Your Money: Jul. 13, 1998

IN THE MARKET FOR BONDS

As the bull market gets a bit rocky, savvy investors looking for some peace and quiet are making a break for bonds. In May, market players plowed a hefty $8.7 billion into bond funds, which on average actually outperformed stock funds in the lackluster second quarter, according to the Investment Company Institute. Some of the best, safe bets these days are Vanguard bond-index funds and American Century and PIMCo total-return funds.

GAS IS DOWN, SO FILL 'ER UP

If you're heading out on the highway this summer, you're in for an oil shock. Thanks to an unusually warm winter and feuding opec nations, the price of gasoline stands at an eight-year low, with a gallon of unleaded going for an average of $1.10--14[cents] lower than last year, according to A.A.A. To find the best deals at the pump, just keep driving--where else?--south.

Arkansas $1.00 Georgia $0.93 Missouri $1.00 Oklahoma $1.00 South Carolina $0.97

POSTAL PENNY PINCHING

It will soon cost an extra penny to send a letter, but Americans have one more Christmas to ship out greeting cards on the cheap. Last week the U.S. Postal Service, under pressure from Congress, decided to delay a 1[cent] increase in the cost of a first-class stamp until January 1999. A nice gesture, but coming from an agency that's turning a billion-dollar profit yet again, the temporary act of generosity didn't strike many mailers as such a special delivery.

--By Daniel Eisenberg