November 21, 1991

It began as a four-day tryout and look-see at the esteemed Harry Hopman tennis academy. But Fonia Humphries, shopping around for a tennis program for her 13-year-old son, Scott, liked what she found so much that she left her son behind. Putting him in a total tennis environment suddenly seemed the right thing to do; Scott, she was informed, was ripe for Hopman's tennis think tank. In the middle of her flight home, she placed a queasy telephone call to her husband to break the news that there was going to be one fewer son around the house.

On paper, there is a simple explanation for why New York State, for the third year in a row, is staring at a huge gap in its budget: the economy is in even worse shape than policy makers here thought it would be when the budget was approved. Tax collections are down, demands for social services are up, and the budget is no longer in balance. But aside from the obvious argument that Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and legislative leaders erred on the side of optimism, there is perhaps an even more fundamental problem at work, many analysts say, and that has to do with how the budgets have been put together to begin with.

In one of the few recent bits of upbeat figures on the economy, builders broke ground for new homes last month at the fastest pace in nearly a year and 7.3 percent above that of September, the Government reported today. Permits for future construction, moreover, posted their second straight solid advance, suggesting that starts will continue what until now has been a slow but persistent rise and reinvigorate a feeble recovery.

The President won another battle with Congress over abortion this week, but in the coming year that issue will pose many tests for him. News analysis, page A22.

The future seemed bright for Cascade International, a fast-growing chain of women's clothing shops and cosmetic centers whose stock had been praised, and purchased, by a number of professional investors and mutual fund managers since January. Sales at the company's boutiques -- including the Diana Shops, scattered throughout the South, and Allison's Place, in California and Texas -- seemed to be soaring and the company reported steady profits. The company was also about to open a chain of Oleg Cassini boutiques under an exclusive licensing agreement with the designer.