The European Central Bank and Germany firmly rejected calls from euro-zone politicians to bail out Italy and other struggling euro members by intervening massively in bond markets, insisting that the central bank's credibility rests on its political independence and focus on fighting inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Greece's new prime minister headed to Brussels on Sunday to fight for the aid Athens needs to avoid bankruptcy, even as one of his coalition backers refused to give a written pledge to support reforms and a public sector union geared up for strikes, Reuters reported Sunday. Lucas Papademos must convince the International Monetary Fund and the European Union to give Greece the 8 billion euros it needs to avoid a mid-December default, but the conservative New Democracy party has refused to meet their most basic demand.

The British government has agreed to sell Northern Rock, the failed mortgage lender it nationalised in 2008, to Virgin Money, the banking arm of Richard Branson's Virgin empire, the Irish Times reported. Northern Rock, the first banking asset bought by the government during the financial crisis to be offloaded, will fetch between £747 million and £1 billion (€1.16 billion) in cash, the finance ministry said today. Even at the upper end that would mean a £400 million loss on the £1.4 billion in equity pumped into the lender by taxpayers at the height of the credit crunch.

The International Monetary Fund is inserting itself more forcefully into Europe's efforts to resolve its debt crisis, hoping to stem a contagion that is spreading worldwide and threatening global growth, Reuters reported. Uncertainty is turning into frustration and near-panic among policymakers outside Europe as larger European economies such as Italy, Spain and France come under attack by financial markets and bank funding stresses worsen.

David Cameron will be warned that he risks creating an unstoppable momentum behind a "two-speed Europe", which would be dominated by France and Germany, if Britain demands too many concessions during the eurozone crisis, The Guardian reported. In a series of meetings in Berlin and Brussels, the prime minister will be advised that Britain should table modest proposals next year when EU leaders embark on a small treaty revision to underpin the euro. Cameron will have breakfast in Brussels with José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European commission.

The problems facing the global shipping industry continued on Thursday as Danish oil tanker operator Torm postponed an equity rights issue as it tried to renegotiate its debt repayment schedule with banks, the Financial Times reported. The company, which is majority owned by the Greek Panayotides shipping family, also unveiled an unexpectedly deep third-quarter net loss of $70.4m. The worldwide oversupply of ships has pushed the industry into its worst financial crisis in decades, with earnings well below operating expenses in many markets pushing companies into heavy losses.

The eurozone’s six triple A rated countries should have greater say in economic affairs within the single currency and act as its inner “core”, Finland’s Europe minister will on Thursday argue, the latest sign that a small subset of countries are attempting to band together to set new rules for the euro, the Financial Times reported. Alex Stubb said in an interview he did not believe new institutions should be created to give the triple A countries more power.

The row between France and Germany over whether to use the European Central Bank to rescue the eurozone has intensified, further shattering international confidence that a solution can be found to the escalating debt crisis, The Guardian reported. On a day when the US president, Barack Obama, accused the eurozone of suffering from a "problem of political will", Paris and Berlin clashed over whether the ECB should be called on to do more to bail out countries that are struggling to borrow.

Lithuania’s banking regulator said hundreds of millions of dollars in assets may be missing from Bankas Snoras AB after the government took over the Baltic nation’s fifth-biggest lender on concern it may be insolvent, Bloomberg reported. More than 1 billion litai ($392 million) of assets may be unaccounted for, central bank Governor Vitas Vasiliauskas told reporters yesterday in the capital, Vilnius. Snoras’s operations were halted until Nov. 21 and a state administrator appointed after the lender ignored recommendations to reduce its credit risk, the regulator said in a statement.

Banks acting as primary dealers of Italian debt are growing uncomfortable with their obligation to buy at bond auctions as the euro zone crisis worsens, increasing the risk that Italy fails to raise enough cash to stay afloat, Reuters reported in an analysis. Since October, Italy's borrowing costs have risen to levels deemed unsustainable, making long-term investors reluctant to buy and increasing the risk that the banks able to bid at auctions are left holding a rapidly depreciating stock of bonds. Borrowing via debt auctions is vital if governments are to cover their budget deficits.