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Letter to the editor

Talk of the day

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 9, 2008

Could latest Air Jordan be buzzer beater?

It's gotta be the shoes, right? No other basketball shoe has changed the face of business, athletics and marketing like the Air Jordan. This month, Nike releases the 23rd edition, the XX3, shown above, and it is expected to be just as venerated as its predecessors. The sleek design and link to Michael Jordan's jersey number make it a touchstone in the line. The Air Jordan XX3 will be released in three hyped-up rounds from January to February, starting with a limited edition to be sent to only 23 retailers to be sold for $230 and concluding with the national launch at $185. There had been talk at Nike about retiring the shoe at No. 23, because of his iconic jersey number. But company officials won't say whether this will be the last of the line. Neither will Jordan.

MTV show clips go to YouTube rivals

Viacom Inc.'s MTV networks reached an agreement to distribute videos from several of its cable channels to five rivals of Google Inc.'s YouTube. Clips will appear on Dailymotion, GoFish, imeem, MeeVee and Veoh, Viacom said Tuesday. Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, CMT, Logo, The N, Spike TV, AtomFilms and GameTrailers will provide the shows. Viacom is trying to increase Internet ad revenue while pursuing a $1-billion infringement lawsuit against Google in which it accuses the YouTube parent of using clips from South Park and The Colbert Report without permission. The five Web sites will show advertiser-supported clips and use filtering technology to ensure copyright protection, Viacom said.

Move over, BMW, Hyundai's coming

Hyundai Motor Co. launched its new rear-wheel-drive Genesis luxury sedan Tuesday. Hyundai preceded the introduction by showing a promotion film featuring a James Bond-like actor driving the sleek, road-hugging vehicle. The screen then receded to reveal an orchestra and three South Korean tenors who gave a live performance of Nessun Dorma from Puccini's opera Turandot. Hyundai Motor said it invested $533-million to develop the Genesis over the past four years and sees it as a competitor to luxury models such as Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW AG's 5-Series and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus GS. Hyundai plans to begin U.S. sales in June and in China in August, said company spokesman Jake Jang, who added it would begin running ads for the car in the United States around May.

MasterCard learns to speak French

MasterCard Inc. will create a new firm with Europay France to boost support of payment services for banks in that country. The integration of the two companies' operations in France will be complete by April 1, MasterCard's European unit said Tuesday. By combining with Europay, which manages banks' adoption of MasterCard services, the credit card company will have a more direct relationship with French banks.

[Last modified January 8, 2008, 23:58:19]