The people who oversee Michael Jackson's estate have signed a deal with Authentic Brands Group - whose portfolio already includes Muhammad Ali, TapouT, Prince tennis and the estates of Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe - to build on the annual $140M realized by Jackson's estate via worldwide entertainment, apparel and other licensed activations by "taking his brand to the next level."

The Female Health Co. is launching the FC2 Female Condom, and directing marketing to women dissatisfied with the side effects of hormonal birth control, and who feel that the traditional male condom offers less enjoyment. Social media will be the key channel, per Karen King, CEO of the company. "The target groups we have identified are digital media users and this product category has a strong online purchase base," she said, adding that the FC2 female condom is reimbursable under the major health plans including the Affordable Care Act.

No matter how big a company gets, it must maintain its core values and its culture or it could fail, Craig Jelinek, chairman and CEO of Costco Wholesale Corp., said in a speech this week to the Western Association of Food Chains, at its annual convention in Palm Desert, Calif. "Your business can evolve, but it can't afford to lose its values and its culture." He said executives who join Costco from other companies "tend not to do well at Costco because they don't understand the culture."

Franchising more stores was one way McDonald's has recently said it could get its books in order. Doing so will raise stock prices, because third-party ownership eliminates fixed costs. A "USA Today" analysis shows that DineEquity, Popeyes, Domino's, Sonic and Wendy's have both the most franchise percentage and higher five-year gains, on average than those with the lowest franchise percentages.

Back in 2008, when gasoline prices were at historic highs, Ford initiated plans to transform three truck plants into launching pads for a "small-car offensive." Maybe Ford should have hanged fire. It is cutting hundreds of jobs at one of the converted plants, but set an April record for trucks and SUVs. The new F-150 is enjoying transaction prices up $3,200 from a year ago to an all-time high. Ford raised its N.A. profit-margin projections from $8.5 billion to $9.5 billion this year.

Choice Hotels International is boosting its ad budget by 13% this year, and unveiling a new logo, as well as a campaign that includes the company's first prime time TV, print, digital, radio and social components. The company spent $54 million on measured media last year, according to Kantar Media. McCann Erickson New York is Choice Hotels' integrated agency of record. The spot, which uses The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I go?" employs an approach the company calls "positive guilt."

Fiat Chrysler is offering employees at some of its U.S. dealerships the chance to go to college for free through a collaboration with Strayer University. Through the Degrees@Work program employees can earn no-cost college degrees. Initially, it will be available on in the Southeast, but the idea is to help dealers attract high potential employees as well as improve employee retention rates.

Newly minted NBA MVP Stephen Curry has added to his roster of endorsement deals, signing a multi-year pact with official league partner Harman International to represent their JBL audio brand. The deal includes TV, Internet, social media and consumer activations, extending Curry's reach among sports and music fans and bolstering his status as one of the league's most marketable players. He also has alliances with State Farm, PlayStation, Degree, Express, Foot Locker, Kaiser Permanente, Muscle Milk and Under Armour.

The number of distilleries has grown in the past decade and a half from a handful to around 600. Author Reid Mitenbuler says Americans are taken in by clever branding, bottles and throwback labels. Mitenbuler points out in a new book, "Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America's Whiskey," that many newer bourbon brands are actually just spinoffs of factory brands: Knob Creek Distillery, for example, is owned by Jim Beam and made at the same plant.

Flights of craft beers will land in Ft. Worth this Saturday. The yearly craft beer confab and tasting event brings in over 80 breweries from around the world, making it one of the biggest, if not the biggest such event. In addition to a variety of styles -- from India pale ales to golden ales and a plethora of sour beers -- there are more ciders than years passed, reflecting growing popularity of the drink.