Etsuko notes

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CME takes some comfort in CFTC position limit plan

"For the most part, the conditional limits of one-to-one, with the exception of (natural) gas, we are not terribly disappointed with that except with the one product," CME Executive Chairman Terrence Duffy said in an interview.

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RPC Inc shares rise on buyout rumors

Dingmann said the deal would make sense as Patterson has some fracking business and has always said it would like to have more.James Landers, vice president of corporate finance at RPC, declined to comment but said rumors could be the reason for the jump in the company's shares.Shares of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company were trading up 2 percent at $18.27 on the New York Stock Exchange. They had touched $19.91 earlier in the session.

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UPDATE 4-US takes action against execs of failed Calif. bank

* UCB was 9th biggest bank failure during crisisBy Dan Levine and Sarah N. LynchSAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Two former executives of a bank that received a $300 million federal bailout before its collapse during the financial crisis are facing criminal and civil fraud charges for their role in trying to conceal loan losses.Ebrahim Shabudin and Thomas Yu, the former chief operating officer and first vice president respectively at San Francisco-based United Commercial Bank, face four criminal counts, according to an indictment unveiled on Tuesday.The bank's former chief executive, Thomas Wu, faces civil charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as do Shabudin and Yu.UCB, the ninth-largest bank to fail during the financial crisis, catered to California's Asian community and expanded rapidly before regulators closed it in 2009.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also said it is seeking to prohibit 10 former UCB officers from further participation in the banking industry. Three additional officers who cooperated in the investigation consented to prohibition orders, it said.Before his court appearance on Tuesday, Shabudin was led down a hallway in the San Francisco federal courthouse, the last in a line of shackled prisoners. Shabudin was the only detainee in line not wearing a prison jumper.Yu, who appeared in a suit, was not detained during his court appearance.Neither Shabudin nor Yu entered a plea before a U.S. magistrate, and each was released on a $500,000 bond."This is an ongoing criminal investigation," Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Reeves said in court.Shabudin's lawyer James Lassart declined to comment after the court hearing. Yu's lawyer George Cotsirilos Jr. was not immediately available for comment.The SEC complaint alleges that Wu, Shabudin and Yu concealed loan losses from investors, leading the bank to understate its 2008 operating losses by about $65 million.Wu was chief executive of UCB from 1998 through September 2009, the SEC lawsuit said. He appeared in a list of 25 notable Chinese-Americans recognized in Forbes Asia magazine in 2008."Hundreds of banks failed in the financial crisis, and the regulators need to blame someone," Wu's attorney, Steven Bauer, said in a statement. "When the full facts are revealed, Thomas Wu is counting on our justice system to clear his good name."United Commercial Bank received a $298.7 million bailout from the U.S. government in November 2008. One year later, regulators shut down the bank and its operations were taken over by East West Bancorp .None of the TARP funds have been repaid, according to the indictment. The collapse also led to a $2.5 billion loss to the FDIC fund that backs customer deposits.The FDIC cited a lack of management oversight as a primary reason for UCB's failure, according to a 2010 government report.The indictment charges Shabudin and Yu with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, falsifying corporate books and records, and making false statements to the accountants of a public company.Shabudin said in court that he currently works as a consultant for Capco, which provides business and technology advice for the financial services industry. Capco spokeswoman Diana Buxton said in an email that Shabudin has been placed on administrative leave, and that the allegations only relate to Shabudin's former employer.Yu and Shabudin are scheduled to be arraigned in court on Oct. 20.

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Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

** 99 Cents Only Stores said it will be acquired by affiliates of Ares Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for about $22 per share in cash, or $1.6 billion.** Jones Group Inc , a maker of clothing, shoes and accessories, is in talks to sell its stagnatin jeanswear division as it continues to shift its focus to its more profitable luxury brands for up to $400 million.** Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp (SIPC), a wholly-owned unit of state-owned Sinopec Group, has completed the purchase of an 18 percent stake in Chevron Corp's Indonesian deep-water project for $680 million, a Sinopec official told Reuters on Tuesday.** Broadband technology and software provider ARRIS Group Inc said it is to buy BigBand Networks , a video networking service provider, for $2.24 per share in cash -- a premium of 76 percent -- to strengthen its networked video technology capabilities.** Payment processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc said its unit Heartland School Solutions acquired privately held School-Link Technologies Inc, for an undisclosed amount, to expand its market share in the school services payments industry.** Murata Manufacturing Co said on Tuesday it plans to acquire Finland's sensor maker VTI Technologies for 20 billion yen ($261 million), including debt, as it seeks to expand in the growing market for smaller and low-energy sensors.** Eurasian Natural Resources Corp said it plans to buy the outstanding 75 percent of Kazakh coal producer Shubarkol Komir for up to $600 million plus assumed debt of about $50 million.** UK based holding company Chime Communications PLC said it will buy Gulliford Consulting Limited for an initial consideration of 2.5 million pounds ($3.9 million) in a cash and stock deal.

