In Brief

By Anamaria Wilson

FRESH FUNDS If you like to be in on the latest fashion in investing, then take a look at exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These are mutual funds that trade on stock exchanges and track such stock indexes as the NASDAQ. Although ETFs have been around, bigger fund companies such as Barclays Global Investors and Vanguard Group are rolling out new families of them. They differ from mutual funds in that they can be traded throughout the day, the way stocks are. ETFs tend to have lower expense ratios and are usually more tax efficient.

Expense ETFs Ratio

S&P's Depositary .12% NASDAQ 100 Shares .18% iShares S&P 500 .09%

FLYING HIGHER The airlines are sticking it to us right before the old summer vacation, even with aviation-fuel costs losing altitude. After some back-and-forth in the last weeks, Continental Airlines spearheaded a fare increase of $10 to $30 per round-trip ticket, depending on distance. It then retracted the hike because Delta was slow to respond. Continental reinstated it the day Delta got on board. This is the third price jump by airlines this year; the typical business fare has risen more than 25% during the past three years.

HIGHER-PRICED OCTANE Maybe we should stay home. With gas prices 33[cents]-per-gal. higher than last year, Carclub.com is offering a break--a 10% discount on gas for the rest of the year. Membership is $5.99 a month for this online challenger to AAA. You prepay, say, $90 for $100 worth of gas on a MasterCard issued by the site and accepted at most service stations. Carclub also offers such services as a mechanic hot line and telephone directions if you lose your way.

--By Anamaria Wilson

U.S MONTHLY AVERAGE RETAIL PRICE OF REGULAR GASOLINE

Date Price

6/99 $1.11 12/99 $1.27 6/00 $1.44* 12/00 $1.30* 6/01 $1.32*

*Projections Source: Energy Information Administration