Jan 2 (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.
- Playboy Enterprises Inc's controlling shareholder - private-equity firm Rizvi Traverse - is in talks to acquire the 35 percent stake Hugh Hefner left in trust to his heirs. The company says it is doubling down on efforts to make money from brand partnerships and licensing deals built around the Playboy name, ethos and bunny logo, with increasingly less focus on its editorial roots. http://on.wsj.com/2CqDRqV
- UC Browser, a mobile browser rarely used in the West has outflanked Google's GOOGL.O Chrome in some of Asia's fastest-growing markets, giving owner Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd BABA.N an advantage in the race among technology giants to capture the next generation of internet users. http://on.wsj.com/2CqSJWg
- A handful of Canadian miners, including Vale SA VALE3.SA and Sherritt International Corp S.TO , are ramping up operations to mine cobalt, betting on demand for a socially responsible source of the metal that is in high demand as a key component of electric cars. http://on.wsj.com/2CpzKv1
- "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" became the highest-grossing movie of 2017 this weekend having collected an estimated $533 million in the United States and Canada so far, giving Walt Disney Co DIS.N another banner year at the box office that left rival studios fighting for leftovers. http://on.wsj.com/2A3pm5X