recognizable names in home improvement, have talked about combining through a merger. On Monday, the two finally succeeded. Stanley agreed to buy Black & Decker for about $3.5 billion in an all-stock transaction, creating a global tool maker worth about $8.4 billion.
* The U.S. economy still faces a long slog back to normalcy, but there were signs that the country¿s wounded manufacturing and housing industries were on track to recovery.
* Even amid the contraction of the venture capital industry, which fertilizes the seeds of new technology start-ups, some firms are expanding. On Monday, Greylock Partners, which has backed Facebook and LinkedIn, said it had put together a new $575 million fund, one of the biggest to be created in the last year.
* The airline posted a 35 percent jump in quarterly profit and said that it was considering easing back on a decade-long expansion as it struggles to keep a lid on operating costs.
* Ryanair Holdings, the Irish airline that has come to symbolize the rapid growth of low-cost European travel, said it was considering easing back on a decade-long expansion as it struggles to keep a lid on operating costs while maintaining its rock-bottom fares. Keywords: PRESS DIGEST/NYT
(Compiled by Tenzin Pema; Bangalore Equities Newsdesk +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)
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