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]'."
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MoneyWeek contributor Tim Price in his PFP Wealth Management newsletter
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Chart of the week: hogs high on swine feverCharts The number of pigs in China, around 450 million, is set to shrink by a third by the end of 2019 as swine flu rages – meanwhile, US pork sales to China have hit a record high.
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Chart of the week: coffee comes off the boilCharts Coffee prices have tumbled to a 12-year low, thanks to a bumper crop in Brazil – the world’s largest producer – and a stronger US dollar.
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Chart of the week: cheese – the first casualty of the trade warCharts US cheese prices have crumbled thanks to a glut – the block cheddar cheese benchmark price settled at around $1.54 a pound
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Chart of the week: vanilla could soon be off the menuCharts Vanilla prices have rocketed to a record peak of more than $600 a kilo, after a cyclone in March dented supplies from Madagascar, which accounts for half of world output.
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Chart of the week: “shrinkflation” hits the chocolate marketCharts Toblerone, Quality Street and Creme Eggs have all been hit by “shrinkflation”, with customers getting less for more after the price of cocoa butter soared – up 40% this year alone.
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Chart of the week: bumper harvest hits truffle pricesCharts Heavy rains in the Tanaro river basin in Piedmont, northwest Italy, have led to a bumper harvest of Alba white truffles this year.
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Chart of the week: the rise of the garlic-hoardersCharts The wholesale price of garlic in China, which accounts for more than 80% of the world’s exports, has risen since 2015 as heavy rains damaged crops. Garlic hoarders and speculators have propelled prices to multi-year highs.
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Chart of the week: America’s butter mountainCharts Spot butter prices in America hit a record peak above $3 a pound in 2015, but now they are falling. Butter stockpiles are up 52% from a year ago and close to a 23-year high.
