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by Vista Partners LLC December 2, 2025

Large Cap U.S. Stocks Stage Measured Rebound Amid Shutdown Shadows – Dec. 2, 2025 -( $AAPL $BTC $DV $INTC $INTG $MTWO $NOK $NVDA $OKLO $QCOM $PLTR $RIO $SOAR $SPY $TSM Rise!)

U.S. stocks staged a measured rebound on Tuesday, with the major averages dusting themselves off after Monday’s wobble and heading modestly higher while small caps sat out the party. The S&P 500 edged up about 0.25% to 6,829.37, the Dow added roughly 0.39% to finish near 47,474.46, and the tech‑heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.59%, helped by renewed risk appetite as Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized over $91k, while the Russell 2000 slipped 0.17% to 2,464.98, reminding investors that not every corner of the market is invited to the large cap‑tech afterparty.

Macro Data Thin, Shutdown Delays Persist

Macroeconomic data remained thin thanks to the lingering effects of the record U.S. government shutdown, which has delayed several “official” reports and forced traders to lean more on private and survey‑based gauges. Recent commentary has underscored that key labor metrics like JOLTS are being pushed back or skipped, keeping the Fed and markets partially in the dark even as earlier business surveys had already been tilting the debate toward eventual rate cuts. On trade policy, tariff headlines were relatively quiet today, with prior reports still framing an environment of targeted, “strategic” tariffs that continue to loom over manufacturing and consumer‑sensitive regions rather than driving a fresh global shock.

Yields Steady, FOMC Looms Next Week

In fixed income, the yield curve stayed upward‑sloping on the long end, a notable break from the deeply inverted configuration of the last cycle: the 10‑year Treasury yield hovered just above 4.09%, with the 2-yr moving lower to 3.52%, suggesting the market still buys into a soft‑landing or at least a “not‑crashing” narrative. With the next Federal Open Market Committee gathering set for December 10 on the official calendar, traders continue to price in a high probability of a quarter‑point cut, turning each incremental data release—when it finally arrives—into a referendum on how quickly Chair Powell & Co. can move without re‑inflating the very bubbles they spent two years deflating. The long government shutdown, now in the rear‑view mirror but still leaving statistical potholes, remains a talking point in Washington and on Wall Street as analysts tally up lost output and the reputational cost of repeatedly weaponized funding deadlines.

Commodities Dip, Bitcoin Bounces Back

In commodities and crypto, gold futures opened around $4,241.60 an ounce, off roughly .78% from Monday’s close and a few percent below October’s highs, as the metal digested its spectacular run in an environment where real yields no longer look quite as menacing. Silver traded .08% higher to $59.175 per ounce and was modestly softer intraday, still within a broader bullish channel, while WTI crude moved 1.18% lower to $58.62 a barrel after OPEC+ stuck with its plan to pause production increases in the first quarter of next year, a stance that has capped downside but not yet restored the market’s swagger. Bitcoin, meanwhile, recovered from Monday’s cryptocurrency swoon, with recent prints showing it oscillating in the high‑80,000s to low‑90,000s range, enough of a rebound to keep digital‑asset enthusiasts optimistic and macro strategists mildly concerned about what it says regarding residual risk appetite.

Lilly Shines on Analyst Upgrades

On the corporate front, Eli Lilly (LLY) remained a market darling as analysts continued to race each other to higher price targets bur still fell 1.11% to $1046.12: Bank of America reiterated its buy rating and lifted its target to $1,286, touting the company’s dominance in obesity and diabetes with its GLP‑1 franchise, while BMO stuck with an Outperform and a $1,100 target as the stock trades near record highs. The story in Lilly’s pipeline and guidance—robust revenue growth expectations into 2025 and the prospect of an oral obesity therapy in 2026—has effectively turned every minor pullback into a scramble for entry, giving LLY an air of blue‑chip growth royalty rather than old‑line pharma plodder.

