Jan 30 (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.
* Trouble has been looming over the oil patch since crude prices began falling last summer. But only now are the long-feared effects of a bust starting to ripple through the energy ecosystem. (http://on.wsj.com/1uHDPfg)
* Would-be attackers no longer need to be part of a terror group's rank-and-file to benefit from its resources, according to Western counterterrorism officials and people close to militant networks. (http://on.wsj.com/1ySxu5J)
* Uber Technologies Inc has followed a pugnacious expansion strategy as it rolled into 277 cities around the world, sometimes skirting local laws and daring regulators to stop the smartphone-based car service. (http://on.wsj.com/1uHALzy)
* A surging dollar is pummeling currencies around the globe amid efforts to boost economic growth, prompting a wave of investor bets to profit from the upheaval. (http://on.wsj.com/1uHE9dP)
* A takeover fight between hard-charging rivals over a broker to Wall Street's biggest banks is coming to a head, a showdown that has split the firm's board amid dueling claims about management conflicts and the hostile bidder's motivations.(http://on.wsj.com/1KdQCgD)
* Restaurant chain Shake Shack Inc, known for its burgers and crinkle-cut fries, priced its initial public offering above expectations at $21 apiece late Thursday. (http://on.wsj.com/1Lov7gu)
* Chevron Corp's big-budget exploration projects, conceived during an era of high energy prices, are starting to produce their first barrels of oil as a global glut is making the payoff from such projects less certain. (http://on.wsj.com/1zFOqPh)
* Ally Financial Inc's chief executive Thursday reacted angrily to General Motors Co's decision to squeeze the lender out of a lucrative leasing business and vowed to overcome getting jilted by the firm's former parent. (http://on.wsj.com/1CiwPNu)
* Federal prosecutors in New York said they would drop charges against five men they previously accused of insider trading Thursday, the latest casualty of an appeals court ruling last month that upended the government's ability to bring such charges. (http://on.wsj.com/1vcNMaa)
* Music streaming service Spotify AB is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc on a new round of private fundraising, potentially putting off an initial public stock offering for another year, said people familiar with the matter. (http://on.wsj.com/1BvLmjF)
* The Federal Reserve proposed allowing more small banks to exceed debt limits when financing mergers and acquisitions, implementing a law Congress passed in December. (http://on.wsj.com/1yGgM4H)