Hi there,
 

Here is this week in charts.

Exit strategies. Marking a 20-year high, 3,600+ large merger transactions were recorded in fiscal year 2021, according to preliminary data from the FTC. The trend is expected to keep up in FY 2022, with already 1,000+ merger notices recorded since October. We’ve looked at the implications of accelerating M&A across telehealth, wealth management, artificial intelligence, and the venture space at large.

NFTime. 2021 was the year of the NFT. Nearly $41B was spent on the digital assets by mid-December — and that’s just counting NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. In comparison, global art market sales reached an estimated $50.1B in 2020. NFT marketplaces like OpenSea — which raised $300M at a $13.3B valuation earlier this week just 4 years after founding — also saw a staggering flow of capital in 2021. 

Trade winds. US allies in the Asia-Pacific region like Australia and Japan trade more with China than with the US. Their ties with China will likely strengthen now that the new Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will “eventually eliminate 90% of tariffs on commerce among its 15 member countries” (not including the US), has gone into effect. The agreement could have important implications not only for boosting trade but also strengthening supply chains in the region.  

Nail in the coffin. While nails’ form and function haven’t changed much over the last few centuries, their manufacturing process has shifted dramatically since industrialization, driving a steep decline in nail prices. To put this into perspective, nails represented .4% of GDP in 1810 — comparable to today’s share of household spending on personal computers. 

Sigh. Another Y-axis chart crime, this one thanks to the White House. Since the Y axis doesn’t start at 0 in either chart, it exaggerates the trend pictured.

Note: the above +1 is not a political comment, it's just a comment on an isht graph. So if you've got some crazy thing you want to respond with, please don’t waste your time sending it to me. Gracias.

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal

P.S. If you are passionate about emerging trends in the healthcare space, apply for our healthcare research analyst role here.