AI Chips and Large caps Lead the Charge

Chip and AI bellwethers continued to dominate conversations even on a relatively calm tape. Nvidia (NVDA, $181.46, +.86%) and Broadcom (AVGO, $381.57, -1.17%) remain at the center of the AI trade, with Morgan Stanley recently lifting price targets on both while highlighting broad‑based AI strength, even as some rivals warn that Nvidia’s competitive moat will be tested by new data‑center offerings from challengers like Qualcomm (QCOM, $170.70, +1.58%). Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM, $292.09, +1.53%) likewise stays cast as the essential arms dealer in the AI and advanced‑node saga, with recent analysis grouping it alongside Nvidia as one of the biggest long‑term beneficiaries of the compute boom, leaving its share price trading as much on multi‑year capex plans as on next quarter’s earnings line. Among the large cap tech plays, Apple’s (AAPL, $286.19, +1.09%) persistent strength has been underpinned by checks showing firm iPhone demand and lengthening lead times into the holiday season, reinforcing a string of analyst calls that keep the stock firmly in the market’s “security blanket” bucket. Tesla (TSLA, $429.24, -.21%) , by contrast, continues to trade more like a macro‑linked momentum barometer than a car company, with recent sessions swinging on shifting expectations around EV demand, margin resilience, and the broader risk‑asset mood rather than any single headline. Meta Platforms (META, $647.10, +.97%) remains tightly bound to the AI‑in‑advertising narrative, where the key question is not whether the company can monetize AI, but how much of that windfall shareholders can capture after spending and regulation take their cut.

Infrastructure AI Plays Draw Capital

The broader “AI‑plus‑infrastructure” cohort kept drawing in capital, with Oracle (ORCL, $201.10, +.08%), Broadcom, and Palantir (PLTR, $170.69, +1.91%) increasingly discussed as a kind of next‑generation “Magnificent” subset for investors who feel late to the original party but still want exposure to data‑center spending, custom silicon, and high‑end analytics. Oracle’s high‑profile cloud partnership in AI, Broadcom’s custom chip work for hyperscalers, and Palantir’s dual franchise in defense and enterprise AI have all been held up as reasons these names could outgrow the traditional large cap pack over the next cycle, even if their day‑to‑day moves remain hostage to the same factor flows driving the Nasdaq.

Traditional Names Hold Steady

In the more traditional consumer and industrial realm, McDonald’s (MCD, $300.72, -.94%) continues to benefit from its role as a quasi‑staple for value‑conscious consumers, a positioning that has historically served it well in late‑cycle environments when diners trade down but still want a reliable french fry. Rio Tinto’s (RIO, $72.34, +.51%) narrative stays tied to the global growth and China‑sensitive commodity complex, where metals have rallied on hopes of better 2025 demand but remain vulnerable to any renewed tariff cross‑fire or slowdown in construction and green‑energy spending. Nokia (NOK, $619, +1.14%) for its part, remains a more tactical play on 5G and telecom capex cycles than a broad tech bellwether, leaving the stock sensitive to periodic shifts in carriers’ spending plans rather than the glamorous AI buzz lifting its larger peers. Back in Silicon Valley‑adjacent territory, Intel’s (INTC, $43.47, +8.65%) attempts to reinvent itself as both a foundry contender and an AI player continue to be judged against the blistering pace set by Nvidia and TSM, leaving the stock in a perpetual “show me” phase where execution on process nodes and external customer wins matter more than the marketing deck. However, today stories flew about a possible win may be surfacing related to Apple and that Intel may begin building Apple’s M series chips for its MacBook Aire and iPad Pro as soon as early 2027.

Emerging Plays in Nuclear and Housing

Oklo (OKLO, $91.84, +5.13%) sitting at the intersection of advanced nuclear and the energy demands of the AI age, remains a speculative but thematically fashionable ticker; its story is increasingly framed around whether micro‑reactors can become a meaningful contributor to the massive power needs of data centers before the current AI cycle matures. Opendoor (OPEN, $6.99, -2.22%) continues to be treated as a leveraged bet on the housing market and mortgage‑rate path, its business model inherently tied to liquidity and volatility in residential real estate rather than to the gentler curves enjoyed by traditional brokers.

IPOs and Deals Stay Selective

Deal‑makers remained selectively active. On the IPO front, calendar data show a steady stream of new listings, including special‑purpose and niche offerings, with New America Acquisition I Corp. among those recently priced and additional names like Cardinal Infrastructure Group and Lumexa Imaging in the pipeline, reflecting a market that is open for business but still discerning about what it will pay up for. Fresh filings at the NYSE include amended documents for issuers such as Lumexa Imaging Holdings and Wealthfront, while Wealthfront separately disclosed plans for a U.S. IPO targeting a valuation north of $2 billion, underscoring how fintech is re‑testing the public markets after an extended lull. Traditional M&A and buyout headlines were relatively subdued today, with investors still digesting earlier deals rather than being handed a new, market‑moving blockbuster.

