-Northrop Grumman Corp.

said Monday it was cutting its expected first-quarter gain on the sale of shares of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. by 34 percent to $45 million.

The gain of 12 cents a share Northrop now projects is sharply lower than the forecast of $70 million, or 19 cents, made on March 10 when the share sale was announced, the L.A.-based defense contractor said in a statement today. Northrop added that it won’t pay cash taxes on the sale and will record a $25 million reduction of goodwill attributable to the tax benefit.

Northrop Grumman sold 7.3 million TRW shares in early March for about $142.6 million, reducing its stake in the auto parts maker to 9.7 million shares, or 9.9 percent of the company. Northrop Grumman has had an equity interest in TRW since it sold the company to private investment firm Blackstone Group in February 2003.

Separately, Northrop announced it has completed its acquisition of Integic Corp. Integic, which generated 2004 revenue of $161 million, has become part of the Federal Enterprise Solutions business unit of Northrop Grumman’s information technology sector.

-Unocal Corp.

said it has settled lawsuits for an undisclosed amount over alleged human rights violations committed during the construction of a Myanmar gas pipeline in the 1990s.

Unocal in December said it reached a tentative agreement to resolve the cases, which sought to hold El Segundo-based Unocal liable for the alleged enslavement and murder of villagers by soldiers during construction of the natural gas pipeline. Unocal said it didn’t authorize the actions of the military and doesn’t condone the atrocities.

Unocal and lawyers for the Myanmar villagers said in a joint statement Monday that “although the terms are confidential, the settlement will compensate plaintiffs and provide funds enabling” them to improve living conditions, health care and education.

-Sysdome

, a Calabasas Internet-based fraud-prevention services provider, has agreed to be acquired by New Jersey-based risk-prevention firm ISO. The transaction, which requires shareholder approval, is expected to close within 30 days. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

-KB Home

reported net income of $122.7 million ($2.82 per diluted share) for the first quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with $74.2 million ($1.75) for the like period a year earlier. The L.A.-based homebuilder said revenue for the quarter rose 21 percent to $1.64 billion.

KB Home said in its statement that the average price for homes it sold on the West Coast was $449,200, compared with $389,300 for the comparable period of the prior year, and that there were 1,857 net orders for the West Coast during the first quarter, compared with 1,640 one year earlier.

KB Home also raised its earnings estimate for 2005 to $15.75 per diluted share, up $1.25 from its previous estimate. The new estimate represents an increase of $4.35, or 38 percent, from the company’s 2004 diluted earnings per share of $11.40.

-National Lampoon Inc.

reported a net loss of $3.6 million ($1.46 per diluted share) for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $1.4 million (47 cents) for the like period a year earlier. The L.A.-based entertainment company said revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 86 percent to $1.3 million.

The net loss for the second quarter includes a charge of $178,000 associated with the modification of warrants, a charge of $943,000 related to a feature on preferred stock, and charges of $2.8 million related to severance arrangements with the company’s former CEO and expenses associated with the closing of recent financing transactions.