Chart of the week: lobster prices are boiling over
Hipsters’ passion for lobster rolls has helped propel lobster prices to an 11-year high. Global lobster imports were 7% up year-on-year in the first quarter, with imports to the EU up 20%.
Hipsters have helped propel lobster prices to an 11-year high, says Emiko Terazono on FT.com. Over the past few years, the crustacean has become an "affordable luxury", thanks to the surging popularity of the lobster roll, which used to be largely confined to New England.
Lobsters have also begun to appear in discount supermarkets. The price dip following the global financial crisis has bolstered demand in Asia. Global lobster imports were 7% up year-on-year in the first quarter, with imports to the EU up 20%. Demand has overwhelmed a gradual supply increase in recent years.
Viewpoint
"The consumption of financial media can be dangerous In August 2000, Fortune magazine [tipped] Ten stocks to last the decade' [the] recommendations concentrated on technology, media and telecoms stocks the Fortune portfolio lost 65% of its value over the subsequent decade. Three companies went bankrupt, and one was bailed out. In the words of the legendary value investor Benjamin Graham, Investors do not make mistakes, or bad mistakes, in buying good stocks at fair prices. They make their serious mistakes by buying poor stocks, particularly the ones that are pushed for various reasons [by Wall Street]'."
MoneyWeek contributor Tim Price in his PFP Wealth Management newsletter