Italy - Factors to watch on December 5

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Friday. Reuters has not verified the newspaper reports, and cannot vouch for their accuracy. New items are marked with (*). For a complete list of diary events in Italy please click on . POLITICS Stanfdard & Poor's is due to revise its ratings on Italy. DEBT The Italian Treasury said on Thursday it would offer 5.5 billion euros ($6.84 billion) of first tranche, 12-month Treasury bills (BOTs) at its regular mid-month auction on Dec. 10. The bill will mature on Dec. 14, 2015. COMPANIES FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Thursday it had launched an expected share sale and a $2.5 billion mandatory convertible bond as it seeks to reduce its mounting debt pile and fund an ambitious five-year investment plan. Automobile production and sales in Brazil slipped in November, suggesting the usual acceleration in year-end demand was not enough to save the market from its biggest drop in 15 years. SAIPEM Italian oil services group Saipem has been notified of the suspension of "marine spread activities", which include pipe-laying operations, as part of the South Stream project. * FINMECCANICA Finmeccanica unit AnsaldoBreda has won a contract worth 250 million euros ($310 million) to maintain the Italian state railways' new fleet of Frecciarossa 1000 high speed trains over the next 10 years. The aerospace and defense group will likely receive a second bid from China's Insigma for the railway assets it has put on sale, daily La Repubblica reported on Friday. GENERALI, ATLANTIA Italian insurer Generali has sold 11.6 million shares in roads and airports group Atlantia in a deal valued at 223.4 million euros ($276 million), two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. * TELECOM ITALIA Italian mobile phone operator Wind, a unit of Russian telecoms group Vimpelcom, is interested in taking a stake in fiber optic network firm Metroweb and could offer in exchange some of the assets owned by its internet and fixed-line operator Infostrada, Wind's Chief Executive Maximo Ibarra told daily La Repubblica on Friday. Ibarra said Metroweb should become a vehicle company owned by all the Italian operators and invest in long-term projects to modernise the country's telecom network. Telecom Italia and the Italian arm of mobile phone group Vodafone have both expressed an interest in buying Metroweb. * BANCA CARIGE, FINNAT Banca Finnat Euramerica has presented an offer for Cesare Ponti, the private bank of Banca Carige, Finnat's CEO said according to some Italian papers. * UNICREDIT Italy's biggest bank by assets will likely ink the sale of its debt collector unit UCCMB on Dec. 29, pocketing around 560 million euros, Il Messaggero reported on Friday. A2A The two main public shareholders of A2A, the cities of Milan and Brescia, have concluded the placement of a 0.25 percent stake each in Italy's biggest regional utility A2A. Two sources close to the two cities have said that in 2015 the two shareholders would proceed to sell another total 4.5 percent stake to a single institutional investor rather than go via an accelerated bookbuilding. Possible buyers could include the Fondo Strategico Italiano or F2i, market rumours suggest. MODELLERIA BRAMBILLA Maker of precision components for the automotive sector, debuts on AIM segment. PRADA Holds board meeting on Q3 results; followed by conference call (1130 GMT). POSTE ITALIANE Italy's Poste Italiane has extended from three to five years a deal under which state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) manages postal savings, securing an important partnership ahead of a planned post office privatisation. 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:...............................