BRIEFCASE U.S. SALES RISING FOR LIGHT VEHICLES.

Byline: - From staff and wire reports

AGOURA HILLS - April sales of U.S. light vehicles are running 9.4 percent above sales for the same month last year, according to J.D. Power and Associates.

New light-vehicle sales in April are projected to reach a 17.5 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, based on Power Information Network retail sales data from the first two weeks of the month. Light-vehicle sales in April 2001 came in at a 16.6 million SAAR.

With steady volume during the first two weeks of the month, April sales are expected to reach 1.45 million units compared with 1.35 million units in April of 2001.

Hostile takeover of TRW staved off

CLEVELAND - A federal court judge on Thursday granted TRW Inc.'s request to delay a special shareholders' meeting that defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. planned for Monday in an attempt to advance a $6.7 billion hostile takeover.

U.S. District Judge John Manos ordered that the meeting be delayed until May 3 but did not immediately make the order official in case there would be an appeal.

Al Myers, director of Northrop Grumman's mergers and acquisitions group, said Thursday that the Century City-based defense contractor would like to conduct the meeting Monday at a conference center in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Heights.

He expects Northrop Grumman lawyers will challenge the order today but was not certain whether an appeal would be made directly to Manos.

New executive VP at cable channel

A new top executive will try to turn around the fortunes of cable channel VH1, which has been struggling to find viewers.

Christina Norman was named executive vice president and general manager Thursday, moving over from an executive post at more-successful sister channel MTV.

The appointment was announced by Judy McGrath, president of MTV Networks Music Group. Norman will be based in New York and will report to McGrath.

While MTV basks in the glory of the new hit series ``The Osbournes,'' VH1 has been in a slump. It averaged 198,000 viewers for the first three months of the year, down markedly from its 252,000 average a year earlier, according to Nielsen Media Research.

VH1's big shows, such as ``Behind the Music,'' have been on for several years and have lost their freshness. In a statement, McGrath said she will work closely with Norman to develop VH1's programming strategy.

Yodeler for Yahoo sues on song use

The yodeler for Yahoo commercials sued the Internet company in federal court today, claiming Yahoo is violating his copyright to a song by using the tune in thousands of advertisements.

No one at Sunnyvale, Wash.-based Yahoo could be reached for comment on the allegation.

Wylie Gustafson of Lacrosse, Wash., claims an audio production company asked him to record ``Wylie's Yahoo Yodel'' and other versions in 1996. He copyrighted the song on Feb. 7 this year, according to the suit.

Gustafson was paid $590 for performing the yodel and received another $590 after his yodel was used in a Yahoo commercial during the Super Bowl in January 1999, according to the suit.

But since then, Yahoo reportedly has used his yodel in advertisements without his consent. Gustafson seeks at least $5 million in damages and a court order barring Yahoo from using his yodel.

It was unclear why the suit was filed in Los Angeles.

Vivendi to sell off its publishing unit

PARIS - Moving to shore up its sagging stock, Vivendi Universal said Thursday it had reached an agreement to sell its business and health publishing unit on terms that will reduce Vivendi's debt by 1 billion euros ($890 million).

The deal comes as Vivendi's beleaguered chief executive, Jean-Marie Messier, worked to overhaul the company's money-losing pay-television unit, Canal Plus. On Wednesday, the network's executive board formally dismissed the popular director of Canal Plus, Pierre Lescure, igniting protests among outraged employees.