EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the nine things you need to know with your morning coffee…

1. #BYE BYE SILVIO: Talks to form a new government will begin in Italy this morning following Silvio Berlusconi’s much-celebrated resignation last night. European Commissioner Mario Monti is still the favourite to become the new prime minister tasked with steering Rome from the brink of a bailout.

2. #LONE PARENTS: The Sunday Times reports that the Social Protection Minister is considering cuts to the €1.1 billion One Parent Family payments by changing the qualifying age of the child from 14 to seven. The move would encourage single parents to return to work, says Joan Burton.

3. #POST-GRADS: There will be no grants or maintenance provided to new postgraduate students next year, according to The Sunday Business Post. In a move that will save the Department Education about €50 million per year the Government is to get rid of all financial support for such students.

4. #CARDIFF: Kevin Cardiff – the man widely blamed for that €3.6 billion accounting error – will appear before a committee on November 23 to confirm his appointment to the European Court of Auditors, this morning’s papers report. However, there will be some opposition from MEPs who are concerned about the appointment given last week’s controversy.

5. #UNSOLVED: A secret file prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions about the 1996 murder Sophie Toscan du Plantier casts doubts about the credibility of a witness who put prime suspect Ian Bailey at the scene of the crime, reports the Sunday Independent. The Attorney-General has come under criticism from Bailey’s lawyers and French authorities for not making the documents available earlier.

6. #MORTGAGES: As Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank come under pressure to pass on the ECB’s recent interest rate cut, it has emerged that more than one in ten home loans held by Ireland’s banks are missing key documents. The SBP reports that this could cause problems for the Central Bank’s analysis, as well as complicating any future need to take security on the mortgages.

7. #HORSE MEAT: Could you eat a horse steak? According to the Sunday Independent they may become more commonplace soon as Ireland’s population of unwanted horses grow. This year, 7,000 thoroughbred foals will be born but only 3,500 will make it to track – the remaining 3,500 will be slaughtered.

8. #NOT SO SWEET SMELLING: A strip club in Cape Town in South Africa has launched its own range of men’s fragrances that offer “excuse aromas” to its customers. “My Car Broke Down” smells like fuel and burnt rubber, while “Working Late” gives off a whiff of cigarettes, coffee and ink. The brand name? Alibis.

9. #ELECTRIC FACTOR: Fans of the X-Factor were disappointed last night as the Saturday night show was delayed because of “technical difficulties outside of its control”. All manner of reasons why the show could have been 15 minutes late appeared on Twitterland. Even the folk over in the London studio had some fun trying to control the jokes about ousted contestant Frankie Cocozza: