PRESS DIGEST - Wall Street Journal - Dec 9

Dec 9 (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.

- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Thursday sued Microsoft Corp to block its planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc.

- Meal kit company Blue Apron Holdings Inc. said it would lay off about 10% of its corporate workforce and cut spending, as company seeks to streamline operations.

- Exxon Mobil Corp maintained its spending plans for the next five years, sticking to its annual budget ranges that were set before the war in Ukraine caused an increase in energy prices and political pressure to increase production.

- Alphabet Inc's Google's widely used advertising software for publishers, Google Ad Manager, suffered an outage of more than 2-1/2 hours Thursday evening that affected numerous publications large and small.

- Costco Wholesale Corp. sales growth slowed slightly in the most recent quarter compared with recent years as some shoppers bought fewer big-ticket discretionary items.

- The U.S. is set to levy fresh sanctions against Russia and China on Friday, actions targeting Russia's deployment of Iranian drones in Ukraine, alleged human-rights abuse by both nations and Beijing's support of alleged illegal fishing in the Pacific, according to officials familiar with the matter. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)