Trans World Airlines Inc has agreed to pay $1,60,000 in penalties and legal costs and to forgo collection of about $5,00,000 in student fees to settle a California consumer protection lawsuit, officials said Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed by California Attorney General Dan Lungren and by Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, alleged that TWA violated state consumer laws when it recruited students, through "Help Wanted" newspaper columns, for a reservations sales course at the company's trade academy. The lawsuit said though TWA placed the advertisements it did not offer immediate employment to applicants. Instead, applicants were induced to enroll in a six-week training programme that cost each student about $2,800.

Volvo Truck sees strong sales continuing in H2:

The truck division of Swedish vehicle maker Volvo AB said on Thursday it expected strong sales to continue in the second-half of 1998. Volvo Truck said it saw the total Europeanmarket increasing to 200,000 vehicles this year and there was no sign of any weakening in early 1999.

Y&R wins $40 million global Schweppes ad account:

Advertising agency Young & Rubicam said on Thursday it had won the $40 million global branding account for soft drinks company Schweppes. It beat Saatchi & Saatchi in the final head-to-head pitch which followed a move BY UK-based owners Cadbury-Schweppes to repackage its mixer drinks with a major adver tising push. The company on Wednesday announced a five per cent rise in drinks sales, led by the Schweppes and Dr. Pepper brands. It posted an eight percent rise in half-year profits before tax to 254 million sterling.

Kia Motors details bid evaluation:

South Korea's Kia Motors Corp and sister firm Asia Motors Co Ltd on Thursday released details of how international bids for the two firms would be assessed to ensure "fairness and transparency". Kia is promoting this auction in line with international conventions and we based theseprocedures on fairness and transparency so we have decided to make public the evaluation criteria, the ailing carmakers said in a joint statement.

Asia strips A$29.7 m from C-C Amatil net:

Australian-based soft drink bottler Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd said on Thursday Indonesia's economic crisis and a lower Philippines peso effectively cut A$29.7 million from its first half net profit. Thse company said the depreciation of the Philippines peso accounted for a A$18.6 million fall in Australian dollar net profits.It said its Indonesian operations had reported a net operating loss for the half year, a fall of A$11.1 million on the same half a year earlier.

WA News revenue outlook subdued:

West Australian Newspapers Holdings Ltd said on Thursday a flat Perth economy meant advertising volumes were likely to be subdued, but recent cover price and advertising rate hikes would help boost revenues. We've found that on the retail side things have been fairly flat for some time, West AustralianNewspapers chief financial officer Tom Garven said. Our employment advertising is showing a little bit of growth.

Real estate is relatively flat. The second hand car market is down and the retail display advertising is down as well," he said.

Interbrew buys Siberian brewery:

Interbrew, the privately owned Belgium-based brewing conglomerate, is buying a controlling stake in Russian brewer Rosar, Belgian financial daily De Financieel-Economische Tijd said on Thursday. The paper quoted Russian business newspaper Kommersant Daily as saying the 2.8 billion Belgian franc deal was agreed last week in Omsk, western Siberia.

Merrill Lynch sets A$800 m CP programme:

Merrill Lynch Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd said on Thursday it has launched an A$800 million commercial paper programme. This is the first Australian dollar denominated CP-programme issue by Merrill Lynch and is guaranteed by Merrill Lynch & Co Inc.

PCs with AMD, Cyrix chips gaining favor:

Personal computers usingprocessors from Advanced Micro Devices Inc and National Semiconductor Corp's Cyrix unit are gaining steam with businesses, as well as consumers, according to a new study. According to a new study from Ziff-Davis Inc's Market Intelligence, 34 per cent of 2,624 US businesses surveyed said they are considering purchasing PCs with AMD or Cyrix processors, instead of PCs with Intel Corp processors. Intel traditionally controls over 90 per cent of the PC-processor markets, according to ZD Market Intelligence. AMD and Cyrix have been able to sell their clones of Intel's chips by competing with lower prices.

Rexall Sundown set to deliver record earnings:

Rexall Sundown should still deliver record earnings and revenues, despite industry news about price cuts that sent shares in the vitamin supplement sector tumbling on Tuesday. The company, analysts say, is in excellent health, prospering as a supplier to mass retailers, the real source of growth for sales of vitamin supplements. Rexall in a statementWednesday morning said it remains on track to deliver record revenues and earnings in line with Wall Street's estimates.

McKechnie sells Australia/NZ unit:

British specialist engineering and plastics group McKenzie Plc has sold its Australasian subsidiary, McKechnie Pacific, in a A$180 million management buyout, GS Private Equity said on Thursday. The new company, MCK Group Ltd, will be funded by A$45million in equity plus two tranches of debt comprising A$100 million of senior and A$35 million of subordinated debt, GS said. GS Private Equity and AMP Ltd's AMP Asset Management jointly led and managed the buyout.