Art buying no longer just happens by raising a paddle or starting up a long chat with a gallery dealer. These days, collectors are sussing out their favourite pieces online and, thanks to new middlemen, can seal the deal without ever setting foot in the gallery district.

Now valued at $63.8 billion, the global art market is booming. Its biggest trade show, Art Basel, has transformed the cities of Basel and Miami into global cultural capitals. It's now setting its sights farther afield, with the Art Basel Cities project aiming to give smaller cities the Basel treatment.

In 2014, seven of the 20 most visited exhibitions across the world took place in Brazil, with one artist towering over the rest. Despised by scholars and critics, how does Romero Britto sell art worth over $50 million a year? And why do Brazilians love his colourful imagery so much?

Nine in ten women will have to manage their own finances at some point in their lives, yet many of them are underinvested. Ellevest is a female-only platform that aims to change that, using long-term goals rather than short-term wins to overhaul an industry that’s largely oriented towards men.