March 23, 1998

Civilian scientists say they are being forced into sometimes bitter competition with military researchers and with each other for resources they need to compute problems so complex that only world's fastest, most powerful computers can produce adequate solutions; Government pays for 19 percent of supercomputers built in United States each year and for 100 percent of top-end machines that break ground in speed and power; since cold war, Government has given civilian and military scientists rough parity in parceling out time on supercomputers; parity became 2-to-1 ratio in favor of military in 1996, and it will tilt to 5-to-1 ratio by 1999; tug-of-war between civilian and military scientists is result of disparities in budgets of National Science Foundation and Energy Dept (M)

Charge in Student's Killing A 23-year-old New Jersey man was charged with second-degree murder in the throat-slashing of his former girlfriend, a student at Columbia Law School. Page B1. Caterpillar Deal Accepted The United Auto Workers approved a six-year contract with Caterpillar, its first deal with the heavy-equipment maker since 1991. Page A11.

Cendant Corp is expected to announce its acquisition of American Bankers Insurance Group Inc for $3.1 billion in cash and stock, ending 8-week-long bidding war with American International Group; analysts raise concerns that Cendant is paying too much--nearly four times book value; Henry R Silverman, chief executive of Cendant, says he is confident he can make money immediately with American Bankers; American International will receive $100 million from American Bankers and $10 million from Cendant as compensation for breakup of its deal with American Bankers; regulators are expected to bless deal after Cendant assures there will be no reduction in American Bankers' work force of 1,700 employees (M)

Moviegoers around nation draw very blurred line between screen characters in movie Primary Colors and their White House counterparts, despite director Mike Nichols' insistence that movie about sex scandal involving Southern Presidential candidate is not about Bill Clinton; this is blessing and curse for movie: blessing because movie has stirred enormous magazine and newspaper attention, and curse because movegoers may be too saturated with real-life events to see film based on them; photos (M)

Neil Strauss Critic's Notebook on South by Southwest convention in Austin, Tex, which in 12 years has changed from showcase for local music acts to reigning meet-and-greet of rock business; photo (M)