Wall Street Journal Top Online Stories: Thu 11/18/10

The Wall Street Journal lead headline online early Thursday morning says "GOP Elevates New Faces." The paper says House Republican freshmen chose Reps.-elect Tim Scott and Kristi Noem for new leadership positions as the party looked to capitalize on its midterm-election victories by boosting its appeal to women, minorities and young voters.

The paper says GM is on pace to sell $18.1 billion in shares in what likely will be the second-largest U.S. IPO ever, capping a remarkable two-year turnaround.

It says big jewelry chains are scrambling to cope with the rising price of bullion while striving to keep their baubles affordable for consumers still wrestling with stagnant wages and high unemployment.

The paper says the U.S. Agriculture Secretary said skyrocketing prices in the futures markets won't translate into as big a bump in food costs for consumers

It says strapped states and cities took another hit, with California seeing tepid demand for its latest bond sale and other governments pulling about $700 million worth of borrowing deals this week.

The paper says European officials are pressing to recapitalize Ireland's wounded banks with money from an international bailout fund, indicating that the contours of an aid package to the country are taking shape even as Dublin insisted it didn't need help.

And the most popular story says the Senate's No. 2 Republican said Tuesday that he opposed a vote this year on President Barack Obama's signature arms control treaty, dealing a blow to a top White House foreign policy priority and possibly to U.S.-Russian relations.