Cake Bubbles, Art Bubbles, etc.

My favorite anecdotal indicators for economic trends never come from the business pages, always from pop culture and the mainstream.

Check out this piece in the New York Times Weddings / Celebration section this weekend:

True, the recession forced many couples to downsize their weddings, and economize on glammy cakes. And afterward, some affluent couples were hesitant to flaunt big weddings and show-off cakes. Then that cutesy cupcake-wedding craze came along. Not to mention the dessert-tables-without-the-wedding-cake thing.

But now, even in Brooklyn, the super-casual center of the universe of culinary cool, wedding cakes are resurgent. “Almost all our brides are customizing cakes,” said Cheryl Kleinman, a wedding go-to and the owner of Cheryl Kleinman Cakes, a thriving bakery on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. “It’s looking way better than three years ago.”

Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, in Manhattan, just sent a five-foot-tall masterpiece (for 550 people) in a refrigerator truck to Palm Beach, Fla. “There is a return to big,” Mr. Ben-Israel said. “Being generous. Inviting a lot of people.”

I talked a bit more about this vibe over the winter in Bubble Guppies.

And you just know this bad boy below is going to a finance guy.

cake

Techies aren’t usually quite this ostentatious about their weddings, it’s too easy for them to be savaged by their peers on the web like Sean Parker was. Finance people, on the other hand, have almost no interaction with the general public or the Internet, so a six-tier cake carried in on a litter like Cleopatra would be par for the course in the mature phase of a bull market.

And now let’s turn our attention to an even more monstrous manifestation of QE making its way into the “real” economy. The hedge-fund-and-Sino/Russo-tycoon-driven Art Bubble.

This one is truly special. Below, the Financial Times details a spectacular night at the Christies headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza three weeks ago:

The sale started in high gear. Lot eight – a lucky number in China – was “Poisson Volant”, a mobile by Alexander Calder swinging lazily above the room. Christie’s Hong Kong-based Asian business development director Xin Li, bidding on behalf of Asian clients, beat out Gagosian to pay $25.9m – almost twice the estimate – after a dogged battle.

The records piled up: a word painting by Christopher Wool at $23.7m, a Barnett Newman at $84m: as the sale progressed, even seasoned dealers were stunned. “Holy moly,” whispered dealer and collector Adam Lindemann to his neighbour as a Warhol White Marilyn zipped to $41m; by the end, the sale had totalled almost $745m – the highest-grossing ever.

Kaboom.

Art is the ultimate anti-commodity. There’s only one of everything and if you want it, the price can be based on nothing but your own desire to have it versus the next most covetous maniac – there are no replacement values to be factored in. Another market that functions this way would be the sports franchise biz – there’s only two NBA teams in LA and one of them is not for sale, Mr. Ballmer. How much would you pay for the other one?

That’s what’s going on now. It’s been going on for a little while now, the difference is that there’s almost no shame attached to it anymore. Giant weddings, huge and utterly uneconomical vanity purchases – we’re back, baby.

Sources:

Extravagant Wedding Cakes Rise Again  (New York Times)

How Long Can the Art Boom Last?  (Financial Times)

This content, which contains security-related opinions and/or information, is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon in any manner as professional advice, or an endorsement of any practices, products or services. There can be no guarantees or assurances that the views expressed here will be applicable for any particular facts or circumstances, and should not be relied upon in any manner. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment.

The commentary in this “post” (including any related blog, podcasts, videos, and social media) reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints, and analyses of the Ritholtz Wealth Management employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded the views of Ritholtz Wealth Management LLC. or its respective affiliates or as a description of advisory services provided by Ritholtz Wealth Management or performance returns of any Ritholtz Wealth Management Investments client.

References to any securities or digital assets, or performance data, are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute an investment recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects, and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others.

Wealthcast Media, an affiliate of Ritholtz Wealth Management, receives payment from various entities for advertisements in affiliated podcasts, blogs and emails. Inclusion of such advertisements does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship or recommendation thereof, or any affiliation therewith, by the Content Creator or by Ritholtz Wealth Management or any of its employees. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. For additional advertisement disclaimers see here: https://www.ritholtzwealth.com/advertising-disclaimers

Please see disclosures here.

What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. Jesus commented on Nov 22

    .

    thanks!!

  2. Curtis commented on Jan 21

    .

    áëàãîäàðñòâóþ.

  3. gordon commented on Feb 12

    .

    áëàãîäàðåí!

  4. bitcoin loophole app download commented on Sep 30

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 79888 additional Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  5. Harold Jahn Canada commented on Nov 14

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  6. 안전공원 commented on Dec 09

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More Information here on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  7. Azure DevOps Consultants commented on Dec 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you can find 33842 additional Info to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  8. Regression Testing commented on Dec 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  9. cartier replica commented on Dec 31

    … [Trackback]

    […] There you will find 18240 additional Information to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  10. banque national du canada commented on Jan 08

    … [Trackback]

    […] Find More to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  11. tangerine canada login commented on Jan 11

    … [Trackback]

    […] Read More on to that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  12. rbc online login commented on Jan 17

    … [Trackback]

    […] Here you will find 60379 more Information on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]

  13. Quality Engineering commented on Jan 18

    … [Trackback]

    […] Info on that Topic: thereformedbroker.com/2014/06/08/cake-bubbles-art-bubbles-etc/ […]