VP Watchlist Updates

Modular Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: MODD., $.394), a leader in innovative insulin delivery technology targeting the $3 billion adult “almost-pumpers” diabetes market with user-friendly, affordable patch pumps, today (Nov. 17) announced Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval to conduct an in-house study of its next-generation Pivot™ insulin delivery system using insulin on people with diabetes (the “Study”). Pursuant to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations, an IRB is a group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. The Study will simulate real-world conditions by delivering insulin to adult participants to gather critical data on device function and usability and obtain user feedback. Modular Medical’s Pivot tubeless patch pump aims to enhance accessibility for underserved patients with diabetes and drive market penetration and expansion. On Nov. 14, Modular Medical announced the 510(k) premarket submission of its next generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). The Company expects to commence the commercial launch of its Pivot pump in Q1 2026. On Nov. 3, Modular Medical the successful validation of its Pivot controller line, a critical milestone in preparing for the commercial launch of its Pivot patch pump targeted for Q1 2026. The Pivot controller line validation further demonstrates manufacturing readiness for high-volume production, positioning Modular Medical to meet the growing demand in the diabetes treatment market for advanced technology.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EPRX, $5.83), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for diseases with significant unmet need, announced (Nov. 13) the second set of 52-week follow up data from its ongoing Phase 1b/2a RESOLVE trial evaluating a single administration EP-104GI for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (“EoE”). James A. Helliwell, Chief Executive Officer of Eupraxia stated, “These data further highlight the strong durability and tolerability profile of EP-104GI, reinforcing its potential to become a convenient, once-a-year treatment that fits seamlessly into routine disease management by aligning with annual patient endoscopies. The Cohorts 5 & 6 patients – the only groups to have reached 52 weeks in the trial – are demonstrating levels of symptom relief that is durable and clinically meaningful – we are very encouraged by this outcome. We’re also pleased that our previously announced 52-week data were presented as a late-breaking presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). These new results build on that momentum. Given that current EoE therapies often struggle with long-term adherence, we believe a durable, once-yearly treatment could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and establish EP-104GI as a preferred option for both physicians and their patients.”

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX, $.3718), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multi-antigen vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases and cancer, reported (Nov. 13) its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and provided a business update highlighting key corporate and clinical advancements across its vaccine and oncology programs. David Dodd, CEO of Geovax stated, “As highlighted in this report, during the third quarter GeoVax continued making important progress, advancing innovative vaccines and immunotherapies that address urgent and underserved medical needs. With continued global Mpox spread and constrained vaccine supply, our GEO-MVA program represents a U.S.-based, scalable, next-generation MVA platform. Our EMA and BARDA-aligned program position GeoVax to accelerate regulatory readiness and commercial entry. For our GEO-CM04S1 COVID-19 vaccine program, recent clinical presentations validate our belief that multi-antigen vaccines – expressing both spike and nucleocapsid – are essential for breadth and durability in vulnerable immunocompromised populations. In particular, the robust immune responses demonstrated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the unmet needs of over 40 million immunocompromised Americans. In our Gedeptin(R) oncology program, the expansion into multiple solid tumor indications builds upon a growing recognition that tumor-targeted immune priming can dramatically improve checkpoint outcomes. We are executing a clear path to clinical and commercial value creation. GeoVax continues to execute with purpose and discipline. Our multi-antigen vaccine and immunotherapy platforms position the Company squarely within the national call to strengthen America’s health security, expand domestic manufacturing, and deliver equitable global solutions.”

Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR, $1.25, +2.46%) and M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO, $.0982, +3.48%), a company specializing in the development and execution of a complete global value supply chain for critical minerals, announced on Nov. 19 that Nimy Resources (“Nimy”) and M2i will collaborate with the aim of forming commercially binding contract terms for the respective sale and purchase of gallium production. They also announced (Oct. 16) the next phase of development of the digital and commercial infrastructure underpinning the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR). M2i initiated the SMR framework and technical specifications earlier this year. Volato is now applying its proven enterprise-software expertise to build and operationalize the secure technology backbone that will support critical mineral traceability, contracting, and compliance across the United States and allied nations. This infrastructure is being developed to serve as the market-facing layer of the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve initiative, providing miners, refiners, recyclers, manufacturers, and government entities with a trusted environment for physical critical mineral transactions—with verified provenance, end-to-end custody visibility, and regulatory compliance at its core.

