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Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

FCC member can break tie

The FCC's general counsel ruled Friday that the agency can break a deadlock in its review of AT&T Inc.'s planned $84 billion purchase of BellSouth Corp. by calling on a fifth commissioner with a potential conflict of interest.

The decision came a week after Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, asked the general counsel to determine whether the public good would be served by allowing the participation of Robert McDowell, a Republican who formerly worked for a group that opposes the deal.

Without McDowell, the vote has been deadlocked at 2-2, with Martin and another Republican appointee favoring the deal, the biggest in U.S. telecommunications history, and the two Democrats demanding that the companies offer additional concessions to ensure that the deal doesn't harm consumers.

EU probe opens on music merger

NEW YORK -- EU regulators on Friday opened an antitrust probe of Universal Music Group's plans to buy BMG Music Publishing for about $2.1 billion, saying the deal could damage ``the already concentrated music publishing market.''

Officials in Brussels announced they would issue a final decision on whether to block or allow the deal by April 27.

BMG -- owned by German media company Bertelsmann AG -- has the rights to more than a million songs by recording artists such as Nelly, Maroon 5 and Coldplay, as well as classic hits by the Beach Boys, Barry Manilow and other entertainers.

Paris-based Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group is the world's largest music company. Its publishing arm controls the rights to songs by artists such as 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Chamillionaire.

If approved, the deal would combine the No. 3 and No. 4 music publishing catalogs, giving them a 22 percent market share and scraping ahead of current market leader EMI.

Barclays' shares up on BofA news

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Shares of Barclays PLC rose more than 4 percent Friday after an investment analyst advised clients that Bank of America Corp. may be interested in bidding for the London-based banking company.

``Bank of America has previously indicated that the next phase of its expansion is to become a leading global commercial and investment bank,'' Merrill Lynch research analyst Edward Najarian wrote in a note to clients Friday. ``In order to achieve that goal, we believe Bank of America is very interested in acquiring Barclays.''

Barclays' U.S. shares rose $2.46, or 4.41 percent, to close at $58.25 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Bank of America shares fell 83 cents, or 1.58 percent, to finish at $51.66.

Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri said it is the bank's policy not to ``comment on market rumor or speculation.''

Barclay's spokesmen in London and New York said the company did not comment on market rumors.

McDonald's stock hits 7-year high

OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Shares in McDonald's Corp. hit a seven-year high Friday after the fast-food chain said November same-store sales rose 6.2 percent, led by impressive growth in Europe.

The company said the U.S. sales increase was driven by more customers coming in for breakfast and late-night meals. Same-store sales, or those from restaurants open at least 13 months, climbed 5.1 percent in McDonald's largest market.

In Europe, strong results in France and Germany helped same-store sales rise 8.4 percent over a year earlier. The company said sales were boosted by demand for premium burgers and UNO and Monopoly promotions.

In the company's Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, same-store sales increased 4.3 percent, boosted by growth in Japan and Australia -- as well as a good showing in China.

House OKs gulf drilling proposal

WASHINGTON -- The House approved oil and gas drilling Friday in a vast area of the Gulf of Mexico south of Florida's Panhandle and agreed to steer hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty payments to Gulf states to restore coastal wetlands and repair hurricane damage.

The drilling provision was attached to a package of popular tax breaks that were approved by a vote of 367-45 as lawmakers scrambled to adjourn the 109th Congress.

The tax legislation, including the drilling provision, was expected to be combined with a trade bill and then sent to the Senate in hopes of prompt approval -- assuming last-minute roadblocks can be avoided in the Senate. It wasn't clear late Friday when the Senate might take up the legislation.

The House bill opens to energy companies 8.3 million acres in the east- central Gulf of Mexico that is currently off-limits to drilling. The Interior Department is required to issue its first leases for the area within a year and tap what is believed to be 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.