Pablo Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”)” sold for a record $179 million in a Christie’s auction according to Bloomberg, making this the highest price paid for any artwork at auction. Although some might call Christies the lottery winner, President Obama says it’s “hedge fund managers who are society’s Lottery winners,” reports Bloomberg. The report goes on to explain that Obama wants the carried interest hedge funds receive in transactions to lose capital gains treatment. “If I were able to close that loophole, I’d be able to invest in early childhood education, “Obama further suggested. In a shocking defeat, reports Fox News, Senate Democrats blocked a key plank of Obama’s trade agenda by voting 52-45 against expanding the president’s authority to negotiate trade deals. Apparently, he wanted to use this authority to pursue a broad trade pact with Japan and other Pacific nations. Also, according to the WSJ, only two monarchs from the six countries invited to the Arab Summit at the White House and the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., confirmed to attend the summit, with the most prominent abstainer being King Salman of Saudi Arabia. A Tough week for the president! In market news, the AP has reported that a spike in long-term interest rates has rattled investor in the near-term, causing downward pressure on the stock market. On the other hand, benchmark U.S. crude oil moved in the opposite direction of the markets, rising $1.50 to $60.75 at beginning of the week. Last, but not least, CNN Money reports that workers are losing a huge amount of money by not receiving the funding match they would get from their employer by not contributing to their company 401k plan. How much, you ask? CNN Money reports that the money employees leave on the table is…$24 billion. I guess Emerson was right when he said, “Money often costs too much.”
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