AEG Live sets to rival Ticketmaster.

American Express rewards small-business members for marketing.

Boeing taxis toward major deal with Delta.

Burger King faces post mortems on the death of the King.

Facebook seeks acquisitions to fend off Google.

Foster's moves to thwart SABMiller bid.Continue reading...

Apparently, Michael Jackson's movie ranks as a great treat for Jackson aficionados -- who turned out by the thousands in 18 countries at Wednesday's premieres of This Is It, the Sony Pictures docudrama based on rehearsal footage for the grand revival concert tour Jackson was planning for London when he died on June 25. Though it may hold little interest for everyone else -- box office numbers have fallen substantially short of the hype -- the film is likely to do well enough to make up for losses due to the canceled London concerts.

More importantly, it marks the launch of Michael Jackson's posthumous brand.

Since Jackson was alive for half of the year, he only had a few months to try to catch this year's fluke winner of Forbes' annual list of top-earning dead celebrities, Yves Saint Laurent (fueled by a one-time art auction), and took the No. 3 slot. But no matter how well the new film does, extensive soundtrack and licensing opportunities, unhindered by the spooky antics (and appetites) of a pesky live celebrity, are pointing Michael Jackson down Elvis Presley's well-marked path.Continue reading...