https://rehs.com/newsletterarchives.htm?newsletter_no=299
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STOCK MARKET: |
The stock market has actually gotten off to a nice start this year… all three major US indexes are up. And while the rally continued through most of the month, the Fed announcement on the final day of January shocked the system a bit. As expected, rates are being held steady… but it was also indicated that a March rate cut was not likely. That was enough to send the markets into a tizzy – in fact, the Nasdaq ended up with its largest single-day decline in more than a year! Even with the last-minute dip, the Dow was up about 1.1% this month, the Nasdaq was up 1%, and the S&P was up 1.6%... nothing too noteworthy, but it’s better than a loss. Some of the top performers included Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), with a gain of more than 27%, and tech darling NVIDIA (NVDA), with a gain of more than 26%... the latter has exploded in the last 5 years, turning in a whopping 1,500% gain over that period. As for currencies and commodities… the British Pound remained relatively stable in relation to the US dollar, whereas the Euro weakened about 2%. Gold experienced some mild volatility; at one point it was down nearly 3%, but a late rally landed it just about even for the month. Crude set the pace, with futures up nearly 6% through January; oil prices will inevitably be unstable this year as the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate. There were big waves in the crypto world… the SEC approved bitcoin ETFs. Initially, bitcoin popped into the high 40K region but has since settled down and even given back a bit. It was down 3.5% for January, but nevertheless, the introduction of bitcoin ETFs marks a profound moment for cryptocurrency as it takes another step toward broad acceptance. Ethereum and Litecoin were in the same boat with marked volatility… Ethereum finished down about 3%, while Litecoin was down more than 10%. All that said, there’s not a whole lot to complain about so far… things are feeling pretty stable, and while inflation remains elevated, it has certainly settled down. Keep in mind that this is an election year, so you’ll inevitably get your chaos if that’s your thing. Stay tuned. |
STOLEN PAINTINGS FOUND IN BELGIAN BASEMENT
Tête by Pablo Picasso (left) and L’homme en prière by Marc Chagall (right)
In 2010, burglars stole a pair of artworks by twentieth-century masters from a private collection in Israel. Fourteen years later, they’ve finally been located almost 2,000 miles away in Belgium. Tête by Pablo Picasso and L’homme en prière by Marc Chagall were worth around $900,000 when they were stolen from the house of the Herzikovich family in Tel Aviv. The perpetrators of the theft took the works and approximately $680,000 worth of jewelry. The Picasso is one of several abstract portraits created on April 10, 1971. It is made from crayon on board and was last on the market in 1992 when it sold at Christie’s New York for $77k w/p — part of an Impressionist & Modern Paintings sale. A similar work, made on the same day with charcoal, crayon, and watercolor on ruled notebook paper, was offered in 2021 at Standford Auctions in Phoenix. With an estimate range of $225k to $275k, the lot passed. The Chagall is very typical for the artist in showing Jewish themes. The painting shows a bearded Jewish man in the midst of prayer, wearing a tallit and tefillin, as seen by the black box on his head.
The stolen paintings’ rediscovery was set in motion when, in 2022, someone notified police in Belgium that a man in Namur was offering to sell the paintings. This man is a 68-year-old luxury watch dealer from Israel known only as Daniel. Last week, authorities searched his residence but could not locate the paintings. Daniel confessed to having the paintings but would not cooperate with police on their recovery. After further investigation, police searched a building in Antwerp that formerly housed an art gallery to which other stolen paintings were connected. Inside, police found both the Picasso and the Chagall packed in wooden boxes. Both were completely untouched, still in their original frames and had not suffered any damage. Daniel has been charged with possessing the stolen paintings, but it is unknown if he was involved in the initial theft. The collection of jewelry has yet to be found.
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