Serina Therapeutics (NYSE American: SER, $3.81) stands at a pivotal juncture as it harnesses fresh capital, regulatory momentum, and a sharpened communications strategy to propel its lead program, SER-252, into late-stage clinical testing for advanced Parkinson’s diseas. The Alabama-based biotech is betting its proprietary POZ platform and reimagined approach to apomorphine delivery may redefine the treatment paradigm for patients who have e96xhausted standard oral therapies.

The InterGroup Corporation (NASDAQ: INTG, $32.55,+3.98%) reported (Nov. 17) results for the three months ended September 30, 2025. John V. Winfield, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We continue to observe signs of stabilization and recovery across the San Francisco hospitality market, including improving convention calendars, tourism indicators, and business travel activity. On the investment side, our marketable securities activity remained modest with a small net gain, consistent with our emphasis on liquidity and risk discipline.”

Nokia (NOK, $6.19, +1.14%) is promising investors a sleeker, AI‑age version of itself by 2028, aiming to lift profits by as much as 60% while quietly admitting that the road there runs through a restructuring zone. Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: AMPX), a leader in next-generation lithium-ion batteries with its Silicon Anode Platform, today announced (Dec. 2) that Nokia has selected Amprius’ SiCore® cells to power its next-generation drone systems. Following extensive qualification and testing, Amprius’ batteries demonstrated the endurance, power delivery, and safety performance needed to position this drone-in-a-box solution among the most capable UAV platforms on the market.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN, $6.99) a digital red estate disruptor, jumped higher as the belief that interest rates would be cut in December rose significantly.

DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (DV) closed at $10.75, +.84%. DoubleVerify Holdings is a software company that helps advertisers verify and improve the quality and performance of their digital ads across the web, apps, social platforms, and connected TV. DoubleVerify provides a digital media measurement and analytics platform that checks whether ads are viewable, shown to real people (not bots), served in brand‑safe environments, and delivered in the right geography. Its tools give advertisers independent, third‑party data so they can reduce ad fraud, avoid unsafe content, and get better return on their digital ad spend. DoubleVerify primarily earns revenue by charging advertisers, agencies, and platforms based on the volume of media it measures (such as impressions or transactions). Its technology is integrated with major ad platforms and programmatic exchanges, and is used globally by brands, marketplaces, and publishers to monitor and optimize campaigns.

Sources

by Vista Partners LLC December 2, 2025

Are Your Ads Really Safe? DoubleVerify’s 2025 Global Insights on Walled Gardens -( $DV $GOOG $AMZN $WMT $SPY )

DoubleVerify’s (NYSE: DV) latest Global Insights report suggests that the digital ad world now resembles a handful of powerful theme parks: millions of visitors, plenty of thrills, and a nagging suspicion that someone else is controlling the turnstiles. The company’s new deep dive into “walled gardens” argues that advertisers are still happily queueing up for rides on the big social and commerce platforms—but they are increasingly demanding a better map, more safety rails, and a clear view of where their money actually goes.

Walled gardens grow higher

The 2025 Global Insights Report on Walled Gardens homes in on the largest social and commerce platforms and finds that they have become the dominant gateways for advertising, product discovery, and even news consumption. Brands have followed users into these closed ecosystems, concentrating budgets on environments that promise scale and targeting while offering just enough transparency to keep nervous CFOs on board.

Marketers want light, not just scale

Marketers increasingly rank transparency, addressability, and trust alongside reach and performance when judging platforms, a sign that raw impressions are losing their charm. Many are rethinking how they measure success inside walled gardens, pushing for independent verification, granular controls, and a clearer accounting of where ads appear and who is actually seeing them.

Social platforms have evolved into full-fledged commerce hubs, blurring the lines between entertainment, shopping, and news in a way that delights engagement teams and terrifies brand stewards. As consumers scroll from creator content to checkout in a few taps, advertisers are forced to confront the reality that a brand’s “storefront” is now a video feed, an influencer post, or a shoppable livestream that sits squarely inside someone else’s walled domain.

Verification as a passport

DoubleVerify positions its verification, fraud detection, and attention measurement tools as a kind of passport that lets brands move through these gated environments with fewer unpleasant surprises. By layering its measurement and brand-safety controls across social, CTV, and broader omnichannel campaigns, the company pitches itself as the independent referee in a game increasingly officiated by platforms that also keep the score.

