The year ahead

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that 2022 will contain surprises—and probably no small amount of déjà vu.To help you get a grasp [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that 2022 will contain surprises—and probably no small amount of déjà vu. To help you get a grasp on it, look no further than the pages of Bloomberg Businessweek’s annual [The Year Ahead issue.]( It’s your guide to the need-to-know trends, themes, and people. Here’s a cheat sheet to what we see happening in the luxury sphere: Extreme RVs are growing bigger and bolder with younger, affluent consumers reorganizing their free time around so-called overlanding—and even mainstream auto companies such as Ford and Rivian are feeling a boost. [The surge of interest and cash]( has transformed the formerly humble backcountry into a playground for six-figure rigs kitted out with thousands of dollars of glamping “necessities.” [( Overlanding: the posh way to rough it. Photographer: Caleb Wallace Golf’s Asian Tour is getting out of the rough thanks to a $200 million cash infusion from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. [The revamped circuit]( have 10 new events after two years of pandemic-related disruptions, with the first one teeing off Feb. 3 near Jeddah. Indigenous groups are finally getting a seat at tourism’s table, and from Canada to Australia to the American South, they’re upending some of the industry’s most enduring tropes for travel experiences that are [finally authentic](. There’s more to Hawaii than luaus and leis. Illustration: Olivia Fields Asia’s art collectors are still eager to buy, but only if it’s the best. Which may have [deep reverberations]( as the merely wealthy—aka the people who sustain the so-called middle market with art prices that range from about $100,000 to $2 million—contend with tax increases and inflation. Champagne shortages and NFT surpluses are what our wine critic sees in her crystal glass. That and herb-infused reds and whites, better no-alcohol vino, and plenty of sticker shock. [Gulp.]( Obsidian Wine’s carbonated Pear Blanc cider and wine blend. Photographer: Joanna McClure for Bloomberg Businessweek The key to a delicious plant-based future is growing in Brooklyn. Quite literally in a 10,000-square-foot microbiology lab. Kingdom Supercultures is on the [cutting edge of food science]( by supercharging one of the world’s most ancient—and currently megatrendy—cooking methods, fermentation. To get a better handle on some of the other news stories we’ll see—and, OK, have a little fun—we also asked the sports gambling news site Odds Shark for help in framing the next year in terms of betting markets. James Bond? Legal shrooms? [What are the odds?]( Brooklyn’s alt-dairy kingdom starts here. Source: Kingdom Supercultures What else to read [No, Really, Flying Taxis Are Getting Close to Takeoff]( Billions of dollars have flowed into companies working to change “eVTOLs” from a gimmick to a standard mode of transportation. [Ready to Eat Some Lab-Grown Meat? The FDA Will Soon Decide]( The science experiment could soon reach your supermarket. [Film Studios Make a Risky Bet on Theaters]( Avatar 2 and Top Gun: Maverick will show whether Americans are ready to go out to the movies again. [Fur Industry Hopes Certification Will Help Change the Conversation]( Reassuring buyers increasingly concerned about animal suffering and ostentatious displays of wealth. [On the Hot Seat for 2022]( These business and political leaders—plus a controversial drug and cryptocurrency exchanges—face an especially challenging year. Check your portfolio In the market for a new ride? We’re sorry to report, last year’s record-high car prices [won’t be dropping anytime soon](. In December, the average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. hit $47,077, up 14% ($5,742), compared to 2020, according to [Kelley Blue Book](. When you break out just luxury cars, it’s $64,864. Luxury cars are also selling for a record-setting $1,300 more on average than their sticker price, while in December 2020, they sold for $3,000 less than MSRP. A Mercedes-Benz S500 for sale at a dealership in Louisville, Ky. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg Chip shortages, a surge in holiday spending, and the spread of the Covid-19 omricon variant were the biggest factors in the disparity, analysts say. [Sizzling inflation levels](—a 39-year high of 7%—could’t have helped either. Gasoline [tops the charts]( with a 49.6% price increase from the prior year. Affluent consumers have not been discouraged. “The luxury buyer has probably had a pretty good ride in the last couple of years,” says Charlie Chesbrough, a senior economist for Cox Automotive. “Their portfolio is probably doing well. Their income is probably doing well. That is the reason we are seeing such strength.” Indeed, the global catastrophes of the past year have served to [make the rich richer](. In other news Our top stories of the week in art crimes, cooking, cars, and culture [A Million-Dollar Lawsuit Uncovers Backdoor Art World Contracts]( [The Secret Ingredient That Chili Has Been Missing? Fish Sauce]( [The Best Places to Go in 2022, From Alaska to Zambia]( [These NFT Watches Can Cost More Than a Real-Life Rolex]( [The 2022 Mercedes-Benz SL Is Nothing Like Its Predecessors]( [Coachella Sells Out Its Festival Despite Omicron Surge]( And if you read just one thing... Source: 731 Source: 731 The analysts at [Bloomberg Intelligence](—who track some 2,000 companies in finance, retail, energy, technology, and more—have identified 50 companies worth watching in the year ahead. When building the list, they considered factors such as growth prospects, management changes, and planned releases of noteworthy products and services. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was important, of course, as were growing sales of electric vehicles, the transition to clean energy, China’s increasing regulatory scrutiny, power shortages, and opportunities in the metaverse. [From Airbnb to Volkswagen](, keep an eye on these global stocks this year. Follow Us Like getting the Pursuits newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Pursuits newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](