News in brief: Italy bonds soar on Monti’s resignation, Resolution cuts ties with offshore firm, ENRC takes control of mines in Congo

Italy’s borrowing costs jumped today as nervy investors sold the country’s debt in response to prime minister Mario Monti’s announcement that he will resign after this month’s budget is passed.

Ten-year Italian bond yields rose 25 basis points to 4.8%. Five-year credit default swaps on Italian debt also rose 33 points to 288. Shares in two Italian banks were also briefly suspended from trading after they fell 5% in trading.

Resolution cuts ties with offshore firm

Resolution has bowed to regulatory pressure and cut ties with an offshore advisory firm run by its founder, Clive Cowdery. The owner of Friends Life said it would pay £7.5 million to sever links with Resolution Operations, which ran key management functions. The FSA said the arrangement meant key decision-makers were not accountable to shareholders.

ENRC takes control of mines in Congo

The FTSE 100 Kazakhstan-based miner ENRC has agreed to take full control of a group of copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by acquiring the 49% it doesn’t own in them for $550 million (£343 million). The deal will end its controversial joint venture with Dan Gertler, the Israeli billionaire with close close links to the Congo’s president Joseph Kabila, who has been accused of using his contacts to buy Congelese mining assets on the cheap – accusations he firmly denies.

Shares in ENRC fell by 5.74p to 277.26p.