Europe

Financial News

Ukraine Says Russia Severs Gas Supplies as Dispute Worsens, Europe Freezes Russian natural gas exports through Ukraine to Europe halted for the first time in three years, threatening to create shortages as freezing weather spurred demand for power.

European Stocks Fall, Ending Six-Day Rally; Man Group, Commerzbank Decline European stocks retreated for the first time in seven days on speculation deteriorating earnings will overshadow government efforts to revive the global economy. U.S. index futures fell, while shares in Asia advanced.

Producer Prices in Europe Drop the Most in 27 Years as Price of Oil Falls European producer prices fell the most in 27 years in November as oil prices declined, an indication inflation will slow further and give the European Central Bank more scope to cut interest rates.

German Unemployment Rises for First Time in Three Years as Slump Deepens German unemployment rose for the first time in almost three years in December as the labor market caught up with an economy that shrank during most of 2008.

U.K. `Fast Fashion' Clothiers to Weather Slump Better Than U.S., WGSN Says U.K. clothes retailers are better positioned than U.S. chains to weather a spending slump because they take less time to get collections from the design stage to store shelves, fashion forecaster WGSN said.

Europe Rally May Fizzle as Stocks Succumb to Profit Drop, Strategists Say The best start for European stocks in at least two decades will give way to losses as slumping corporate profits send equities to new lows, the biggest securities firms say.

Marks & Spencer to Cut 1,230 Jobs; Holiday Sales Fall Less Than Estimated Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Britain’s largest clothing retailer, reported the steepest sales decline in at least nine years and will cut 1,230 jobs by closing stores and eliminating positions at its head office.

Iliad, France Telecom CEOs Press Senators to Cut `Absurd' Public TV Taxes France Telecom SA, Vivendi SA and Iliad SA are pressing French lawmakers to cut a proposed tax on phone and Internet providers, threatening to raise prices for consumers in the middle of the recession.

General News

Abbas Enrages West Bank Palestinians With Balancing Act Over Gaza Invasion Police in the West Bank town of Ramallah wear camouflage fatigues and carry M-16 rifles as they walk the streets on high alert -- against other Palestinians.

Measles Spread in European Children as Parents Shun Vaccine, Study Finds More than 12,000 Europeans, mostly children, contracted measles in the past two years as parents shunned vaccinations, casting doubt on public health efforts to eradicate the infectious disease by 2010, researchers said.

Merckle Paid `Terrible Price' of Suicide as Strategy Foundered on Bad Bets In December, German billionaire Adolf Merckle gave a rare interview to defend his failing investment strategy.

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