by Marvin G. Perez
Chocolatier Jacques Torres has become wealthy by chasing the world's best cocoa beans for his giant frogs and Marilyn Monroe lips.
by
Karen DeMasters
If the projected $80 million price for Edward Munch's "The
Scream" does not make you want to do just that, you may have what it takes to brave today's record-breaking art auction prices.
Christie's International said there was a surge in demand for
contemporary art as an investment, after its sales climbed 9 percent in
2011.
Investors are being invited to join a European-based group that plans to
buy about $80 million worth of art and forecasts annual returns of 12
percent.
A complete first edition of John James Audubon's "The Birds of America"
fetched $7.9 million at Christie's today, just above the low presale
estimate and far shy of a record.
Cartier says it's pulling ahead of luxury rivals
with watches that match the tenor of the times for less ostentatious
displays of wealth.
Prices of top Bordeaux may drop further at Hong Kong sales this month as demand declines
on concern about economic weakness and financial-market volatility.
How to deal with students at elite colleges turning against the elites.
As the European debt crisis roiled financial markets in 2011, the value
of the most expensive works of art sold at auction fell 41 percent.
Donating a record $350 million to Cornell University last week moved
Charles Feeney closer to a life goal: giving away all of his fortune
while still alive.
Eight Ferraris and a Lamborghini were part of a 14-car crash in Japan yesterday that wrecked more than $1 million of vehicles.
A $40.4 million Gustav Klimt painting underpinned a rebound in art
auctions as Sotheby's sold $200 million of Impressionist and
modern works, beating a sale the previous day by Christie's.
by Thomas M. Kostigen
He's best known for his serpentine tongue and devilish makeup, but Gene Simmons is a dead serious businessman.
by Scott Reyburn
An Andy Warhol "Dollar Sign" is among the artworks seized from a bankrupt Irish property baron that are being auctioned off this month by Christie's.
A sculpture of 100 fish by Damien Hirst was snapped up with a price tag
of $2.8 million. A Takashi Murakami painting of a Chinese lion dog also hit the $2 million mark in
Paris.
Billionaire collectors are gathering for the contemporary-art market's
latest test as volatile financial markets threaten to slow big-ticket
spending.
by Frederik Balfour
Since it eliminated wine duties three years ago, Hong Kong has become host to more than 15 wine vaults.
Stock market volatility has spooked investors into selling their artwork for cash-sometimes at rock-bottom prices.
Surging demand for Chateau Lafite and other French trophy labels,
especially from Asia, has pushed both prices at auction and wine futures
to records. Not all wine dealers are happy.
by
Ray Fazzi
A Ferrari 365 GTC is for sale priced at 375,000 pounds ($600,000) after
its owner discovered that the car once belonged to the musician George
Harrison.
