An Italian political crisis that has rattled the euro zone deepened on Wednesday when two party leaders ruled out the most likely options to form a government and avoid a new election, Reuters reported. Populist leader Beppe Grillo slammed the door on overtures from centre-left boss Pier Luigi Bersani with a stream of insults while Nichi Vendola, Bersani's junior coalition partner, ruled out a government alliance with the centre-right.

Italy's political parties began testing the waters Tuesday to see whether they could cobble together a government, as the prospect of political stalemate sent European markets tumbling in fear of a reawakened euro-zone debt crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported. Democratic Party chief Pier Luigi Bersani said he would try to form a government in the hope of cobbling together some sort of parliamentary support. Mr. Bersani's center-left coalition will hold a majority of seats in Italy's lower house, but will control about one-third of the seats in the Senate.

Italian voters delivered a rousing anti-austerity message and a strong rebuke to the existing political order in national elections on Monday that threatened to plunge the country into political paralysis after early results failed to produce a clear winner, the International Herald Tribune reported.

Italy voted on Sunday in one of the most unpredictable elections in years, with many voters expressing rage against a discredited elite and doubt that a government will emerge strong enough to combat a severe economic crisis, Reuters reported. "I am pessimistic. Nothing will change," said Luciana Li Mandri, 37, as she cast a ballot in the Sicilian capital Palermo on the first of two days of voting that continues on Monday.

Elisa Dalbosco says she lost her job when it came time for her former employer, a refugee shelter in northern Italy, to either hire her with a permanent contract or let her go. “I have a college degree and it would have cost too much,” said Dalbosco, who at 26 is now unemployed and poised to vote for self-described populist Beppe Grillo in elections on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25. Dalbasco’s disappointment shows why Italy is braced for its biggest political upheaval since 1994.

A judge in Rome has ordered trial for seven former officials in the bankruptcy of Alitalia several years ago when it was still a state-run airline, the Associated Press reported. The present Alitalia began flying in 2009 as a new company owned by a group of Italian investors. The airline's 62 years as a state-run company ended in bankruptcy in 2008. Consumer advocate group Codacons said Tuesday's indictments will allow shareholders of the old Alitalia to seek damages as part of the trial set to begin on June 18.

Monte dei Paschi pumped up its bid for Antonveneta to trump a rival offer from France's BNP Paribas, paving the way for an eventual state bailout of the world's oldest bank and a political furore in Italy over its finances. The new disclosure comes in a report by Italy's financial police and is based on statements from an adviser to the seller, Spain's Santander. Reviewed by Reuters, the document reveals for the first time why Monte dei Paschi may have offered such a high bid for its smaller Padua-based rival and why it did not conduct any due diligence before agreeing the deal.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena, an ancient Tuscan bank whose troubles have shaken Italian politics and caused jitters around the euro zone, on Wednesday confirmed earlier estimates of losses from a series of secret transactions that were used to conceal the scope of the bank’s problems, the International Herald Tribune reported. The bank said its losses from three questionable transactions were 730 million euros (about $985 million), only slightly higher than an estimate in October of a loss of 720 million euros.

Debt-laden Italian yellow pages publisher Seat Pagine Gialle has filed a request in court to be admitted to a procedure aimed at seeking a debt restructuring deal with its creditors, the company said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. "The first step to stabilise the company financially over the long term and guarantee it can continue to operate has been made," Seat PG said in a statement. The application for the so-called "concordato preventivo" - a process similar to Chapter 11 proceedings in the United States - was made with a court in Turin, where Seat is based since its foundation in 1925.

Big-name London hedge funds Odey Asset Management and Egerton Capital are among those upping their bets against Monte dei Paschi di Siena in recent days, after revelations the troubled Italian bank faces heavy losses, Reuters reported. Italy's third-biggest bank is under investigation for an opaque series of derivatives and structured finance contracts between 2007 and 2009 that could cost it 720 million euros.