Hyundai hopes to sell 50,000 units of its new luxury vehicle -- the Genesis sports sedan and coupe -- in the U.S. annually, according to John Krafcik, vp of product development for Hyundai Motor Co. in America. The sedan, which first went on sale in late June, is on pace to sell more than 1,200 units this month. The coupe will go on sale during the first quarter of 2009. Hyundai is aiming to change Americans' perceptions of the company with Genesis, and hopes to convince people to consider the brand when they buy a luxury vehicle. It …

Liz Claiborne, which hired celebrity designer Isaac Mizrahi as creative director earlier this year, is betting his star power will give its namesake label some sex appeal -- or "mojo," as CEO William L. McComb puts it. Mizrahi became a household name by designing a "cheap chic" line for Target that helped cement the retailer's reputation for selling stylish but inexpensive clothes. Mizrahi's collection, which has been shrouded in secrecy, will be unveiled at a presentation for retailers in September. In an unusual step, the company is inviting only members of the media who agree not to write …

Food prices are forecast to rise by 5% to 6% this year, making it the largest annual increase since 1990, according to the U.S. Agriculture Dept. Just last month, USDA forecast food prices would climb between 4.5% and 5.5% in 2008. The increase for 2008 is due partly to higher costs for meat, poultry and fish, which make up about 12% of total food spending. Overall, costs for these items are forecast to rise 3% compared to 2.5% estimated last month. Prices for fruits and vegetables, which account for more than 8% of food spending, will also rise …

Tens of millions of girls and young women have been vaccinated against cervical cancer in the U.S. and Europe in the two years since Merck's Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix were given government approval in many countries and, often, recommended for universal use among females ages 11 to 26. The lightning-fast transition from newly minted vaccine to must-have injection represents a triumph of what the manufacturers call education--and their critics call marketing. Award-winning advertising has promoted the vaccines. Before the film "Sex and the City," some moviegoers in the U.S. saw ads for Gardasil. On YouTube and in advertisements …

MillerCoors is going back to the tagline that made Miller Lite one of the most successful launches in the history of the American beer business: "Great taste! Less filling!" The move is further evidence that new MillerCoors CMO Andy England is trying to center the brand's messaging on taste, much as sibling Coors Light's messaging has focused extensively on so-called cold refreshment. The original "Great Taste, Less Filling" campaign from McCann Erickson Worldwide, which made its debut in 1974, introduced the nation to light beer. The ads -- featuring a group of contentious ex-jocks dubbed the "Miller Lite …

Palm will announce today the debut of a new smart phone primarily for business customers called the Treo Pro. It is slimmer and more elegant than current models, and its larger keyboard and screen that is flush with the phone's chassis make it more user-friendly than Palm's old calculator-like design. Palm's share of the smartphone market has been halved to about 16.9% over the last two years. Executive chairman Jon Rubinstein, who led the Apple hardware engineering division that developed the iMac and iPod, is convinced that he can bring Palm back. "Everyone is trying to make an …

To counter unexpectedly weak demand, General Motors is extending the same discounts enjoyed by its employees to all buyers of its cars. The decision reverses a two-year effort to eliminate employee-prices-for-everyone schemes. The new deals cover almost all 2008 models and some 2009 models. The offer typically cuts 10-12% off a vehicle's sticker price. Incentives seldom fail to bring more buyers into car dealerships. However, they cause significant long-term damage to manufacturers by lowering vehicles' trade-in values and denting the image of their brands. GM's sales are down by 27% in the year through July.