Market Beats | Global Stocks Slip as Wall Street Warns on Valuations; Pfizer and Novo Nordisk Escalate Bidding War for Obesity Startup Metsera; First Brands Founder Accused of Diverting $700 Million for Personal Use; Stellantis Recalls Over 320,000 Jeep Plug-In Hybrids; Ethereum’s Corporate Buying Experiment Unravels; IBM to Cut Thousands of Jobs This Quarter; Apple to Launch Budget Mac Laptop

—— Global Stocks Slip as Wall Street Warns on Valuations; Pfizer and Novo Nordisk Escalate Bidding War for Obesity Startup Metsera; First Brands Founder Accused of Diverting $700 Million for Personal Use; Stellantis Recalls Over 320,000 Jeep Plug-In Hybrids; Ethereum’s Corporate Buying Experiment Unravels; IBM to Cut Thousands of Jobs This Quarter; Apple to Launch Budget Mac Laptop

1. Global Stocks Slip as Wall Street Warns on Valuations

The global equity rally lost momentum after artificial intelligence bellwether Palantir Technologies Inc. failed to wow investors and Wall Street executives warned that stock valuations have become stretched.

S&P 500 futures fell 1% as the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps lost steam, with Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. leading declines in premarket trading. Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped 1.4%, while Palantir slid more than 7%.

The dollar climbed to its highest since August amid mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials about the path of interest rates. Treasuries rebounded, with the 10-year yield slipping one basis point to 4.10%. Gold fell for a third straight session, and Bitcoin hit its lowest level since June.

At a financial summit in Hong Kong, Morgan Stanley’s Ted Pick and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon both cautioned that markets may be due for a 10%-plus correction in the next 12 to 24 months. They suggested such a pullback could be “healthy,” but their warnings come as investors grow uneasy with valuations following a 35% surge in the S&P 500 since April, driven by AI-fueled gains in megacap tech stocks.

“Corporate earnings are strong, but valuations are challenging,” said Capital Group CEO Mike Gitlin during the summit hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Palantir’s results came up short of sky-high expectations, even after the company raised its full-year revenue forecast and beat third-quarter estimates. Its shares have more than doubled this year, closing Monday at a record $207.18. The stock trades at 85 times forward sales — the highest in the S&P 500. Adding to investor jitters, hedge fund manager Michael Burry disclosed bearish bets on both Palantir and Nvidia.

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2. Pfizer and Novo Nordisk Escalate Bidding War for Obesity Startup Metsera

Pfizer Inc. and Novo Nordisk A/S have raised their offers for Metsera Inc. as the fight for the fast-growing obesity drug developer intensifies ahead of a Delaware court hearing on Tuesday.

Novo’s latest bid values Metsera at up to $86.20 a share, or roughly $10 billion, according to a company statement. Metsera’s board deemed it superior to Pfizer’s enhanced $70-a-share offer, worth about $8.1 billion. Pfizer has two days to adjust its proposal. The US drugmaker has also filed a lawsuit seeking to temporarily block Novo’s higher bid, with a hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The escalating bidding war has prompted concerns that both pharmaceutical giants may overpay for a three-year-old startup with just 81 employees and several early- to mid-stage obesity drug candidates. Metsera raised $290 million in a 2024 funding round led by Arch Venture Partners.

Pfizer shares fell as much as 1.4% Tuesday after raising its 2025 profit outlook for the second time this year, while Novo shares gained 2% in Copenhagen. Metsera jumped 16.4% to $70.67.

“The way Metsera shares are trading suggests Wall Street expects higher bids to come,” said Jared Holz, healthcare strategist at Mizuho Securities.

Court filings revealed that Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla texted a Metsera board member on Oct. 29, offering to increase Pfizer’s bid by $3 a share if the startup would publicly declare Novo “no longer an eligible bidder.” Metsera did not respond, and Novo’s offer became public the following day. Pfizer submitted a fresh proposal on Nov. 3.

After struggling to rebound from the post-Covid slump, Pfizer has long sought entry into the obesity market, projected to reach $95 billion by 2030 and currently dominated by Novo and Eli Lilly & Co. Metsera’s emerging obesity drug pipeline makes it an attractive target for Pfizer’s long-awaited comeback effort.

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3. First Brands Founder Accused of Diverting $700 Million for Personal Use

First Brands Group sued its founder, Patrick James, alleging he misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars from the US automotive supplier before its September bankruptcy filing.

According to a Nov. 3 filing in the Southern District of Texas, lawyers for the company — now overseen by restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal — claimed James borrowed funds under fraudulent terms and “routinely and regularly” siphoned cash for himself and his family. From 2018 to 2025, more than $700 million was allegedly funneled from First Brands to James and his affiliated entities.

“James secretly pilfered some of the Company’s assets to fund his and his family’s lavish lifestyle,” the filing said. “In short, he lined his pockets at the expense of First Brands and its creditors.”

The complaint, based on seven million documents, bank records, and employee devices, portrays James’s extravagant spending habits, including a fleet of at least 17 exotic cars, a celebrity personal trainer, and luxury living arrangements. Payments from company accounts allegedly included $3 million in rent for a New York townhouse between 2019 and 2024 and about $500,000 in 2025 for a private chef.

