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Italy - Factors to watch on May 20

The following factors could affect Italian markets on Monday.

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

POLITICS

Thousands of people protested in Rome on Saturday against austerity policies and high unemployment, urging new Prime Minister Enrico Letta to focus on creating jobs to help pull the country out of recession.

ECONOMY

Statistics body ISTAT releases March industrial orders and sales at 0800 GMT.

ITALY DEBT

Italy's stronger public finances are one of the main reasons for keeping its sovereign debt rating one notch above that of Spain, ratings agency Moody's Investors Service said.

* STOCK MARKET

A large number of companies trading ex-dividend is expected to knock between 1.5 and 1.6 percent off Milan's main FTSE Mib on Monday or between 240 and 280 index points, according to analysts' estimates.

Eni, Saipem, Snam, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit and Generali are among the shares to trade ex-dividend.

TELECOM ITALIA

It is not clear if a plan to spin off the group's fixed-line network will be approved at a board meeting on May 23 though it is very likely more time will be taken so that shareholders can examine details of the plan that will be presented by chairman Franco Bernabe, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Sunday.

PIRELLI, CAMFIN

Industrial and financial investors are in talks to buy a stake in Camfin, a holding company that controls tyremaker Pirelli, key investor Marco Tronchetti Provera said on Friday.

Banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo together with fund Clessidra could form a newco and, with Tronchetti Provera, launch a bid on Camfin to simplify the chain of command of the group, Corriere della Sera said on Saturday.

IMPREGILO

A consortium led by Impregilo has won a contract worth around 1.7 billion euros to build a metro line in Doha, Qatar, Impregilo said in a statement on Friday.

Builder Salini, which controls Impregilo after a tender offer, said it had completed work to restore a market float big enough to ensure regular trading of Impregilo shares, leaving it with 89.7 percent of the company, Salini said on Friday

FINMECCANICA

The government could decide to trigger the fall of the whole board of Finmeccanica and have a new board appointed, Il Messaggero said on Saturday without citing sources. On Sunday the same paper said former police chief Gianni De Gennaro was a leading candidate for the position of chairman while Alessandro Pansa could be confirmed in his role as CEO.

UNICREDIT

The lender is the only Italian bank with "European bases" and so is the point of entry for big international investors in Italy, UniCredit's deputy managing director and investment bank head Jean Pierre Mustier said in an interview in Sunday's Il Sole 24 Ore.

SARAS, ROSNEFT

The refiner said on Friday market regulator Consob had approved the offer document for the bid by Russia's Rosneft on 7.3 percent of Saras capital at 1.37 euros per share.

VERSACE

Qatar Holding and an Italian state-controlled investment fund are interested in investing in Italian fashion house Versace, Il Sole 24 Ore said on Saturday.

RCS MEDIAGROUP

Giampiero Pesenti has decided to resign as president of the shareholders pact of RCS after nine years, several newspapers said on Saturday, confirming what a source told Reuters on Friday.

PRELIOS

Shares in the company are the object of a reverse stock split.

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...... <IT-LEN>

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