BIZWATCH : MARKETS.

SOFT PRICES: Cheyenne Software, down 4-1/4 at 19-3/4. McAfee Associates dropped its $1 billion offer to buy Cheyenne Software, which had spurned the bid and refused to negotiate. With the buyout attempt quickly turning from quiet proposals to lawsuits and open hostilities, McAfee said it decided that pursuing the deal wouldn't help its shareholders.

MEMO

LOAN ME TENDER: A former Paine Webber Group Inc. broker in Nebraska, Kevin Bartholomew, was barred from the securities industry today for selling investments in an Elvis Presley impersonation act that he performed in local bars. Bartholomew, as a Paine broker, fraudulently sold the investments in his own ``Memories of Elvis in Concert'' to help cover concert expenses, said SEC attorney Jacqueline Jacobson.

STEADY AS SHE GOES: New signs of strength in manufacturing, construction and the overall economy suggest growth is steady and that the concerns about recession that caused much hand-wringing are no longer much of a threat. The major economic reports released Wednesday indicate that the economy is sticking to the course of moderate growth and low inflation charted by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan - a course that has thrilled Wall Street and driven stock prices to dizzying heights.

VENTURING FORTH:U.S. venture capital investments during the first quarter doubled from the same period last year, according to a survey by Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P. A record $2.2 billion in private venture capital was invested in 489 U.S. companies, up from $1.1 billion invested in 276 companies last year, the financial consulting firm found. That amount exceeds the record $2.1 billion invested in 424 companies during the fourth quarter of 1995.

DRIVING SALES: Chrysler Corp. and General Motors Corp. reported strong increases Wednesday in last month's U.S. vehicle sales, exceeding most analysts' expectations. Japanese automakers had mixed results during April. Chrysler sales were up 33 percent over a year ago, in large part because of continued strong sales of its minivans and pickups. GM rebounded from a 17-day strike at two key parts plants in March to post an 8 percent overall sales increase for the month.

BIG BAD FROG:It can be mean and green, but don't call it obscene. The makers of Bad Frog beer can keep a label showing a frog flipping the bird - if they eliminate the word ``obscene'' from the beer's slogan, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission said Wednesday. ``It's hilarious that we can say on the label that a frog is obscene and some people actually take us serious,'' said Bad Frog Brewery Co. President Jim Wauldron, who agreed to drop the word from the label.

MONEY MATTERS

BOND PROBE:The Justice Department is investigating several large mutual funds to determine whether they broke antitrust laws by boycotting a bond sale by Illinois earlier this year, officials said Wednesday.

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Chart: (1--Color) DOW INDUSTRIALS

(2--Color) BizFacts

CA SH ON HAND

Percent change in supply of money in circulation (M1), February 1995 to February 1996

Knight-Ridder Tribune Graphics Network