An arms race in trust

The broader series of 2025 Global Insights reports—from regional breakdowns to streaming and omnichannel benchmarks—paints a picture of an industry locked in an arms race between scale and scrutiny. Ad fraud, viewability gaps, and uneven attention metrics remain stubborn problems, but the data show incremental improvements where verification and tighter controls are widely adopted, turning brand safety from a compliance box-check into a competitive edge.

The bill comes due for opacity

The quiet punchline to the walled‑garden narrative is that opacity now carries a price premium that fewer marketers are willing to pay. Platforms that cannot convincingly demonstrate real audiences, safe environments, and accountable performance may find that the walls they built to protect their data are also keeping out increasingly skeptical ad budgets.

How Google, Amazon, and Walmart fit in

For Google (GOOG), tighter verification across its properties and networks strengthens the pitch that performance marketing does not have to mean “trust us” marketing, helping the company reassure risk‑averse brands even as it expands inventory and automation. Amazon (AMZN), already sitting on a closed loop between ad exposure and purchase, stands to benefit when independent measurement validates that its shopper‑data advantage translates into real, high‑quality outcomes rather than just higher ad prices. Walmart (WMT), rapidly scaling its own retail media and commerce ecosystem, can use DoubleVerify-style safeguards to convince national advertisers that its growing walled garden offers not only reach among in‑market shoppers but also the same level of third‑party accountability they expect from more mature digital giants—positioning the retailer as a credible, brand‑safe alternative rather than merely a budget line item in the “experimental” column.

The Sources

by Vista Partners LLC December 2, 2025

Royalties, Heritage and Iron Ore: Inside Rio Tinto’s New Nyiyaparli Agreement -( $RIO $SPY )

Rio Tinto (RIO) has inked a fresh version of its Native Title Agreement with the Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation, giving the mining giant clearer rules of engagement on Nyiyaparli Country while promising stronger protections and longer-term benefits for the traditional owners. In a Pilbara context still haunted by the Juukan Gorge blast, the deal reads as both risk management and reputational rehab—with a side of overdue courtesy to the people whose land actually hosts the ore.

The deal on the table

Under the updated agreement, Karlka Nyiyaparli Aboriginal Corporation (KNAC) and Rio Tinto set out a more structured framework for how mining can proceed across Nyiyaparli Country, including parts of Rio’s Hope Downs operations and the proposed Rhodes Ridge development. In practice, that means Rio gets regulatory and social certainty for future mine plans, and Nyiyaparli people get a clearer say in when, where, and how those plans unfold.

The agreement tightens cultural heritage and environmental protections, brings consultation forward in the project timeline, and promises more transparency in decision-making—three features that amount to a quiet admission that the 2011-era arrangements were built for a different political climate. It also embeds governance structures designed to reflect Nyiyaparli cultural priorities alongside Rio’s corporate protocols, an unusual blend of boardroom and bush law that would have seemed exotic in an earlier iron-ore boom.

From “dig first” to “talk first”

A key selling point is earlier and ongoing consultation, a concept that sounds modest until one recalls that, historically, some Pilbara agreements allowed miners to proceed while traditional owners found out after the bulldozers had developed a first-name relationship with the landscape. The new process is meant to shift engagement from crisis PR to something closer to joint planning, at least on paper.

Heritage advice and on-Country consultations fed into the redraft, giving Nyiyaparli community members a direct role in shaping the terms that govern future disturbance. In a region where past contracts sometimes restricted Aboriginal groups from publicly criticising damage to heritage sites, that consultative choreography is less a flourish than a form of risk containment for both sides.

Royalties, jobs and the long game

Rio, which reported paying about 8.4 billion dollars in global taxes and royalties in 2024—most of it in Australia—has every incentive to ensure the iron ore underpinning those cheques is not stranded by social or legal disputes. For Nyiyaparli, the updated agreement is framed as a path to “enduring benefits,” code for turning one-off payments into something closer to an intergenerational revenue stream.

Beyond royalties, the deal highlights employment, training, and business development opportunities for Nyiyaparli people, an increasingly standard—but still unevenly delivered—promise in Pilbara mining pacts. The test, as ever, will be whether local businesses and workers see contracts and careers, or just more carefully footnoted aspiration.