Lawyers for First Brands are seeking a court order to freeze “any and all assets” belonging to James and other defendants. The company did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours.

The lawsuit adds to mounting allegations of financial misconduct surrounding First Brands, which entered bankruptcy in September following reports of missing cash and fraudulent accounting practices.

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4. Stellantis Recalls Over 320,000 Jeep Plug-In Hybrids

Stellantis NV is recalling just over 320,000 Jeep plug-in hybrid vehicles in the US due to the risk that their batteries could catch fire.

According to a notice posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website, high-voltage battery packs in Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee models may have been built with cells vulnerable to separator damage. The automaker is advising owners to park their vehicles outdoors and avoid charging them until a fix is available.

The company said it is working on a remedy. The recall affects Wranglers produced between July 2020 and late August this year and Grand Cherokees built between July 2021 and mid-October. A company investigation found 19 fire incidents to date. Jeep said the risk of fire is reduced when the battery is fully depleted.

The recall comes as Stellantis begins to see progress from its efforts to regain market share in the US, its most important market. Shipments in North America have started to pick up after the automaker cleared excess inventories and refreshed its lineup.

Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa last month pledged to invest about $13 billion in the US to sustain momentum. He has reversed the strategy of his predecessor, Carlos Tavares, who focused on cost-cutting and relocating production and engineering work to lower-cost countries such as Mexico.

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5. Ethereum’s Corporate Buying Experiment Unravels

Ethereum’s corporate-buying experiment is collapsing as the cryptocurrency’s price tumbles back to pre-boom levels.

The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency fell below $3,400 on Tuesday, sliding alongside Bitcoin and major tech stocks as Wall Street’s AI-driven optimism faded. Ether is now down about 30% from its August peak, erasing gains made during a wave of corporate accumulation and signaling its return to a bear market.

Research firm 10x Research estimates that Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc., Ethereum’s most aggressive corporate buyer, now faces over $1.3 billion in unrealized losses. The publicly traded company — backed by billionaire Peter Thiel and led by Wall Street strategist Tom Lee — had followed a “Bitcoin treasury” model pioneered by Michael Saylor, acquiring 3.4 million Ether at an average price of $3,909. With its capital fully deployed, Bitmine is now under mounting pressure.

Retail investors who bought Bitmine shares at a premium to net asset value have been hit even harder, with “little appetite to catch a falling knife,” the report said.

Bitmine’s strategy represented more than a balance-sheet trade — it was a bet that digital assets could evolve from speculative instruments into a core layer of corporate finance. Proponents argued that locking Ether into public-company treasuries would help accelerate a decentralized economy where code replaces contracts and tokens serve as assets.

Tom Lee, who also serves as chairman of Bitmine and co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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6. Ares Earnings Surge 122% as Private Equity Secondaries Boom

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) plans to cut thousands of jobs this quarter as it continues refocusing on higher-growth software and services businesses.

“We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly,” a company spokesperson said. “In the fourth quarter, we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce.”

IBM shares have gained this year amid investor optimism about its software division, driven by the performance of acquired units Red Hat and HashiCorp. Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna has sought to make software IBM’s largest business segment, while its consulting arm has struggled in recent years due to client concerns over the broader economy.

The company had about 270,000 employees at the end of 2024. Some US workers may be affected by the reductions, though overall employment in the country is expected to remain roughly flat year over year, according to the spokesperson.

The move underscores IBM’s strategic transition toward higher-margin, technology-led operations aimed at long-term growth.

The firm’s dealmakers were also rewarded handsomely: compensation and benefits rose 51% to $659.8 million, with about $404 million tied to performance-based pay.

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7. Apple to Launch Budget Mac Laptop

Palantir Technologies Inc. raised its full-year revenue forecast to $4.4 billion after posting third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations, fueled by surging demand for its artificial intelligence and data analytics software.

Revenue rose 63% to $1.18 billion in the quarter ended September, topping analysts’ estimates of $1.09 billion. The company expects fourth-quarter sales of about $1.33 billion, compared with a consensus projection of $1.19 billion. Adjusted profit was 21 cents per share, above the average estimate of 17 cents.

Palantir has now exceeded revenue expectations for 21 consecutive quarters, according to Bloomberg data. CEO Alex Karp described the company’s growth as “in a nosebleed zone,” adding, “No one else is here.”

Shares climbed as much as 7% in after-hours trading before paring gains. Palantir’s stock has soared more than 150% this year, giving it one of the highest valuations in the S&P 500 — about 85 times expected sales over the next 12 months.

The AI boom has made Palantir one of its biggest public beneficiaries. Founded in 2003 with backing from Peter Thiel and the CIA’s venture arm, the company provides software that integrates data from disparate sources and uses AI to accelerate decision-making — from optimizing corporate efficiency to shortening military response times.

Its US commercial revenue jumped 121% year-over-year to $397 million, while government contracts in the US climbed 52% to $486 million in the third quarter.

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