Newspaper Briefing, including 'ECB stymied on debt crisis without fiscal union'

U.K. government bonds were in demand among nervous investors as Italys embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a crucial budget vote but did nothing to quieten calls for his resignation. December gilt futures settled 24 ticks higher at 130.24, while in the cash market yields on ten-year gilts dipped one basis point to 2.26%.

Bet of the day: The yield on a countrys bonds is a sign of the confidence in its finances. Italys have pushed into danger territory, above the 6.5%, deepening concerns that it would be forced to seek a European bailout.
Deal of the day: Triple Plate Junction, which is prospecting in Papua New Guinea, rose 2.4% to 51/4p, after one of its partners there, Americas Newmont Mining, spent enough to earn a 70% stake in their Morobe joint venture. Newmont committed a further $5 million (3.1 million) to exploration there over the next six months.

Lloyds suffers as families stop paying the mortgage: Britains biggest mortgage lender reported a surprise fourfold increase in losses from families defaulting on their home loans. Lloyds Banking Group, which provides mortgages to one in five British homebuyers, revealed mortgage loan impairments of 416 million for the first nine months, compared with 108 million in the same period of last year.

Asda finally fights back with Netto stores added firepower: Asda is growing more quickly than its rivals for the first time in nearly two years, figures revealed. Britains second-largest supermarket chain has lagged in recent years, but buying Netto stores has helped to make up lost ground, according to Kantar World panel. Its market share grew by 5.1% in the 12 weeks to 30 October, leaving it at 17.2%. That compared with growth of 4.6% in the overall market.

Spain standing by to run trains in Britain: The Spanish national rail company has unveiled ambitious plans to crack the British train market by launching bids for several franchises. Renfe also admitted that it had looked at buying its way into Britain by potentially offering to acquire one of the incumbent operators an admission that indicates it has taken a look at Go-Ahead Group.

Socit Gnrale scraps dividend to meet requirements: Socit Gnrale has scrapped its annual dividend and cut bankers bonuses as it scrambles to raise capital in line with new regulatory requirements. Frances second biggest bank by market capitalisation will also continue to sell assets and slash bonuses in the race to reach a 9% capital ratio by the middle of next year. The announcement came as Socit Gnrale reported a 31% fall in third quarter profits to 622 million (533 million).

Segro sees its future in Europes big cities: Segro is to sell some of its property interests to refocus on areas of higher profit growth. The industrial developer, which specialises in light industrial, logistics and office space, said that it planned to sell more than 1.6 billion of assets in Britain and continental Europe, including the 100 million Farnborough Business Park, within the next three to four years.

Yell debt worries grow as digital division takes off: Yell Groups debt has again caused unease after revenue declined by 12% in the first half of the year. The directories publisher hopes to offset the fall in sales by growing its digital assets but analysts said the company may need to renegotiate the terms of its 2.6 billion debt if its main business continues to decline.

Dublins loss is Londons listing gain: Irelands largest quoted company has quit its main listing in Dublin for London. CRH, which is among Americas biggest building products groups, accounts for about a fifth of the Irish stock exchange and, with a market capitalisation of about 7.7 billion, should go straight into the FTSE 100 at next months reshuffle.

Greek unity government fights over sharing power: Greeces new power-sharing government stalled before it had started as the two main parties struggled to agree to written guarantees demanded by the EU in return for loans needed to avoid bankruptcy.

Vodafone denies deals with taxman: Vodafone launched a robust defence denying claims the taxman let it off a multibillion pound tax bill, saying that it was a good corporate citizen. Andy Halford said: There has not now and never has been a tax bill for 6 billion or 8 billion. There was no sweetheart deal. The deal struck with HM Revenue and Customs was for a bill of about 1.2 billion.

Confidence slumps as economic woes spook businesses: The confidence of businesses has collapsed, according to a new survey of accountants. The U.K. Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) index has fallen from plus 8.1 in the third quarter of this year to minus 9.7 in recent weeks.

DTZ hopes for Aussie buyer: The real estate services firm DTZ said it has selected giant Australian outsourcing group UGL as its preferred buyer, in a move that would create one of the biggest real estate firms in the world.

Nord Stream opens gas tap: After 13 years of planning and two years of construction, the gas started flowing along the Nord Stream pipeline that will deliver Russian gas to an estimated 26 million EU homes.

Hugo Boss raises earnings outlook: Hugo Boss, the German fashion house best known for its mens suits, sharply raised its earnings outlook as it expands its store network and eyes strong growth in China.