BIZMATCH : MARKETS.

MARKET LOGIC: Stocks fell modestly Wednesday as investors secured some profits in a quiet session dominated by corporate earnings news. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 35.41 to 6,726.88, snapping a streak of four straight record highs.

HOME HELP: Affordable Housing USA, a nonprofit organization that provides down payment grants of $1,000 to $4,000 to people wishing to purchase their first home, will be conducting two weekend workshops on such things as financing and maintenance. Attendance at one of the six-hour workshops is required to qualify for the grants, which are designed to help renters become homeowners. Another requirement is that families earn less than $60,000. The first workshop will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the First American Title community room, 16830 Ventura Blvd., Encino. The second will begin at noon Sunday at the Antelope Valley Mall community room in Palmdale. Reservations can be made by calling Affordable Housing at [phone].

AOL BACK UP: Due to a hardware problem, half of America Online's computer system went down for nearly five hours Wednesday. According to a spokeswoman for the Internet service provider, a flawed interface board in a router device was discovered around 12:15 p.m. The company shut down portions of its network worldwide, until reviving the entire system around 5 p.m. Though 124,000 users were still able to access the network during this period, AOL staff admit that a significant number of subscribers were not able to get on line.

DENNY'S DONATION: Seeking to make amends for racial discrimination, Denny's is giving more than $1.5 million to civil rights groups and the United Negro College Fund. The restaurant chain also announced a policy of ``zero tolerance for discrimination.'' James B. Adamson, chairman and CEO of Flagstar Companies Inc., parent company of Denny's, was joined at a Wednesday news conference by representatives of nine civil rights groups, each of which received a check for $100,000.

PACIFIERS RECALLED: Consumers should stop using 13,000 Binky Newborn Orthodontic Pacifiers because they do not meet federal standards for safety, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday. The pacifiers, made by Binky-Griptight Inc. of Wallington, N.J., have quarter-inch knobs that could crack and separate the nipple from the mouth shield, creating a choking hazard for young children, the product safety commission said.Consumers should return them to the store for a free replacement or mail them to Binky-Griptight Inc., P.O. Box 3307, Wallington, N.J., 07057-3307. They can also contact the company at 1-800-526-6320.

HMO MERGER GETS GREEN LIGHT: The Federal Trade Commission has approved the combination of two of the nation's largest HMOs - PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., and FHP International Corp. The ruling was announced Wednesday by PacifiCare. If California state regulators go along, PacifiCare plans to pay $2.1 billion in cash and stock for its California competitor. The proposed deal was announced in August, but it has been stalled as the FTC investigated whether the combined companies could monopolize coverage for Medicare recipients in parts of Southern California.

BIZ FACTS

LEADERS BY DESIGN

Market leaders for men's designer sportswear, in percent of total dollars spent in collection shops, third quarter, 1996:

Polo by Ralph Lauren 29%

Tommy Hilfiger 27%

Nautica 14%

CAPTION(S):

2 Charts

Chart: (1) DOW INDUSTRIALS

(2) BIZ FACTS (see text)