TWO CENTS WORTH

Bursting the bubble: Bubble gum, that childhood staple, has a lot ofshortcomings when you start to examine it closely. Zillions, theConsumer Reports magazine for children, tested several brands ofbubble gum and found that a lot of twists on the old theme don't workvery well. For example, the testers - dozens of youngsters - foundthat Soft Bazooka, designed to be easier on the jaws, was gentler onthe gums for only a short while. Nickelodeon's Bubble Gum Lab, whichlets kids mix their own gum, turned into a gritty, lumpy mass withunimpressive bubbles. Loud gum, which is supposed to be noisy, didlive up to its name. But the testers found it was tough to chew andthe bubbles were too small.Secret of success: Companies that continue to slash away at theirpayrolls and other expenses may find their shareholders less thanthrilled with the results. Mercer Management Consulting studied theresults of nearly 800 big companies and found that the market valueof companies that used a strategy of profitable growth increased 21percent between 1991 and 1996. Meanwhile, cost-cutting companies'value rose only 12 percent. "The stock market appears to be givingfewer rewards to companies that still think they can shrink togreatness," said Eric Almquist, a Mercer director.All you need is love: Many Beatles fans fondly remember the "bed-in"that John and Yoko had in March, 1969, when they stayed in bed in anAmsterdam Hilton suite as part of a peace demonstration. Nearlythree decades later, the hotel has redone the suite in honor of thecouple. The ceiling in the bedroom contains an enlargement of thecover of the album "The Plastic Ono Band/Live Peace in Toronto1969." The hotel says the suite has been restored to much the sameway it looked when John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed there, but the'90s luxuries that hotel guests have come to expect have beenincluded. Deadline for procrastinators: If you applied for anautomatic four-month extension for filing your federal income-taxreturns back in April, the new deadline is Aug. 15. If you stillneed time, you can get a two-month extension, until Oct. 15, byfiling Form 2688. Ratings game: When it comes to supermarkets,price isn't everything. Three of the highest overall scorers among35 supermarket chains rated in the August issue of Consumer Reportsmagazine weren't the ones whose costs pleased readers the most.Rather, the Publix, Raley's and Harris Teeter chains excelled in"cleanliness," "courtesy" and "checkout speed" - and had high-qualitymeat and produce - while scoring relatively low in price. The chainsthat shoppers rated cheapest were Giant, H.E. Butt, Meijer, ShopRiteand Wal-Mart Supercenter.