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INVESTCORP IS PROUD OF ITS HARD-earned reputation for business and financial success and, more important, for its unquestioned integrity. That is why we were shocked by the report "All That Glitters" [BUSINESS, Nov. 6] unfairly attacking us. Two examples: the article referred to a lawsuit involving the Circle K Corp., noting that the case "received almost no public attention." In fact, the case was covered in the press and fully disclosed to investors in the Circle K prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the article failed to note that the plaintiff had made a competing bid for Circle K and later withdrawn it because of an admitted inability to raise the necessary financing. A second example is TIME's allegation that the purchase of slow-moving inventory from Chaumet, one of our operating companies, by another company, Lausanne Investments, was somehow improper. In fact, such bulk sales of stale merchandise for subsequent liquidation, the intention of which is to avoid disrupting the core business, are a standard practice in the jewelry industry. Both companies are owned by the same shareholders, who were all fully informed of the inventory-liquidation program. By publishing this ill-conceived article, TIME has done both itself and its readers a gross disservice. LAWRENCE B. KESSLER, General Counsel Investcorp London
NOT A PRODUCT
I OBJECT STRONGLY TO YOUR LISTING THE African pygmy hedgehog as one of the best products of last year [THE BEST OF 1995, Dec. 25-Jan. 1]. Labeling an animal a product makes the animal seem dispensable. The African pygmy hedgehog is a companion animal that requires care and commitment from its owner. JILL BAGUCHINSKY Marco Island, Florida
KEEP THAT SPIRIT ALIVE
THE OUTCOME OF THE BOSNIAN SITUAtion has wider implications than even the noble humanitarian and peacekeeping operations now under way [BOSNIA, Dec. 25-Jan. 1]. nato seems to be pulling together and strengthening, with more than 30 countries joining in. Can the spirit of international cooperation toward peace be so alive? ROBERT GRIFFIN Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
MEMORIES OF RABIN
I WISH YOUR SELECTION OF THE PICTURES covering 1995 [IMAGES '95, Dec. 25-Jan. 1], involving the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, had included the photo of Rabin's granddaughter delivering her moving eulogy at his funeral. DEBORAH KADIN Melrose Park, Illinois