Also. . .

* The number of houses, condominiums and apartments on which construction was completed declined in January for the second consecutive month, the Commerce Department said. Housing completions fell 8.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.288 million, the lowest level since December 1995.

* UAL Corp. said it ordered 30 planes from Europe’s Airbus Industrie, in a deal valued at $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion, as part of its plan to boost capacity by 3% a year through 2001.