Life after Juukan

Five years on from the destruction of Juukan Gorge, Rio Tinto remains under close watch from investors, regulators and Aboriginal groups over how it “modernises” legacy agreements across its Pilbara footprint. Some traditional owners say progress has been patchy, with longstanding complaints about underpayment and one-sided terms still surfacing at shareholder meetings.

Against that backdrop, the Nyiyaparli agreement functions as both legal instrument and exhibit A in Rio’s argument that it has learned from past mistakes. In a region where iron ore mines can outlive multiple corporate strategies—and sometimes the fine print that governs them—the real measure will be whether this document still looks fair when today’s executives have long since rotated out of the org chart.

The Sources…

by Vista Partners LLC December 2, 2025

Cold, Tule Fog and King Tides: Why Bay Area Weather Feels Extra Strange & How San Francisco Beat 1922’s “Record Cold High Mark”

San Francisco just notched the kind of record that makes locals reach for another layer of Patagonia: the coldest Nov. 30 high in 103 years, courtesy of a stubborn Tule fog bank that turned the Bay Area into a refrigerated terrarium while much of California froze.

A century-old chill

On Sunday, downtown San Francisco managed a high of only 50 degrees, slipping past the previous Nov. 30 “cold high” mark of 51 set in 1922, back when the Golden Gate Bridge was still a gleam in an engineer’s eye. Meteorologists say a saturated lower atmosphere, primed by a wet October and November, helped trap moisture and cool air near the surface, locking in the chill.

Tule fog takes center stage

The star of the show is Tule fog, the dense Central Valley variety that usually keeps to farm fields and freeways but has spent days spilling into Bay Area counties under a persistent high-pressure ridge to the west and lower pressure to the east. Think of it as a 400-mile-long low cloud deck: great for moody sunrise photos, less great for anyone hoping the sun might actually show up before lunch.

From Spare the Air to spare the pipes

The same stagnant pattern that chilled San Francisco also forced the Bay Area Air District to issue a Spare the Air alert over Thanksgiving, as the fog and light winds bottled up surface pollution and briefly turned fireplaces into contraband. Farther south, the National Weather Service tacked on a freeze warning for parts of Southern California, including Death Valley, with temperatures expected to dip near 30 degrees and threaten crops and uninsulated plumbing—an unusual alignment of frost and desert branding.

Offshore winds and king tides on deck

Relief, such as it is, arrives via an “inside slider” system: a cold, dry low dropping through the Great Basin that will flip the pattern to gusty offshore winds of 30 to 45 miles per hour in higher Bay Area elevations, with stronger bursts on the tallest peaks. Those winds should scour out the boundary layer and thin the fog for several nights, even as localized pockets linger in spots like the Russian River Valley.

At the shoreline, the script tilts from gray to dramatic as 10- to 14-foot breakers and long-period swells pound the coast, raising the risk of sneaker waves while a beach hazards statement remains in effect. Layered on top: king tides arriving Tuesday through Sunday, expected to push water levels roughly a foot or more above normal and trigger minor coastal flooding in low-lying neighborhoods during morning highs—nature’s reminder that sea-level rise dress rehearsals don’t require rain.

A quiet, warmer epilogue—maybe

Beyond this week’s fog, frost and photogenic surf, federal outlooks hint at a gradual warming trend as December unfolds, even as forecasters keep half an eye on models suggesting a possible pattern shift later in the month. For now, the Bay Area’s forecast reads like a meteorological paradox: cold records, freeze warnings and flood advisories all wrapped inside an otherwise quiet, dry pattern—just another week in a state where even the weather insists on multitasking.

The Sources…

by Vista Partners LLC December 1, 2025

Santa Rally Stuck In Traffic To Begin December While Gold and Silver Run -( $AAPL $DV $INTG $MODD $NOK $NVDA $RIO $SNPS Rise!)

Wall Street opened December in a distinctly un-festive mood, with the Santa rally stuck in traffic behind tariffs, Bitcoin, and a still-wonky macro tape. The Dow slid roughly 0.9%, the S&P 500 lost about 0.5%, the Nasdaq eased 0.4%, and small caps in the Russell 2000 lagged ( off 1.25%) yet again as investors rotated gingerly out of the year’s high‑beta darlings and into something that looks vaguely like caution. In sum, the first trading day of December delivered a gentle reminder that after a seven‑month winning streak, even bull markets need to stop for breath—and occasionally to check whether the tariff bill, the next rate cut, and Bitcoin’s latest mood swing have arrived in the mail.

