BRIEFCASE.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

MGM sale to Sony completed Friday

The sale of venerable film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to a consortium led by Sony Corp. of America was completed Friday, marking the end of MGM as an independent player in the entertainment industry.

The Sony-led group paid $12 a share for MGM, or about $2.94 billion in cash, and assumed about $1.9 billion in MGM debt.

Gas cost expected to continue rising

Gasoline prices in the Los Angeles area hit another record Friday with increases expected to continue for the next two weeks, the Automobile Club of Southern California reported.

The average self-serve price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.541 in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area Friday morning, 10.6 cents more than last week, 29 cents more than last month and 35 cents more than last year. Prices in Southern California have risen 11 of the past 12 weeks after dropping for 12 consecutive weeks.

Lockheed: JSF to be on budget

BETHESDA, Md. - Despite recent estimates that the cost of developing the more than $200 billion joint strike fighter is creeping upward, Lockheed's chief executive said Friday he believes the defense contractor can deliver the plane for the Air Force, Navy and Marines on budget.

Robert Stevens said the cost of the program would be ``thoroughly evaluated'' by the Pentagon, but that Lockheed believes it has addressed issues that could potentially drive up costs, such as the plane's weight.

Lockheed is the lead contractor on the joint strike fighter, which at a possible $245 billion over its lifetime would be the biggest defense contract ever awarded. The planes would be made for the Air Force, Navy and Marines and some foreign militaries.

MCI stockholders back Qwest - poll

DENVER - Qwest said Friday that a survey it commissioned shows majority shareholder support of its $8.9 billion bid for long-distance carrier MCI over a lower offer from Verizon Communications Inc.

The announcement came as Qwest neared securing $2 billion in financing for an MCI deal, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Qwest said a telephone poll conducted this week by its proxy consulting firm, The Altman Group of New York, showed shareholders who own more than half of MCI Inc.'s outstanding stock believe Qwest's bid is superior to the $7.5 billion Verizon offer, which Ashburn, Va.-based MCI accepted last week.

An Altman Group representative declined to comment, and Qwest did not release any other information about the survey, including the names of the shareholders who participated.

Confidence Index has been steady

WASHINGTON - Consumer confidence held fairly steady over the past month despite surging energy prices and more cautious hiring by America's employers.

The AP-Ipsos consumer confidence index clocked in at 84.5 in April, compared with a reading of 84.2 in March, according to figures released Friday. A year ago, the index stood at 84.8.

Chrysler recalls 70,000 minivans

WASHINGTON - DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group on Friday announced a voluntary recall of about 70,000 model year 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans because of problems with a latch on the rear door.

The automaker said the power lift gate latch on a small number of vehicles may become stuck in an unopened position, preventing the latch from closing. If the latch does not close, the lift gate can open while the vehicle is being driven, Chrysler said.

The company said the installation of new lift gate control modules will prevent the problem from occurring. Gates said the company began notifying owners Tuesday, and they can have the module replaced at no cost.

Martha was paid $1.2 million in '04

WASHINGTON - Martha Stewart received $1.2 million in pay from her company for 2004, some of which she spent in federal prison, according to Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.'s annual statement.

Stewart's compensation included a $726,923 salary, $236,000 bonus and $238,820 for her services in radio and television programs, according to the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last September, the New York-based media and merchandising firm said it had entered into a new five-year employment agreement with the company founder, calling for a $900,000 yearly salary and annual bonus up to $1.35 million. However, the company said she wouldn't receive any payments while she was in prison.

New Net suffixes win final approval

NEW YORK - The Internet's key oversight agency gave final approval Friday to two new Internet suffixes - ``.jobs'' for the human resources community and ``.travel'' for the travel industry.

It could take months, though, for the domain names to start appearing in use, as companies running those names now must set up registration and other procedures.

Approval came as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ended meetings in Argentina. ICANN's staff has spent the past few months negotiating contracts with the companies after the board's preliminary approval of those names last year.

Negotiations continue on two other names already given preliminary approval: ``.post,'' for postal services, and ``.mobi,'' targeting mobile services.