Italy - Factors to watch on October 2
(Adds items) The following factors could affect Italian markets on Thursday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). ECONOMY Italy posted a state sector budget deficit of 18.1 billion euros ($22.8 billion) in September compared with a deficit of 14.9 billion euros in September 2013, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday. Investors loading up on some of the euro zone's riskiest government bonds, such as Italy's and Spain's, on expectations that the European Central Bank will buy them are making a mistake, BlackRock's head of European and global bonds said on Wednesday. COMPANIES FIAT-CHRYSLER * The group said it remained convinced that a tax concession that Luxembourg authorities granted to one of its subsidiaries was legitimate. It said the potential financial impact for the group of a European investigation into the agremeent was not significant. CEO Sergio Marchionne holds news conferences at the international car show in Paris. New car sales in Italy, Europe's fourth-largest car market, rose 3.27 percent in September from the same month a year ago, Italy's transport ministry said on Wednesday. Fiat's share of the Italian market was 27.69 percent in September, compared with 27.59 percent in August. Fiat Chrysler said on Wednesday its Renegade Jeep drew 200 orders during the first weekend of launch, when around 20,000 clients visited dealers of the brand to see the new model. * MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA U.S. fund Apollo and Deutsche Bank have been shortlisted for the possible purchase of Consum.it, the Tuscan bank consumer credit unit, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Thursday. * GENERALI Foreign investments funds which have stake sin the insurer are opposed to the reinstatement on Generali's board of former ENI CEO Paolo Scaroni, La Repubblica said. * FINMECCANICA Japan's Hitachi and China CNR are two finalists for purchase of railroad businesses of Finmeccanica, according to Japanese financial daily Nikkei. It said Finmeccanica will select by end of October the buyer for its Ansaldo STS and Ansaldo Breda transport units. GTECH The Italian gaming group on Wednesday announced a plan to buy back shares for up to 9.5 percent of its capital. In a statement the group said its board had also approved its planned cross-border merger of GTECH into Georgia Worldwide plc. WORLD DUTY FREE Holds board meeting to discuss the planned departure of its CEO. The board will be followed by a conference call. TOD'S, PRADA Italian luxury group Prada said on Wednesday it was monitoring unrest in Hong Kong on a hourly basis and closing shops early when necessary. Domestic rival Tod's also said its Hong Kong shops located in the Landmark and Pacific Place shopping malls had closed one hour early on Sunday and Monday, in line with guidance issued by the malls. For Italian market data and news, click on codes in brackets: 20 biggest gainers (in percentage)............ 20 biggest losers (in percentage)............. FTSE IT allshare index FTSE Mib index........ FTSE Allstars index... FTSE Mid Cap index.... Block trades.......... Stories on Italy...... For pan-European market data and news, click on codes in brackets: European Equities speed guide................... FTSEurofirst 300 index.............................. DJ STOXX index...................................... Top 10 STOXX sectors........................... Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors...................... Top 10 Eurofirst 300 sectors................... Top 25 European pct gainers....................... Top 25 European pct losers........................ Main stock markets: Dow Jones............... Wall Street report ..... Nikkei 225............. Tokyo report............ FTSE 100............... London report........... Xetra DAX............. Frankfurt market stories CAC-40................. Paris market stories... World Indices..................................... Reuters survey of world bourse outlook......... Western European IPO diary.......................... European Asset Allocation........................ Reuters News at a Glance: Equities............... Main currency report:...............................
