Sept 28 (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.

- China's President Xi Jinping sought to mollify concerns about his country's growing power by pledging billions of dollars to fight poverty and gender discrimination during a United Nations meeting. (http://on.wsj.com/1YJh0ZC)

- The clamor for corporate bonds in China is enabling companies like RiseSun Real Estate Development Co to issue debt at the lowest yields in five years. The weak state of China's real-estate market, once a favored investment, has helped divert more funds toward the perceived safety of bonds. (http://on.wsj.com/1VhUZSq)

- Volkswagen AG faces higher financing costs and a strain on its ability to offer loans to boost sales amid an unfolding emissions scandal, which is rippling through all aspects of the auto maker's business. (http://on.wsj.com/1iVeL5k)

- U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are scheduled to hold talks Monday, as their two countries continue to tighten strategic and economic ties in the face of an increasingly assertive China. (http://on.wsj.com/1VhSPST)

- Richard Rainwater, a legendary deal maker who helped turn the Bass brothers of Texas into billionaires and later became one himself, while serving as a mentor to a new generation of investment wizards, died on Sunday at 71. (http://on.wsj.com/1O3SfnI)

- U.S. President Barack Obama is set to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Increasingly complex dynamics in a volatile Middle East will test Obama while he tries to advance his longer-term policy goals on issues such as global development and climate change. (http://on.wsj.com/1OBA3Sa)

- Iraq joined Russia, Iran and Syria in a new agreement to strengthen cooperation against extremist group Islamic State, extending the Kremlin's reach in the Middle East as it rivals Washington for influence. (http://on.wsj.com/1LfRZBi)

- Investors are pulling back from the junk-bond market, in a shift that threatens to slow the global mergers-and-acquisitions boom. United States issuance of high-yield bonds or junk bonds, so far in 2015 has fallen 1.4 percent from a year ago. (http://on.wsj.com/1RaF9mT)

(Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru)