Axios

President-elect Trump will nominate Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, positioning him as the top economic official representing the nation on the world stage.

Why it matters: The pick caps intense jockeying for the influential role that, at times, spilled out into public view. The process has been closely watched by financial markets for what it might signal about the direction of Trump's economic policy.

Super Micro Computer shares continued their long climb back from the brink today, finishing the week up 78% from where they closed last Friday.

Why it matters: The recently high-flying server maker for the AI elite seems to have staved off a Nasdaq delisting, but it has more work to win back investors.

Catch up quick: Super Micro's problems started in August, when a short seller made a series of allegations, including one about shady accounting.

• The company then delayed its financial reports, which triggered the possible Nasdaq delisting.
• And that all triggered a probe by the DOJ.

Things got really bad last month when EY, the auditor hired to back the company's financial reports, quit, saying it was "unwilling to be associated" with them. The stock fell over 32% that day.

Kendrick Lamar released a new album today, which apparently nobody saw coming.

• Promotion for the new album, "GNX," reportedly consisted of a teaser video by the rapper... posted today.

Zoom in: "GNX" is 12 tracks, and it's Lamar's first full-length studio album since 2022, USA Today notes.

What we're watching: Lamar, best known for "Not Like Us," "HUMBLE." and "All The Stars," will headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Did you hear the one about the $6.2 million banana? That's the price a piece of art consisting of a banana duct-taped to a wall fetched this week, up from a "mere" $120,000 it sold for five years ago.

Why it matters: It is a fitting metaphor for an exuberant, and frothy, moment in financial markets of all types, one that raises uncomfortable questions about whether Federal Reserve policy is really restraining the economy as much as its leaders believe.

"Comedian" is the most famous artwork by Maurizio Cattelan, an Italian artist who had a retrospective at the Guggenheim in 2011, and whose auction record, set in 2016, stands at $17.2 million.

• In most news reports, however, including this one, it's generally referred to as "a banana," or "the banana."

Why it matters: "Comedian" sold for $6.2 million at auction last week — a ludicrous price for a banana, but a perfectly normal price for a major piece of contemporary art.

The big picture: Comedy has always struggled with being taken seriously, and Cattelan, often referred to as a "prankster," is one of very few major artists who work mostly in a comedic vein.

• If a serious work by Anselm Kiefer or Bill Viola sold for this much, no eyebrows would be raised.
• Partly because of its comic nature, however, "Comedian" seems to invite ridicule.

Where it stands: "Comedian" can be placed in a long line of conceptual artworks where everyday objects are transformed into art.

• Marcel Duchamp started producing his "readymades" 110 years ago, in 1914, when he presented a bottle rack as art. That was followed up with a snow shovel, a urinal, and many others.
• The Tate Gallery in London caused a minor scandal when it acquired "Equivalent VIII," a 1966 Carl Andre work comprising everyday house bricks, in 1972.
• The idea of an artwork that is executed by the owner according to the artist's instructions is more than half a century old, dating back at least to a Sol Lewitt show at Paula Cooper gallery in 1968.

Between the lines: Cattelan is one of the few artists whose artworks have become memes. That, too, is nothing new — the Mona Lisa was a meme that could be remixed by Duchamp more than a century ago.

• Other such works include Andy Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe, one of which sold in 2022 for $195 million, or Shepard Fairey's "OBEY" portrait of Andre the Giant, available in an unlimited edition for just $30.

Zoom in: A lot of attention has been paid to the materials used in "Comedian" — a banana and some duct tape, both of which can be replaced (or even eaten) an unlimited number of times according to the will of the owner.

• Justin Sun, the winning bidder, promised to eat the banana that was on show at Sotheby's. After all, he does own it — and will continue to own it, and be able to exhibit it, whatever happens to this particular fruit.

Zoom out: Over the past few years, memes have often been monetized via NFTs or cryptocurrencies.

• Sun was the underbidder on the Beeple NFT that sold for $69 million in 2021.
• There's a "Comedian" memecoin, known as BAN, which was invented by a Sotheby's staffer and which currently has a market capitalization of about $138 million — a number that rose as high as $343 million before the auction.
• That level of crypto-world interest in the work helps to explain both Sun's involvement in the bidding and the multimillion-dollar final price.

The bottom line: "Comedian" is a legitimate artwork, by a legitimate artist. Its value, while amusing to many, is not particularly difficult to understand.

Upstart social network Bluesky is getting inbound interest for a large new investment round, just weeks after raising $15 million in Series A funding, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Bluesky has become a post-election refuge for millions of Twitter/X users.

Northvolt, a Swedish maker of lithium-ion batteries that once was valued by venture capitalists at nearly $12 billion, has filed for bankruptcy.

Why it matters This is a massive blow to Europe's EV manufacturing goals, as Northvolt was viewed as the best homegrown chance for reducing reliance on China.

A typical Thanksgiving dinner for 10 will cost about $58 this year, a new report finds — down around 5% from last year but up nearly 20% in unadjusted dollars from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it matters: Grocery prices are a key way Americans experience inflation, and Thanksgiving puts food costs front and center.

The average American thinks a salary of just over $270,000 a year qualifies them as "financially successful," but there are huge disparities between generations, according to a new study.

Why it matters: In an environment where workers are increasingly resentful, the study by financial services company Empower finds younger workers expect double the salary of their older peers to be a success.