Funny Business

SQUAWK BOX VIDEO

25 Nov 2009

A look at what's likely to happen at the registers once the doors open on Friday, with Richard Hastings, Global Hunters Securities; Richard Jaffe, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Black Friday: Bargain or Bust?

25 Nov 2009

Whether the deals are better than what shoppers will usually see or if it is just another marketing tactic, with Hitha Prabhakar, Style File Group; Brad Wilson, BlackFriday2009.com and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Holiday Central 25 Nov 2009
A discussion of the many ways retailers are preparing for Black Friday, live from K-Mart in Burbank, CA, with CNBC's Jane Wells.
Retailers Getting Ready for Black Friday 25 Nov 2009
Retailers are getting ready for Black Friday, and CNBC's Jane Wells has the play by play. Stacy Janiak, of Deloitte, shares her insight.

Amazon vs. Wal-Mart

24 Nov 2009

What began as a price war between Wal-Mart and Amazon over a handful of books has nos spread to a wide assortment of consumer goods. Lee Eisenberg, a noted retail expert and consumer behaviorist, and CNBC's Jane Wells discuss.

Prices to Be Thankful For 24 Nov 2009
A decrease in food prices is something to be thankful for this holiday, reports CNBC's Jane Wells.

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CNBC ON DIGG

The Entrepreneurial Spirit Outside Neverland

Published: Wednesday, 1 Jul 2009 | 12:31 PM ET

Text Size

By: Jane Wells
Correspondent

Neverland
CNBC.com
The tiny town of Los Olivos, California is expecting a huge crush of visitors this holiday weekend as Michael Jackson's body is returned to Neverland. By one local estimate, 200,000 people could show up to try to make their way up the windy two-lane road to Jackson's estate.

I have relatives who live down the road, and, for them, it's all a bit mind-boggling. There hasn't been this much of a to-do up there since Jackson celebrated his acquittal in a criminal trial in 2005. We've discussed what may happen if Colony Capital, which owns the mortgage to the property, decides to turn Neverland into a west coast Graceland.

In the meantime, locals are making a little money off the media. One guy, whose day job is working with vineyards made popular in the film "Sideways", has parked three vehicles outside Neverland to hold space for networks like the BBC. He's expecting to get paid $5,000. He's also lined up a fuel truck to resupply satellite rigs for $10 a gallon. Since it's expected that the road to Neverland will eventually be closed to all but media, local residents, law enforcement, and the Jackson clan, perhaps my relatives, who own a Vespa, could start up a two-wheeled taxi service for fans. A win-win.

More Jackson Coverage:

The Death Of Michael Jackson Jackson Leaves Behind A Troubled Financial Legacy Slideshow: Selling Neverland - Collection of Michael Jackson Fans Beat It To Michael Jackson's Star

Meantime, Michael Jackson's will may soon be entered into the public record. We have a producer at the courthouse waiting in case that happens. The will may give us a better understanding of the state of the singer's estate. That estate, by the way, continues to generate revenue. The Wall Street Journal [NWS Loading... () ] reports that retailers sold more than 400,000 albums by the King of Pop last week in the four days following his death. The week before, fewer than 10,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen's SoundScan. More than half the albums sold after Jackson's death were digital downloads off sites like Apple's iTunes [AAPL Loading... () ] and Amazon.com [AMZN Loading... () ]. The Journal also reports that 2.3 million individual songs were downloaded after Jackson's death, compared to 37,000 songs the week before. That is a 6,000 percent increase.