Making capital out of fame

Unless you happen to keep your head cool at night beneath a couple of feet of sand, here are three events you can hardly fail to have noticed in recent days. David Beckham, England's soccer captain, has changed clubs from Manchester United to Real Madrid. The new Harry Potter book has hit the shelves. And there is a new Lara Croft video game out. What do these three have in common? They are all big news events, to which days of TV time and acres of newsprint have already been devoted. But they are also big business events, driving the share prices of the companies involved. ...