  We consider the effects of the non-local Ising-like "core spin" correlations
on the order-parameter fluctuation contribution to the resistivity and
thermodynamics of metals showing Ising-like order at finite temperature. We
employ the well-known cluster-variation method, and present explicit results in
the pair approximation for short-range order. Our calculation generalizes
earlier works, where such effects were considered in the mean-field
(Ornstein-Zernicke) approximation. The mean-field (MF) transition temperature
T_{c}^{MF}, is corrected to O(1/d), and the effect of the Ising spin
fluctuations on the $dc$ resistivity and magnetothermal responses is analyzed
in detail. The method can be applied straightforwardly to lattices in arbitrary
d, and, as an appealing feature, it reproduces the exact correlation length and
T_{c}^{1d}=0 for the 1d Ising model. We apply our results for two interesting
physical cases: (i) the double-exchange model with J_{H}>>t, where the
core-spins can be approximated quite well by Ising spins, and (ii) a model of
band electrons coupled to a {\it localized} subsystem which undergoes a nematic
ordering transition coupled to an appropriate structural transition.
