JELSA, Croatia - Does Croatia's Prosek jeopardize Italy's Prosecco? Croatia is gearing up to celebrate its entry into the EU, but don't pop the corks just yet. A heated trademark battle over the country's beloved sweet dessert wine has some feeling less than bubbly, mirroring rapidly declining enthusiasm among Croats for membership in the economically battered bloc.

By Paul Casciato LONDON (Reuters) - More than half of British consumers refuse to spend money unless it is "absolutely necessary" in a weak economy, with prosecco now more likely to mark a special occasion than champagne, according a new consumer trend report released on Friday. Global research firm Mintel's annual "British Lifestyles" report said one day after the country skirted a "triple dip" recession that consumers have made paying their bills and saving for a rainy day their top priorities.

The party was just getting started at a plush club in this teeming Nigerian city, hip-hop blaring, the bar bathed in blue light -- and champagne bottles on ice already adorning tables. "Too much oil money," said a 40-year-old man at Rhapsody's in the high-end Victoria Island district of Lagos, when asked about Nigerian spending on champagne. Two bottles of Laurent-Perrier chilled in ice buckets on the table in front of him. His company was picking up the tab, like others here, he said, declining to give his name or say what he did for a living.

A New York jury on Friday awarded $12 million in damages to a US billionaire, who said he had been defrauded when he paid thousands of dollars for supposedly vintage wine that turned out to be fake. John Hueston, a lawyer for Florida energy executive Bill Koch, confirmed the award to AFP, saying his client was very pleased with the outcome.