Nov 9 (Reuters) - The following were the top stories in The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Companies that cater to consumers believe that customers are digging in for a long, frugal winter. Despite signs of recovery in housing, manufacturing and auto sales, consumers remain spooked by 10.2 percent unemployment.

* General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) have agreed to value NBC Universal in the neighborhood of $30 billion, a development that could lead to a deal this week for Comcast to take control of GE's media and entertainment arm.

* Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is expected Monday to officially launch a hostile bid for Cadbury Plc (CBRY.L: Quote, Profile, Research), setting in motion a tussle for control of the British confectionary firm.

* Over nearly a year of battles with U.S. regulators and investigators, Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis gradually lost control of a bank he had worked at for 40 years.

* British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner clashed over potential taxes on bank transactions at a meeting of finance policymakers from the Group of 20 leading economies.

* U.S. President Barack Obama's health-care bill faces an uncertain Senate battle after the House passed the measure by a 220-215 vote.

* Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed to sell its TASC consulting unit to private-equity firms General Atlantic LLC and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co [KKR.UL] for $1.65 billion, the latest in a flurry of deals signaling the return of leveraged buyouts after a two-year dormant stretch.

* Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and its partners are preparing to pump at least $1 billion more into Clearwire Corp, adding yet more aid to a wireless broadband firm that has struggled to build out its next-generation network.