NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley was quick to dismiss suggestions its status as the king of initial public offerings for Silicon Valley was under threat because of the botched Facebook Inc IPO last month. And that confidence may be warranted.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Wednesday but the euro was capped as investors concluded a European summit this week will fail to take concrete action to resolve the euro zone debt crisis, with Germany staunchly opposed to sharing the region's debt burden.

LONDON (Reuters) - Perhaps the biggest investor shock of the second half of 2012 would be if everything turns out OK and the world doesn't fall apart at the seams.

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five of the biggest banks in the United States are putting finishing touches on plans for going out of business as part of government-mandated contingency planning that could push them to untangle their complex operations.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, on Wednesday defended retaining his predecessor, Howard Stringer, as chairman of the board and promised his turnaround strategy will save Japan's troubled consumer electronics giant.

LONDON (Reuters) - Commodities trader Glencore , scrambling to save its $30 billion offer for miner Xstrata , is expected to sweeten its bid in order to seal the deal, after key shareholder Qatar said it could oppose the takeover on current terms.

(Reuters) - Quest Software Inc has received an improved bid from Dell Inc to buy the maker of enterprise management software for about $2.32 billion, a source close to the matter said on Monday.

(Reuters) - Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp and Encana Corp tumbled Monday after a Reuters investigation showed that top executives of the two rivals plotted in 2010 to avoid bidding against each other in a state auction and in at least nine prospective deals with private land owners.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded the long-term debt and deposit ratings for 28 Spanish banks and two issuer ratings, following on the heels of a cut to Spain's sovereign rating to just above junk status earlier this month.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp agreed to buy online social network firm Yammer Inc for $1.2 billion in cash, which will allow the software company to offer a service like Facebook Inc's to corporate customers.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A new wave of automated hacking of online bank accounts might have stolen $78 million in the past year from customers in Europe, Latin America and the United States, according to researchers who peered into the computers of the hacking gangs.

(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp reported a leak in a supply line on the T1 tower at its 502,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, that led to a release of benzene, according to a filing with the National Response Center.