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 (*).
POLITICS
Italy's Senate will hold an open vote next month on whether to expel Silvio Berlusconi from parliament because of a tax fraud conviction after an upper house committee narrowly rejected the fomer prime minister's bid to make the ballot secret.
ECONOMY
National statistics institute ISTAT releases September unemployment data (0900 GMT); October flash CPI and HICP data (1000 GMT); September producer prices data (1100 GMT).
COMPANIES * ENI, ENEL
Russian energy companies Novatek and Gazprom Neft are ready to raise their offer to $4.9 billion and fight Rosneft for gas assets owned by Italy's Eni and Enel, a newspaper reported on Thursday.
CNH INDUSTRIAL
The truck and tractor maker releases Q3 results.
ALITALIA, AIR FRANCE-KLM
The Italian carrier holds a board meeting.
* Alitalia's leading shareholder Air France-KLM has not decided yet whether or not to buy into the Italian carrier's rights issue though none of the conditions set by the French airline for its investment has yet been met, Sole 24 Ore said.
The Italian government wants Air France to subscribe at least partially into the capital increase, the paper said.
* Italian newspaper Il Messaggero said Air France has formally asked to carry out a due diligence of Alitalia, the first step towards a possible acquisition. The issue will be discussed at Alitalia's board meeting on Thursday.
BANKS
Workers at Italian banks go on strike for the first time in 13 years to protest against the country's biggest lenders unilaterally pulling out of a labour contract covering more than 300,000 employees.
BANCA POPOLARE DI MILANO
Italian lender Banca Popolare di Milano said on Thursday it had named board member Davide Croff as interim Chief Executive following the resignation of Piero Montani, who left the Milan bank to head smaller rival Carige.
Italian newspapers said negotiations with Giuseppe Castagna, a banker who is the frontrunner to become the new CEO at Popolare Milano, have stalled.
BANCA CARIGE
The top shareholder of the Genoa-based lender voted on Wednesday to oust its long-standing chairman, Flavio Repetto, two sources close to the matter said. * RCS MEDIAGROUP
The board of the Italian publisher is expected to meet on Thursday on the possible sale of its San Marco and Solferino offices in Milan's glamorous Brera neighbourhood.
BANCA MONTE DEI PASCHI DI SIENA
An Italian judge has rejected a prosecutors' request to seize just under 200 million euros of funds from JP Morgan as part of an investigation into the Tuscan lender's acquisition of a smaller rival, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
* BRUNO MAGLI
British fund Fortelus Capital Management is in exclusive talks with a consortium of South-Korean investors that are interested in buying the Italian fashion brand.
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