Thursday, November 04, 2010

Bull Markets: Taxi Medallions and Fine Art


1. Taxi medallions in New York City reached an all-time record high of $614,000 in October for indvidual licenses. 

2. Reuters -- "Less than two years after a precipitous fall, the art market is flexing its muscles again, emboldened by recent auction records and an influx of determined international collectors rich with cash. Hordes of wealthy new buyers, ready to spend and anxious to build collections, are injecting life into a market hard-hit by the global financial crisis, experts said.

"The whole market has changed," said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of The Fine Art Group, a London-based art investment house. "There's a huge new group from six or seven countries who are shifting the market." New collectors from Russia, India, China and Hong Kong, and Mideast wealth centers such as Qatar and Abu Dhabi have made fortunes in oil, gas or commodities such as gold, he said."

7 Comments:

At 11/05/2010 5:19 AM, Blogger sethstorm said...


Bull Markets: Fine Art

A market that only shows how far the buyer and seller are out of touch with the world around them. Doubly so for Third World/Developing countries, where the detachment from reality is obvious.

 
At 11/05/2010 6:26 AM, Blogger cluemeister said...

So the US refuses to expand drilling for natural resources in Alaska, the gulf, and offshore, so other countries fill the gap and cash in.

At least we're selling them artwork. Good jobs at good wages!

 
At 11/05/2010 7:42 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"Hordes of wealthy new buyers, ready to spend and anxious to build collections, are injecting life into a market hard-hit by the global financial crisis, experts said"...

Well that's a big 10-4!

Some guys from Ford spent $800K on a '47 Ford pick-up...:-)

 
At 11/06/2010 11:01 AM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"Some guys from Ford spent $800K on a '47 Ford pick-up...:-)"
Thanks for the link, juandos, that's one fine truck, ain't it?

And to think that it only costs $800k more that a new F350 dually.

Through loving care that '47 will probably look much like it does now, long after that dually has turned to dust.

Somehow it's hard to imagine people in 2073 drooling over a perfectly restored 2010 F350 dually.

 
At 11/06/2010 11:08 AM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"A market that only shows how far the buyer and seller are out of touch with the world around them."

"Let them eat cake!", eh, sethstorm?

Actually these folks could be very much in touch with the reality that fine art and other collectibles are a great hedge against the massive inflation that's coming right up.

 
At 11/07/2010 7:33 AM, Blogger juandos said...

"...that's one fine truck, ain't it?"...

Yes indeed, that's one pretty pick-up without a doubt...

I don't know a Cezanne from a Chagall (though both artists' works carry very hefty price tags) but I have some idea what it takes to make a classic vehicle a work of art...

"Somehow it's hard to imagine people in 2073 drooling over a perfectly restored 2010 F350 dually"...

Well you know Ron H that's a hard one to make a call on...

The other day I was watching a bit of the Barrett-Jackson auto auction (it was a repeat segment from 2007) and something called the CNN Warrior One - a ''93 Hummer' fetched $1.25 million for what should've been maybe a $40K price tag...

Its hard to say what people will spend money on...

 
At 11/07/2010 1:56 PM, Blogger Ron H. said...

"The other day I was watching a bit of the Barrett-Jackson auto auction (it was a repeat segment from 2007)"

Was that the year this was sold, or was it the next year?

This from the sales brochure:

"You, as the operator, feel the thrill of tearing a car in half, incinerating it and throwing it to the ground in flaming pieces. Buy this for your kids, your grand kids and best of all, the child in you."

 

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