BRIEFCASE.

Byline: -- Staff and Wire Services

Gas price down just since June

Southern California gasoline prices declined significantly over the past week for the first time since June, reversing last year's pattern, the Automobile Club of Southern California reported Friday.

The average price of self-serve regular in the Los Angeles area stood at $3.183 Friday morning -- 5 cents less than last week and 9 cents less than last month, but 39 cents more than at this time last year, the Auto Club reported.

Hilton Burbank at airport sold

BURBANK -- The Hilton Burbank Airport hotel has been sold.

The 488-room hotel's owner, Chicago-based Strategic Hotels & Resorts, said Thursday that it has signed an agreement with Pyramid Hotel Opportunity Venture II LLC of Boston for $125 million, or $256,000 per room.

The deal is expected to close in September.

At 2500 Hollywood Way, the hotel is within a mile of the Bob Hope Airport and is the only one in the San Fernando Valley with a convention center.

Strategic Hotels & Resorts, a real-estate investment trust, owns and manages some 19 properties, including the Burbank Hilton, with 9,607 rooms.

Toyota attempts to reduce recalls

OYAMA, Japan -- Toyota might delay some of its new models, the company's president said Friday, as the world's No. 2 automaker tries to improve its quality control process to reduce a spate of recalls that is threatening its reputation.

The possible delays come amid a period of strong growth for Toyota Motor Corp., which is in the process of meeting demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles by increasing production at plants across the globe, including in the United States, China, Canada, Thailand, Mexico and Russia.

Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe on Friday denied that the company had decided to delay models across the board, saying the development of individual vehicles would be decided on a case-by-case basis. Toyota's shares fell 60 yen, or 0.95 percent, to 6250 yen ($53.70) on Friday.

Northwest strike blocked by judge

NEW YORK -- A federal judge blocked Northwest Airlines flight attendants from going on strike Friday, handing a victory to the airline just hours before a planned strike action that could have devastated the cash-strapped company.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero said he will issue an injunction to allow time for him to examine the case. He said Northwest Airlines Corp. made a ``persuasive case'' that a delay in any strike is necessary so that the legal issues could be resolved.

He said that while the injury to flight attendants would be to delay their ability to strike, ``far greater injuries exist to Northwest and the public by permitting the strike to commence at this point.''

The flight attendants had planned to launch unannounced, sporadic walkouts any time after 7 p.m. PDT Friday. Northwest, already operating under bankruptcy protection, has said a strike could kill the company.

The nation's fifth-largest airline, Northwest has about 7,300 active flight attendants.