PRESS DIGEST-New York Times business news - Sept 19

Sept 19 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories on the New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Private equity firms have been vying to buy portfolios of European bank debt on commercial real estate at deep discounts, and hope eventually to earn generous returns.

* Yahoo Inc closed on the sale of half of its stake in the Alibaba Group of China, the company said on Tuesday, giving it $3 billion to return to its shareholders.

* Goldman Sachs introduced on Tuesday what may be the first of the next generation of leaders to run the storied Wall Street firm, saying that its longtime chief financial officer, David Viniar, would retire at the end of January and be replaced by Harvey Schwartz, a 48-year-old executive.

* FedEx Corp says the global economy is stalling and that the situation is likely to get worse next year. The company cut its outlook for global growth and industrial production on Tuesday while reducing its forecast for company earnings, part of its statement of first-quarter results.