Sept 18 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in

the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and

does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- US delays decision on Nippon Steel's ( NISTF ) $15bn takeover of US

Steel

- EU competition chief warns against weakening rules to

create champions

- Guardian in talks to sell the Observer newspaper to

Tortoise Media

- UK plans shake-up of welfare system to tackle working-age

inactivity

Overview

- The US government has extended its national security

review of Nippon Steel's ( NISTF ) proposed $15 billion

acquisition of US Steel, in a surprise move given that the

deal had been opposed by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

- The EU risks opening a "Pandora's box" by loosening its

merger rules, Brussels' outgoing competition chief Margrethe

Vestager has warned, after her successor was appointed with a

brief to be "more supportive of companies scaling up".

- Britain's Guardian Media Group is in exclusive talks to

sell The Observer, the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, to

start-up Tortoise Media.

- UK jobcentres will spend less time policing the benefits

system and more time helping people to find work, under

government reforms aimed at raising the employment rate to the

highest in the G7.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)