Activity in the art/collectible markets yesterday caught my attention. A once-lost portrait of Christ by the iconic Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci sold Wednesday at auction for $450 million, roughly triple its anticipated price and the most ever paid for a creative work of human genius.
One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, and one which ironically amassed the overwhelming majority of their wealth via rich oil reserves, is now looking to sell off some $35 billion worth of energy stocks. According to central bank Deputy Governor Egil Matsen, the move is intended simply to "spread the risks for the state's wealth," but one has to wonder whether the owner of 1.5% of the world's stocks has decided that oil has now moved into a period of secular decline. Per Bloomberg:
So much can change in ten days.
After five consecutive daily losses on the MSCI world stock index and seven straight falls in Europe, there was finally a bounce, as investors returned to global equity markets in an optimistic mood on Thursday, sending US futures higher after several days of losses as global stocks rebounded following a Chinese commodity-driven rout.
On 2 November 2017, the Bank of England raised rates for the first time in a decade and Sterling’s initial rise was promptly sold off by forex traders as we discussed.