Market Beats | Killer of Insurance CEO Charged with Murder; Man Group Eyes Acquisition in Credit Space; Xiaomi Unveils New Electric SUV YU7; Google Unveils Unimaginably Fast Quantum Computer; LVMH Buys 20% Share in Luxury Hotel Chain; Oracle Shares Drop by 10% Amid Bad Earnings; Sycamore in Talks to Acquire Struggling Walgreens

—— Man Group Eyes Acquisition in Credit Space; Killer of Insurance CEO Charged with Murder; Xiaomi Unveils New Electric SUV YU7; Google Unveils Unimaginably Fast Quantum Computer; LVMH Buys 20% Share in Luxury Hotel Chain; Oracle Shares Drop by 10% Amid Bad Earnings; Sycamore in Talks to Acquire Struggling Walgreens

1. Man Group Eyes Acquisition in Credit Space

Man Group Plc is open to further acquisitions, with a focus on the rapidly expanding credit market, according to Robyn Grew, CEO of the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund.

Speaking at Bloomberg’s Money, Women and Power conference in London, Grew emphasized that the firm would prioritize acquisitions that provide unique capabilities or uncorrelated assets, steering clear of areas where Man Group already has a strong presence. She added that any potential targets must align with the firm’s scale and culture.

Since becoming Man Group’s first female CEO just over a year ago, Grew has implemented significant changes. Earlier this year, the firm began merging its discretionary trading units as part of a reorganization, which included the departure of Teun Johnston, CEO of its GLG brand.

Grew highlighted that the London-based investment company would continue to grow organically while leveraging hires made through acquisitions.

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2. Killer of Insurance CEO Charged with Murder

Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old from Maryland, has been charged with murder following the fatal shooting of UnitedHealth Group Inc. executive Brian Thompson. The arrest came after a five-day manhunt, culminating in Mangione’s capture in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He is currently held on multiple charges, including those related to firearms.

New York authorities, who have already issued an arrest warrant, are expected to seek Mangione’s extradition to face the murder charges. In New York, his charges include murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and possession of a forged document. The complaint against him remains sealed in New York state.

Earlier on Monday, Luigi Mangione appeared for a preliminary arraignment in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. He faced charges within the state including forgery, carrying a gun without a license, and presenting false identification to law enforcement. These charges were detailed in a criminal complaint made available by the Pennsylvania court system.

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3. Xiaomi Unveils New Electric SUV YU7

Xiaomi Corp. is ramping up its efforts to compete in the electric vehicle market with the planned 2025 launch of its new SUV, the YU7, positioning itself against industry giants like Tesla Inc. and BYD Co. Lei Jun, the billionaire founder of Xiaomi, introduced the YU7 on Weibo, highlighting its similarities to Tesla’s Model Y. This electric SUV, measuring 5 meters in length, will feature a nickel-cobalt-manganese battery produced by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., with a motor offering peak powers of 220kW or 288kW.

This move is part of Xiaomi’s broader $10 billion initiative into electric vehicles, a project Lei is leading personally as the company seeks to diversify beyond the highly competitive smartphone market, where Apple Inc. holds a significant presence. Interestingly, Apple previously abandoned its own electric vehicle project after encountering several manufacturing challenges, emphasizing the competitive and complex nature of the EV sector that Xiaomi is now entering.

Xiaomi’s shares experienced a significant increase, rising as much as 3.9% in Hong Kong trading following the announcement of their new SUV, the YU7.

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4. Google Unveils Unimaginably Fast Quantum Computer

Alphabet Inc.’s quantum computer, powered by Google’s new Willow quantum chip, has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to solve complex computations much faster than traditional supercomputers. It completed a benchmark algorithm in just five minutes—a task that would take the Frontier supercomputer approximately 10 septillion years to finish. This performance is a significant leap from five years ago when Google’s quantum computer could solve a 10,000-year computational task in minutes.

Despite the impressive technical achievement, the specific algorithm solved has no immediate practical applications. However, Hartmut Neven, the founder of Google Quantum AI, emphasizes that the ability to solve any problem at all is a crucial step toward solving “useful” problems. Google is now focusing on identifying a real-world application for its quantum computing power, aiming to present a use case next year that would be impossible for classical computers to handle.

This effort comes as governments and major tech companies invest heavily in quantum computing, drawn by its potential to vastly outperform existing computing technologies and its implications for commercial and military dominance.

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5. LVMH Buys 20% Share in Luxury Hotel Chain

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE is expanding into the luxury travel sector by acquiring approximately a 20% stake in Les Domaines de Fontenille, a high-end French hotel group with properties in sought-after locations like Tuscany and Minorca. Details about the transaction’s value were not disclosed, but LVMH confirmed the investment in a joint statement with Les Domaines de Fontenille, without specifying the size of the stake. Additionally, Anaïs Ventures SA, a Geneva-based investment firm owned by the Firmenich family, also secured a minority stake in the hotel group.

Following this acquisition, LVMH will become the largest shareholder of Les Domaines de Fontenille, according to Frederic Biousse, co-founder of the hotel chain. Founded in 2016 by Biousse and Guillaume Foucher, Les Domaines de Fontenille currently operates 12 properties across France, Italy, and Spain.

This move aligns with LVMH’s strategy to enhance its footprint in the luxury travel market.

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6. Oracle Shares Drop by 10% Amid Bad Earnings

Shares of Oracle Corp. experienced a significant drop, the largest in a year, following a lukewarm quarterly revenue report. Despite a 9% increase in fiscal second-quarter revenue, reaching $14.1 billion, investor reactions were tepid after recent highs fueled by excitement over Oracle’s expanding cloud business. Oracle’s cloud infrastructure segment, which has been closely monitored by analysts, reported a 52% increase to $2.4 billion, matching analyst expectations.

This segment of Oracle’s business is crucial as the company seeks to establish itself in the competitive cloud computing market, currently dominated by giants like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp. The growth in Oracle’s cloud services has been largely driven by demand from artificial intelligence companies and significant clients such as Uber Technologies Inc. and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok. Chairman Larry Ellison has emphasized Oracle’s strengths in providing the necessary hardware and integrated software for handling demanding AI workloads.

Despite these advancements in the cloud sector, Oracle’s shares plummeted by as much as 10% when the markets opened in New York on Tuesday.

The decline comes after a substantial run-up in the stock, which had surged 81% from the beginning of the year until Monday’s close, peaking at a record high of $192.43 on November 21.

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7. Sycamore in Talks to Acquire Struggling Walgreens

Air travel is expected to become more expensive globally in 2025, although the rate of fare increases is predicted to moderate compared to the sharp rises experienced post-Covid. According to a forecast by American Express Global Business Travel Group Inc., the anticipated increases will reflect the ongoing higher operational costs and persistent supply chain disruptions affecting the airline industry.

The American Express report notes that while airfare prices will likely increase across various routes, the extent of these hikes will differ significantly by region. In North America and Europe, the increases are expected to be relatively modest, around 2%. Conversely, regions like Asia and Australasia, which were among the last to relax pandemic restrictions, may see more substantial fare increases of up to 14%.

Despiteitive outlook on passenger demand for 2025, airlines are facing challenges in expanding their capacity due to delays in the delivery of new planes from major manufacturers such as Airbus SE and Boeing Co.

Additionally, extended servicing times for jet engines are further restricting the availability of aircraft, thus limiting the ability of airlines to meet the rising demand and contributing to higher ticket prices.

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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。