Italy - Factors to watch on Oct. 3

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Wednesday.

Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*).

EURO ZONE CRISIS

The euro zone debt crisis is pushing the International Monetary Fund into new, and at times, uncomfortable territory. The global lender is preparing to monitor some of Europe's largest economies possibly without its biggest weapon - money.

* Italy's public debt is sustainable and the average yields paid on new government paper issued so far this year are lower than they were before the crisis, the head of Italy's Debt Management Office said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

* EBA releases on Wednesday its final report on European bank's recapitalisation exercise.

FINMECCANICA , PARMALAT

Italy's Industry Minister Corrado Passera would prefer an Italian bid for the AnsaldoEnergia unit that Finmeccanica SpA has put on the block to restructure its business, but the priority is to ensure growth in the recession-hit country.

* Two of Parmalat's minority shareholders have written to the diary company's board saying the recent $904 million acquisition of Lactalis America Group shows that management is acting exclusively in the interest of the majority shareholder, the FT reported.

POP MILANO

Negotiations with trade unions over the bank's industrial plan, which foresees 700 job redundancies, have been extended until Oct. 19, FABI union said in a statement on Tuesday.

TELECOM ITALIA

Shares of TIM Participações , Brazil's second-largest wireless phone company and affiliate of Telecom Italia, fell nearly 6 percent on Tuesday after a shareholder accused the company of irresponsible accounting.

* GENERALI

The insurer's executive committee is due to meet on Oct. 19 to discuss the group's reorganisation, according to several newspapers.

* RCS

Proto Organization has bought 2.8 percent of RCS Mediagroup through four investors, several newspapers reported.

LUXURY INDUSTRY

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani is taking direct control of his sales business in Britain to improve efficiency in the retail sector, which has become a revenue-spinner for luxury makers amid economic turmoil.

Valentino, the Italian fashion brand recently snapped up by Qatar's royal family, continues to enjoy strong demand and plans a new global expansion phase, with flagship store openings in the works, its head said on Tuesday.

((Milan newsroom, +39 02 6612 9507, fax +39 02 801149, milan.newsroom@news.reuters.com))

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Keywords: ITALY FACTORS/