Looking into the Crystal Ball

Last week, we heard that the outcome of the impressionist and modern sales in New York weren't necessarily good predictions of what would happen at the post-war and contemporary sales this week. "I think one thing has nothing to do with the other," said Mark Fletcher, an art advisor based in New York. Dealer Richard Feigen and art indices pioneer Michael Moses suggested that the real pre-sale indicator of this week's performance might be movement in the financial markets. Today, opening day of a 4-day race at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips, that movement was downwards: Sotheby's stock hasn't recovered from its precipitous drop last week. The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite Index all lost points today, the fourth straight day of declines on the the trading floor. Will we see a slight market correction, tempering prices that have been skyrocketing for years? A crash reminiscent of the last bust in the '80s? Or something in between? Opinions abound. Submit yours here.