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Deals of the day -- mergers and acquisitions

** 99 Cents Only Stores said it will be acquired by affiliates of Ares Management LLC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for about $22 per share in cash, or $1.6 billion.** Jones Group Inc , a maker of clothing, shoes and accessories, is in talks to sell its stagnatin jeanswear division as it continues to shift its focus to its more profitable luxury brands for up to $400 million.** Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp (SIPC), a wholly-owned unit of state-owned Sinopec Group, has completed the purchase of an 18 percent stake in Chevron Corp's Indonesian deep-water project for $680 million, a Sinopec official told Reuters on Tuesday.** Broadband technology and software provider ARRIS Group Inc said it is to buy BigBand Networks , a video networking service provider, for $2.24 per share in cash -- a premium of 76 percent -- to strengthen its networked video technology capabilities.** Payment processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc said its unit Heartland School Solutions acquired privately held School-Link Technologies Inc, for an undisclosed amount, to expand its market share in the school services payments industry.** Murata Manufacturing Co said on Tuesday it plans to acquire Finland's sensor maker VTI Technologies for 20 billion yen ($261 million), including debt, as it seeks to expand in the growing market for smaller and low-energy sensors.** Eurasian Natural Resources Corp said it plans to buy the outstanding 75 percent of Kazakh coal producer Shubarkol Komir for up to $600 million plus assumed debt of about $50 million.** UK based holding company Chime Communications PLC said it will buy Gulliford Consulting Limited for an initial consideration of 2.5 million pounds ($3.9 million) in a cash and stock deal.

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TEXT-Fitch revises Telecom Italia's otlk to neg from Stable

The Negative Outlook reflects the limited headroom TI has amidst a worsening macroeconomic backdrop which could reduce demand for telecom services and negatively impact TI's domestic revenue and profitability. In addition, any extended period of sovereign weakness could impair the company's access to capital markets to refinancing debt maturities.Any expectation that TI could not keep leverage as measured by unadjusted net debt to EBITDA (excluding Telecom Argentina ) sustainable below 3.0x could result in TI's IDR being downgraded to 'BBB-'. Another key consideration for further negative rating action would be a worsening of the company's domestic business's operating and financial profile."Telecom Italia is at risk from any additional Italian government austerity measures given the limited headroom it has at the current rating level," says Damien Chew, Senior Director in Fitch's European Telecoms, Media and Technology team. "However, Fitch recognises that management has capex flexibility in its domestic fixed business to protect free cash flow generation."TI's current rating is not directly impacted or limited by the Italian sovereign rating. A multi-notch downgrade of the sovereign rating would have to take place before Telecom Italia's rating would be directly impacted. (see "Euro-Zone Sovereign Pressures and Corporates", published April 5, 2011 at www.fitchratings.com).TI's key strength is its strong market position in the domestic fixed line business, which underpins TI's high domestic EBITDA margin and cash flow generation. A lack of cable competition in Italy means that TI has the ability to phase capex as required without significantly impacting its competitive position. This gives TI an important financial lever, in perserving cash flow generation at times when EBITDA comes under pressure, as highlighted in Fitch's recent report (see "Southern European Telecom Capex Flexibility", published Sept. 30, 2011 at www.fitchratings.com).TI can also rely on the growth potential of its mobile operations in Brazil, along with management's disciplined approach to operating costs and capex, to offset the drag from the domestic mobile business.Fitch anticipates leverage - as measured by unadjusted net debt to EBITDA, excluding Telecom Argentina - to reach 3.0x at the end of 2011, after factoring in payments for Italian spectrum (partly deferred), the recently announced Brazilian acquisition, AES Atimus for EUR700m and the TIM Brasil capital increase which resulted in a net cash inflow of EUR200m. Fitch's base case forecasts show leverage reducing moderately to 2.8x by the end of 2013. However, Fitch scenario analysis shows that under certain conditions, TI's leverage could breach the key 3.0x threshold.For the purpose of calculating leverage and credit metrics, Fitch does not take into account the full contribution of Telecom Argentina, where TI has a 21.1% indirect economic interest.Liquidity at TI remains healthy. Excluding cash held at its Brazilian and Argentine subsidiaries, TI had EUR4.2bn of cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet at the end of June 2011 as well as EUR7.8bn undrawn committed facilities. Together, this should allow TI to cover EUR10.4bn of debt maturities until the end of 2013.