A federal judge said he will consider...

A federal judge said he will consider a request to merge all current and future lawsuits over the Dalkon Shield as part of the bankruptcy proceedings for A. H. Robins Co. . . . Aluminum Co. of America reported that it will furlough up to 125 employees when it closes one of the potlines at its Massena, N.Y., aluminum smelting plant Oct. 27 due to high production costs . . . General Dynamics said it will begin purchasing common shares of Cessna Aircraft on Friday as part of its previously reported bid to take over the nation’s last major independent manufacturer of general aviation planes . . . Trans World Airlines said it flew 2.81 billion revenue passenger miles during September, a decrease of 3.8% from the 2.92 billion that it flew in September, 1984 . . . Laker Airways’ liquidator formally settled a suit against 10 of the world’s leading airlines for more than $60 million . . . Multimedia Inc. reported that it has consummated its $890-million recapitalization . . . The American Stock Exchange said it approved the original listing on the exchange of 2.99 million shares of Pauley Petroleum under the ticker symbol PP . . . Jet America Airlines said its shareholders approved an increase in the number of authorized common shares to 31 million from 16 million . . . Pepsico Inc. said it plans to repurchase about 5 million shares of its stock for general corporate purposes. Pepsico has 90.3 million shares outstanding.