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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - At least a half-dozen major U.S. companies whose computers have been infiltrated by cyber criminals or international spies have not admitted to the incidents despite new guidance from securities regulators urging such disclosures.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States, European governments and Arab states have begun discussing the possibility of exile for Bashar al-Assad despite skepticism the defiant Syrian president is ready to consider such an offer, Western officials said on Wednesday.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Josef Ackermann's reign at Deutsche Bank ended in a surprise quarterly loss on Thursday, with the bank hit by a downturn in bond trading due to the euro zone crisis and writedowns on holdings in drug and gambling companies.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Ailing Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp warned it was heading for a bigger-than-expected $2.9 billion annual loss, presenting a daunting task for incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai, who vowed to move quickly to turn things around.

Dr Josef Ackermann, the head of Germany's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, warns of a "social time bomb" from wealth and income inequality

KABUL (Reuters) - Among the snippets in a secret NATO report detailing the hopes of jailed Taliban militants to retake Afghanistan was news the Islamist movement had set up telephone hotlines for Afghans to report anonymously on failures of its shadow government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell more than expected last week, pointing to more healing in the nation's battered jobs market.

Drugs firm AstraZeneca announces a further 7,300 job cuts over the next two years as part of a new restructuring programme.

Premier Wen Jiabao says Beijing is "considering" contributing to European rescue funds, during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Mining group Xstrata and commodities trader Glencore are in talks over an all-share merger that could create a combined group worth more than 50 billion pounds ($79 billion), shaking up the industry with its biggest deal to date.

Even a watered-down U.N. Security Council resolution will put pressure on the Syrian government, Arab League Secretary General Nabil el-Araby told CNN Thursday, ahead of renewed talks at the United Nations.

BRUSSELS/KABUL (Reuters) - The United States took Kabul by surprise by laying out plans to end its Afghan combat role earlier than expected, just after the leak of a secret report that the Taliban is confident of regaining control of the country.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook unveiled plans for the biggest ever Internet IPO that could raise as much as $10 billion, but made it clear CEO Mark Zuckerberg will exercise almost complete control over the company, leaving investors with little say.

Another 29 people have died in Ukraine and Poland as temperatures in parts of Europe fall below -30C (-22F).

An advertising agency for BMW pays to name Europe's cold weather "Cooper" in Germany, after the firm's Mini Cooper car, but the stunt backfires.

Daniel Treisman says Russia has strategic, business and political reasons for blocking U.N. action against Syria

A German pensioner finally tastes some American lard imported 64 years ago, having got approval from food safety experts.

Euro MPs voice alarm after two men are arrested in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus under a British-era law criminalising gay sex.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China is considering increasing its participation in the rescue funds aimed at resolving the European debt crisis, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told journalists on Thursday.

Pakistan's Supreme Court summoned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to appear February 13 to be charged with contempt of court, his lawyer said Thursday.