BRIEFCASE AREA GAS PRICES EDGE DOWNWARD.

Byline: - From Staff and Wire Services

The average price of gasoline dipped slightly in Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas of the region this week for the fifth straight week, the Automobile Club of Southern California reported Friday.

The average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline in the Los Angeles area now stands at $1.587 per gallon, 1.9 cents less than last week, 4 cents less than last month and 43 cents less than at this time last year, according to the Auto Club's Weekend Gas Watch.

In San Diego, the price was $1.617 this week, 2.9 cents less than last week, 6 cents less than last month and 40 cents less than last year, the Auto Club reported.

``Motorists shouldn't be too surprised to see a slight upward bump over the Memorial Day holiday next week,'' said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp. ``However, after that we expect prices to be very close to where they are currently.''

Media deal links Pasadena, Paris

PASADENA - Gemstar-TV Guide International and France's Thomson multimedia will broaden their partnership to offer interactive program guides, the companies said Friday.

Under the arrangement, which must still be approved by each firm's board of directors, Thomson will include Gemstar's Guide Plus in its televisions, digital recorders and cable and satellite TV equipment in North America and Europe.

Gemstar, in return, will share an undisclosed amount of revenue with Thomson.

Pasadena-based Gemstar and Thomson, located in Paris, first cooperated on program guides in 1996, but the partnership derailed over various differences.

Daewoo America files bankruptcy

COMPTON - Daewoo Motor America has filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of its South Korean parent last year.

The company said Thursday a group of South Korean banks and government agencies will fund it through the summer so it can keep importing parts to service some 160,000 Daewoo automobiles owned in the United States.

After that, the fate of Daewoo in the United States will be in the hands of General Motors Corp.

The giant U.S. automaker said last month it would pay $251 million for certain assets of Daewoo Motor Co., which went bankrupt last year.

GM will pick up responsibility for maintaining the flow of Daewoo auto parts in the United States after July, said Mike Mahoney, sales operations manager for Daewoo Motor America.

At Daewoo Motor America's headquarters in Compton, about 50 of the company's remaining 60 employees will remain on staff for at least the next two months, Mahoney said. The office once housed as many as 300.

Audit forces firm to restate revenue

SAN JOSE - Computer security firm Network Associates restated its earnings from 1998 to 2000 on Friday, reducing reported profits by about $28 million, after completing an internal probe that uncovered accounting irregularities.

The Santa Clara-based company first announced the investigation in April, a month after disclosing its bookkeeping was also under review by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company's internal audit committee said the restatements stem from inaccurate entries that reclassified amounts from tax liability accounts to the general and administrative liability accounts.

In 2000, payments to a distributor were recorded in a balance sheet tax liability account instead of reducing net revenue.

Schering-Plough must pay big fine

TRENTON, N.J. - Drug maker Schering-Plough will pay the federal government a record fine of at least $500 million as it resolves quality control problems at its New Jersey and Puerto Rico manufacturing plants, the company said Friday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it imposed the biggest fine in its history after the company failed to comply with manufacturing standards despite agency inspectors citing significant, repeated and widespread violations at four plants during inspections dating to 1998.