A late “musketeer” painting by Pablo Picasso sold for 7 million pounds ($11.5 million) at Sotheby’s last night as buyers looked for value in the contracted auction market for Impressionist art.

The 1969 work dates to a period late in Picasso’s life when he was obsessed with floppy-hatted swashbucklers and their Casanova lifestyles.

In this version, Picasso’s doppelganger stands before a velvety red backdrop in a yellow jacket. He holds a sword as if posing for an Old Master portrait.

One of the Thinker sculptures by French master Auguste Rodin has been sold at auction for more than 3 million euros ($5.2 million) in Paris, Reuters reports.

The bronze, just 72.5 centimetres high, set a record for any of the Thinkers – a series of 21 sculptures made by Rodin in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

One of the most famous sculptures in the world, the Thinker represents a naked man sitting on a rock looking downwards, with his elbow on his knee and his chin resting on his hand.

Boston real estate officials said an anonymous buyer set a city record by paying $300,000 for a private parking space.

It is the most expensive parking space in the city’s history, according to Debra Sordillo of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, who brokered the deal.

Debra Sordillo said several residents at 48 Commonwealth Ave. engaged in a bidding war for the space, driving the asking price of $250,000 up to the record-breaking $300,000.

A painting by Chinese artist Sanyu fetched a record HK$42.1 ($5.4 million) at a Hong Kong auction as bidders fought for lots, betting that the worst of Asia’s art-market slump is over.

Of the 38 lots offered last week at Christie’s International’s top selection of Asian art, 34 sold, raising a combined HK$181.7 million, according to the London-based auction house.

That’s about twice the company’s presale estimate, said Kate Malin, a Christie’s spokeswoman.

Beginning June 15, 2009, Google is relaxing its policy on use of trademarks in ad copy text.

In the past, Google has restricted the use of brand names in ad text and was willing to take action to prevent it which allowed you to authorize specific resellers to use your brand while restricting the remainder of the market.

Now Google will allow previously disapproved ads to run on Google.com and the content network in the USA, without the need for approval by the trademark owner.

From famous chateaux ranging from Lafite to Margaux and Mouton, wine lovers had a chance to bid for top French wine in Beijing on Friday at the first wine auction yet on the Chinese mainland.

Around 1,000 bottles of fine wine from France’s renowned Bordeaux area were on auction with a starting price of several hundred to several thousand U.S. dollars Xinhua reports.

94 percent of the wines were sold and over 90 percent of the buyers said they would drink the wines themselves, not for investment.