April 15 (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.
* A Florida eye doctor facing corruption charges with New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted Tuesday on health-care fraud, with prosecutors alleging he cheated the federal Medicare program while receiving payments of $105 million over six years. (http://on.wsj.com/1cuv0CP)
* The Senate cleared a bill to set a new formula for calculating payments to doctors and other providers who treat Medicare patients, representing a rare major bipartisan compromise. (http://on.wsj.com/1CYDWG3)
* Energy companies have announced plans to lay off more than 100,000 workers around the world since crude-oil prices began to tumble last year. (http://on.wsj.com/1b1JKbR)
* China's economy started the year on a downbeat note, with its slowest quarterly growth rate since 2009, pointing to a further loss of momentum for the world's second-largest economy. (http://on.wsj.com/1PKNaiW)
* Morgan Stanley is nearing a deal to sell its oil-trading and storage business, potentially bringing to a close the bank's lengthy effort to jettison the unit. Trading firm Castleton Commodities International LLC has emerged as the leading bidder and is offering more than $1 billion for the business. (http://on.wsj.com/1ypXnMn)
* Christie's will try to make auction history this spring when it asks around $130 million for a reedy bronze figure of a "Pointing Man" by Alberto Giacometti, the highest price tag ever placed on a sculpture headed for auction. (http://on.wsj.com/1FI4ey7)
* Target is close to reaching a settlement with MasterCard to reimburse financial institutions roughly $20 million for costs they incurred from the retailer's massive data breach in 2013. (http://on.wsj.com/1E0TcJb)
* Finnish telecom-equipment maker Nokia is in advanced talks to buy French rival Alcatel-Lucent in a deal that would create a new global networking behemoth. (http://on.wsj.com/1IK1iXQ)
* In one of U.S. government's highest-profile cases tied to the financial crisis, the Securities and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with former Freddie Mac executives that achieved few of the penalties the SEC had sought. (http://on.wsj.com/1FI4ey7)
* Global banking regulators are sounding the alarm that trillions of dollars worth of short-term loans could complicate their efforts to handle a failing financial institution, said people familiar with the talks. The regulators are calling for changes to terms of contracts called repurchase agreements, or repos, and securities-lending agreements. (http://on.wsj.com/1CLSwQU) (Compiled by Supriya Kurane in Bengaluru)