Hilco to rescue music retailer HMV in 50 million pound deal - report

(Reuters) - Restructuring specialist Hilco is set to throw British entertainment retailer HMV a lifeline in a 50 million pound deal that will save 2,500 jobs, Sky News reported.

The deal, which could be struck as soon as Friday, will see HMV emerge from administration, Sky News said on its website, with the chain expected to be run by incumbent HMV executives together with newly-appointed Hilco executives.

As part of the deal, Hilco will acquire about 130 HMV stores and all nine outlets operating under the Fopp brand, Sky News said.

Major music companies and film studios, as well as HMV's landlords are understood to be backing the deal, Sky News said.

Hilco has long been seen as the frontrunner to take control of HMV and the restructuring specialist tightened its grip on the company in January, buying up the 92-year-old group's debt soon after it sought creditor protection.

It has also been appointed to help administrators Deloitte run the business during the administration.

HMV's business of selling CDs, DVDs and video games has struggled in declining markets and amid increasing competition from supermarkets and online retailers such as Amazon.Com Inc.

Hilco and Deloitte could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore; editing by Andrew Hay)

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BP to go ahead with $500 million North Sea investment

By Sarah Young

LONDON (Reuters) - British Oil major BP is to proceed with a $500 million (330.4 million pounds)-plus investment plan in the remote Shetland Islands, another shot in the arm for North Sea oil.

Though North Sea production has fallen by about two thirds since 2000 and a surprise tax increase in 2011 led to dire predictions about the region's future, industry body Oil & Gas UK in February forecast a pick-up in production from 2014, fuelled by a surge in investment.

The new investment by BP could bring a huge add-on project at its Clair field and will be welcomed by a British government eager to slow the decline in North Sea production after dramatic falls in the past two years undermined attempts to kickstart growth.

BP said on Thursday that it will drill at least five appraisal wells in the giant Clair field off the west coast of the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland, to discover whether it is worth further development.

BP and its Clair partners, fellow oil majors Shell, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, in 2011 said they were investing 4.5 billion pounds in a second phase of development for the field, which first started pumping oil in 2005.

"If successful, the appraisal programme could pave the way for a third phase of development at Clair - this is now a real possibility," BP's North Sea regional president Trevor Garlick said in a statement.

Big oil companies have looked beyond the North Sea in recent years, favouring new oil provinces with more potential, but the rich geology of the areas around the Shetland Islands have kept them hooked.

BP's plan for Clair follows other recent new investments in the North Sea, including a $7 billion project announced by Norway's Statoil in December and a 1.6 billion pound investment by Canada's Talisman Energy two months earlier.

BP, which has the biggest stake in Clair at nearly 29 percent, said that it has already started drilling the first appraisal well and it could complete up to 12 wells over two years, depending on the results of the first wells.

(Editing by David Goodman)

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Hotel Contracts for Biden Trip to London, Paris Totaled $1 Million

Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Europe last month led to a hefty tab with over $1 million for hotels for himself, staff and security for two nights in London and Paris, government documents show.

As first reported by The Weekly Standard, documents show that the U.S. State Department obtained contracts with two five-star hotels in London and Paris where the vice president stayed for two nights during a five-day tour of Europe last month.

One contract was awarded to the Hyatt Regency London for a total of $459,338.65 while another went to the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand for $585,000.50

While the figure may be eye-popping, a State Department official said these costs are par for the course in high-level international trips as they also include accommodations for staff, security details and military personnel.

"These costs are nothing out of the ordinary. They are in line with high-level travel across multiple administrations," the State Department official said. "The contract costs cover the entire range of support, including accommodations for military, communications, secret service staff, and other support professionals. Security experts are also required to travel in advance of the president or vice president. Safety and security are not negotiable."

A 1999 GAO report showed that trips President Bill Clinton took to Africa, Chile and China in 1998 cost $42.8 million, $10.5 million and $18.8 million, respectively - adding up to over $72 million. There were 1302 travelers to Africa, while 592 and 510 people were on the trips to Chile and China, respectively.

The White House normally does not disclose the amount paid for the vice president and president's travel. Last year, an Air Force official told ABC News that one hour of flying time aboard Air Force One totaled $179,750 in FY2012.

White House press secretary Jay Carney would not reveal how much the president's day trip to Illinois earlier this month would cost when asked about it by ABC News' White House correspondent Jonathan Karl.

"I don't have a figure on the cost of presidential travel. It is obviously something, as every president deals with because of security and staff, a significant undertaking," Carney said. "But the president has to travel around the country. He has to travel around the world. That is part of his job."

In an interview during the campaign last year, President Obama said the decisions about travel are not up to him when he was asked if he was out of touch with ordinary Americans when his family is "jetting around" on Air Force One.

"The fact of the matter is, I think if you look at my track record, I'm raising a family here. When we travel, we got to travel through Secret Service, and Air Force One, that's not my choice. I think most folks understand how hard I work and how hard this administration is working on behalf of the American people," Obama told KMOV of St Louis.

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