Europe

Financial News

EasyJet Faces Increased `Pressure' From Oil Prices, Chief Harrison Says EasyJet Plc, Europe's second-biggest low-cost airline, is under pressure from rising oil costs and is already buying contracts for jet fuel at ``a much higher'' price for next year, Chief Executive Officer Andy Harrison said.

Deutsche Telekom May Post Fourth-Quarter Profit on Wireless Unit, Job Cuts Deutsche Telekom AG, Europe's largest telephone company, will probably post its highest quarterly profit in a year after job cuts in Germany reduced expenses and the T-Mobile wireless unit added customers.

ASM, Daimler, Gaz de France, Henkel, Holcim, PPR: European Equity Preview The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in Europe. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names, and prices are from the last close.

Early Easter Holiday Will Add to Pressure on British Retailers, Green Says An early Easter holiday this year will add to pressure on British retailers already burdened by a slowdown in consumer spending, according to Philip Green, the billionaire owner of the U.K.'s Arcadia Group Ltd.

Gazprom Threatens to Cut Ukraine Gas Supplies March 3 If No Debt Agreement OAO Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas exporter, threatened to cut supplies of the fuel to Ukraine March 3 if an accord on the repayment of debt isn't signed by next week.

ProSiebenSat.1 Rises Most Since 2005 After Merrill Lynch Recommends Stock ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, Germany's biggest private broadcaster, rose the most in more than three years in Frankfurt trading after Merrill Lynch & Co. added the stock to a recommendation list.

Only Italians Can Call It Parmesan Cheese, European Court of Justice Rules Only Italians can market cheese under the name Parmesan, Europe's highest court ruled, rejecting a bid by Germans to use the name for their own versions of the crumbly cheese often used as a pasta topping.

General News

Medvedev May Tap Leningrad Law Grads, Gazprom Comrades to Build Power Base After becoming Russia's president eight years ago, Vladimir Putin consolidated power by salting the government with former colleagues from the Soviet-era KGB spy agency and the St. Petersburg mayor's office.

DNA Database Helps U.K. Police Catch Killers, Sparks Civil-Rights Dispute Mark Dixie and Steve Wright, both jailed in U.K. murder cases last week, have something else in common: the country's DNA database helped secure their convictions.

Puppet Picked as Ireland's `Eurovision' Song Bird, Angering Past Winners Bono who? A glove-puppet called ``Dustin the Turkey'' is ruffling feathers as Ireland's newest rock star.