Oct 20 (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.

* Democrats, worried as polls show their chances of retaining control of the Senate dwindling, are plowing money into long-shot races in unexpected states. (http://on.wsj.com/1sEDmLA)

* In a blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, Japan's industry minister announced her resignation on Monday over allegations of financial impropriety. Yuko Obuchi is the first cabinet minister to step down since Abe came to power in December 2012. (http://on.wsj.com/1CISk5O)

* The Fed is likely to end its bond-buying program this month even as market volatility and uncertainties about the global economy have rattled investors and led to some mixed messages from central-bank officials. (http://on.wsj.com/1CIRI07)

* An investor group from Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi is launching a bid to buy Reebok from Adidas in a move that would unwind a disappointing eight-year marriage of the sneaker makers. (http://on.wsj.com/1t1hDPt)

* Nearly six years after its near-death experience, Ally Financial Inc is nearly out from the U.S. government's clutches, and taxpayers are earning a profit of more than $1 billion as the firm heads out the door. (http://on.wsj.com/1sEDmLA)

* A lawsuit against Walgreen Co paints a picture of the rough and tumble maneuverings inside a company grappling with disappointing earnings, activist hedge funds and a major deal. The suit by former Chief Financial Officer Wade Miquelon alleges Walgreen's chief executive and a company board member defamed him in meetings with large shareholders that became the basis of a page-one article in The Wall Street Journal. (http://on.wsj.com/1wqJGJ7)

* Syngenta AG faces escalating legal battles over its sale of genetically engineered corn seeds that some farmers and agricultural companies say have roiled international grain markets this year. U.S. farmers in 11 states have sued Syngenta in federal courts during the past few weeks, alleging losses they say arose from the Swiss seed-and-chemical company's move to sell biotech seeds before the corn was approved by Chinese authorities for import there. (http://on.wsj.com/1y8kp5I)

* Pension-fund managers across the United States are rethinking their investments in hedge funds in the wake of a retreat by the California Public Employees' Retirement System. (http://on.wsj.com/10bZMdX)

* California is hoping to conjure some real-life jobs in the smoke-and-mirrors world of visual effects for movies and television shows-part of the state's latest attempt to win back its most famous industry. (http://on.wsj.com/10bZMdX)

* When cold weather looms across the United States, natural-gas prices usually rise. This year they are falling, after a record production boom nearly replenished stockpiles left at their lowest since 2003 by last winter's freeze. (http://on.wsj.com/1vzXaC7) (Compiled by Supriya Kurane in Bangalore)