February 7, 1996

In an unusual settlement that raises questions about the investigative tactics of the Manhattan District Attorney's office in an organized-crime case, New York City has paid $1 million to resolve a lawsuit with the owner of a construction company who claimed he was falsely accused of being linked to mobsters. The owner of the company, Antonio S. Rodrigues, had argued that his company, the Inner City Drywall Corporation, had been destroyed by an indictment that was later dismissed and by another investigation that subpoenaed 80 of his customers and suppliers.

In a setback for construction trade unions, the State Supreme Court ruled yesterday that government agencies cannot always require builders to use union labor for public projects. Associate Justice Stewart G. Pollock wrote for a five-member majority in a case that grew out of a challenge to a contract proposal issued by the Mercer County Improvement Authority, The Associated Press reported.

Asia's stock markets, those darlings of 1993 and the dogs of 1994 and 1995, have come roaring back to life. Since Jan. 1, stock markets in Southeast Asia are up, up, up. Hong Kong -- which is considered a level above an emerging stock market -- rose 13.7 percent in January. Among the emerging markets, Indonesia climbed 13.1 percent and Thailand 11.6 percent.

BUILDING muscle is the least of what happens when exercisers work with personal trainers week after week: for many clients, the trainer becomes not just a coach but a confidant as well. So it's not surprising that severing the relationship can be the emotional equivalent of bench-pressing 150 pounds. "I spent an entire summer agonizing about letting my trainer go," recalled the novelist Eileen Goudge, who discovered that she much preferred working out with the replacement her trainer recommended to fill in while he was on vacation. "The first trainer knew all the right moves, but he wasn't inspiring me. Yet, he was a very nice guy and loved my writing. How could I fire a fan?"

New Jersey will get $92 million of the $2 billion in financing announced yesterday by the Transportation Department. It will be used for viaduct work on Routes 1 and 9 and to replace a bridge deck in Newark, the A.P. said.