BIZWATCH : MARKETS.

MARKET LOGIC: Stocks dipped for a second day Wednesday as technology shares led a retreat from the record-breaking gains of the past two weeks. The Dow fell 42.07 to 7,718.71. Analysts said the decline, following a drop in Tuesday's Dow that ended a streak of six straight records, was not surprising.

MEMO

STUDY CRITICAL OF AMGEN DRUG: Amgen Inc.'s drug Neupogen doesn't have any practical benefit when used to treat chemotherapy patients with low white-blood cell counts and no fever, a new study shows. Neupogen isn't approved to treat the condition, called afebrile neutropenia, although doctors commonly prescribe it to stimulate production of white-blood cells in patients with low counts in the hope that it will ward off infections. The drug, which had 1996 sales of $1 billion and accounts for almost half of Amgen's sales, is approved to prevent low white-blood cell counts from developing in the first place - not to treat the condition once it has occurred. A similar product is made by Seattle-based Immunex Corp.

A spokeswoman for Thousand Oaks-based Amgen said the study didn't reflect common clinical practice and used patients at low risk of developing infections who weren't good candidates for the drug. ``This is a very small study using Neupogen in a way that most physicians do not use it,'' said spokeswoman Andrea Rothschild. ``It's not standard clinical practice and we don't expect the study results to affect sales.''

?13- Bloomberg News

ZENITH TO BUY COMPANY; SHARES FALL: Shares of Riscorp Inc., a financially troubled provider of workers' compensation insurance, plunged after it agreed to a buyout worth at least $50 million by Woodland Hills-based Zenith National Insurance. Shares lost more than half their value, falling $2.06 to $1.625 while Zenith rose $1.625 to $27.25. Florida-based Riscorp, which is facing a shareholder lawsuit and a federal grand jury investigation into campaign contributions by executives, will complete the deal in the fourth quarter. Sale proceeds will be used to help pay costs of any legal judgments against Riscorp.Early this month, Riscorp announced plans to cut 17 percent of its staff, or 141 workers, to pare costs and focus on its sales in Florida and nearby states.

?13- Daily News

HOUSE PANEL OKS BANK CHANGES: Opening the door ever wider toward the mixing of banking and commerce, a key House panel narrowly adopted a measure Wednesday allowing commercial companies to buy banks, extending its earlier action approving banks' investments in companies. The vote came as the lawmakers drafted legislation to sweep away Depression-era restrictions against letting banks, brokerages and insurers get into each other's businesses. After a day and a half of arduous but civil debate, committee members erupted in anger Wednesday evening.

?13- Associated Press

HISPANIC BUYING POWER INCREASES RAPIDLY: The buying power of U.S. Hispanic consumers is growing at three times the rate of inflation and is slowly gaining on blacks' purchasing power, according to a University of Georgia study released Wednesday. Hispanic purchasing power - the total personal income available after taxes for spending on goods and services - will reach $348 billion this year, up from $325 billion last year, according to figures compiled by the school's Selig Center for Economic Growth.

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WHERE BUSINESS IS GOOD FOR LATINOS

Top states for Hispanic-owned companies, by receipt size, in billions of dollars, 1992.

Knight-Ridder Tribune Graphics Network