Above the Fold

Big Money at the Ready for New Public Offerings

Special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) continue to grow in popularity. The publicly traded companies, designed to raise capital in order to acquire specific private businesses and bring them to market quickly, have seen meteoric rises in capital and numeration. According to Dealogic, SPACs had raised roughly $12 billion in both October and November, while three new SPACs have been created each day in the month of December. 

Preqin is also reporting that committed cash for private-equity and venture-capital firms is ballooning as well, with PE firms at nearly $311 billion and private equity at about $440 billion in “dry powder” ready to be spent on rising corporate stars. Investors are already pouring record amounts of capital into startups this year at a record pace. According to a Pitchbook report, investments in startups during the first half of 2021 had already eclipsed funding for the entire previous year. 

This action tells us that investors stand at the ready to commit capital to startups and new growth companies despite the higher risks and a lackluster year for IPO (initial public offering) performance. Persistently low-interest rates are also fueling this hunt for yield.

Three Things 

1. Google Wasn’t the Most Visited Site in 2021 – Despite being the king of global search and the most visited site for years, Google lost its title for much of this last year. According to cloud-infrastructure company Cloudflare Inc., China-based TikTok was the most visited site starting in February. TikTok’s popularity grew in August, sending it further up in rank. Earlier in the year, the video-sharing platform said it had 1 billion monthly users and was ranked seventh in 2020. 
2. LG Stepping Up Its Transparent Game – The Korean electronics powerhouse is wowing audiences at CES 2022 with a plethora of transparent displays in all sorts of form factors. From roll-up TVs to half-moon-shaped chairs with a built-in OLED screen, the company is betting big on translucent and clear televisions and monitors. It’s “Show Window” can be mounted behind any existing window and level up the marketing capabilities and flexibility of a myriad of businesses. Other displays can be placed in front of real products and use animations and changing imagery to create an immersive shopping experience. 
3. One Smartphone Vibration You’ll Want to Pay Attention to – A new app called ShakeAlert offers an early warning to residents in earthquake-prone areas. The system pulls information from the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) sensor network to alert users via app push messaging or through the emergency alert system available on most phones. First introduced in Los Angeles in 2018, the app has been expanded across California and could be used elsewhere to help warn of impending disaster. 

Did You Know? 

The Dark Side of Holiday Shopping…

Well, not really. But the increase of online shopping has also given rise to the number of returns. Last season, online spending had grown 32.2% year over year, hitting a record of $188.2 billion. All those “blind” purchases also meant that National Returns Week (the first week of the new year) ballooned as well. In 2021, retailers had to return nearly 13.5% of all merchandise sold. The United Parcel Service alone processed nearly 9 million returned gifts in 2021, a 23% increase over 2020. Another heavy return season is expected this year as well.