Macro and policy backdrop

The ISM manufacturing index stayed in contraction for a ninth straight month, with survey respondents blaming weak orders, higher input costs from tariffs, and lingering disruptions from this year’s 43‑day federal shutdown. A separate rundown of recent data shows softer retail sales and weaker consumer confidence, reinforcing expectations (Now approx. 85%) that the Fed will cut rates again at its December 9–10 FOMC meeting, following October’s 25‑basis‑point move that took the funds rate to a 3.75%–4% range.

Tariffs remain both economic headwind and political calling card: new commentary highlighted how elevated import levies are weighing on manufacturing while the administration continues to tout “tariff stimulus” and to defend its broader tariff‑heavy strategy. There was at least one patch of détente, as the US and UK agreed to move to zero tariffs on pharmaceuticals, a modest but symbolically important step toward lowering costs in a politically sensitive sector.

Rates, curve, and shutdown afterglow

Treasury markets reflected the tug‑of‑war between weak data and “one more cut” optimism, with 10‑year yields edging slightly higher on the day to 4,094% and the 2yr. moved up to 3.543% even as futures markets priced in a high probability of a December rate cut. The curve remains compressed rather than deeply inverted, signaling a market that sees slowing growth but not an imminent collapse given that the worst of the shutdown shock is now in the rear‑view mirror. The earlier government closure shaved billions from output and created a “data fog” for policymakers, but current commentary suggests little appetite in Washington for another funding standoff anytime soon.

Commodities and crypto

Gold extended its remarkable run, trading around 4,272.80 dollars an ounce, up about half a percent on the day and more than 60% year‑to‑date as investors continue to treat it as the safer AI trade. Silver joined the move higher, buoyed by the same lower‑rate expectations and industrial demand narrative closing at $58.49/oz, up 2.33%. Oil prices climbed as well to $59.45/bbl, helped by growing conviction that an easier Fed and steady demand could tighten balances into 2026. Bitcoin, by contrast, spent the day in the penalty box, trading below 87,000 dollars after a deeper slump that has left it modestly negative for the year, a sharp reversal from its early‑2025 leadership.

Big AI, chips, and megacaps

The high‑profile AI complex saw Nvidia (NVDA) move up 1.66% to $179.9. Note that Nvidia’s latest (today) multibillion‑dollar bet isn’t on another data center, but on the software that tells everyone else how to build the chips that feed those data centers. The GPU king announce ed that it is putting $2 billion into Synopsys (SNPS) and wrapping it in a multi‑year partnership that essentially says: if you’re designing silicon – or almost any complex system – you’ll be doing it on Nvidia’s rails. Broadcom (AVGO) traded $4.19% lower to $368.08 following a mix of cautious and bullish analyst chatter. By the way, one brokerage reiterated a sell on Nvidia citing rising competition, while others raised price targets on both names, arguing that data‑center AI demand still supports substantial growth. Apple rose 1.52% to $283.10 as “overweight” commentary from a major firm surfaced pointing to healthy iPhone lead times through the holiday season. Tesla likewise softened by .01% to $430.14 as the market waits for concrete updates on robotaxis, lower‑cost models, and the much‑teased humanoid bot, with sentiment still positive but less forgiving after a torrid run.

Meta slipped 1.09% to $640.87 in sympathy with the rest of the mega‑cap tech cohort despite remaining a core name in most AI and advertising recovery baskets. Intel (INTC), one of 2025’s comeback stories thanks to new foundry deals and speculation about additional marquee customers, was more resilient after a recent run that has already seen the stock double this year but closed 1.36% to $40.01. Oracle (ORCL), which has been swept up in the AI‑infrastructure trade thanks to high‑profile cloud and data‑center announcements, also traded .50% lower to $200.94 as investors rotated out of richly valued AI beneficiaries for the day.

Healthcare, industrials, and other single‑stock stories

Eli Lilly, now firmly ensconced in the trillion‑dollar club, traded 1.63% lower to $1,057.89 after announcing cuts to cash prices for vials of its blockbuster obesity drug Zepbound on its direct‑to‑consumer channel, a headline that pleased policymakers and patients more than short‑term margin purists. The move comes on the heels of blowout earnings, surging GLP‑1 demand, and a valuation that even some bulls now describe as exuberant.

McDonald’s, long a beneficiary of both pricing power and value‑seeking consumers, moved 2.06% lower to $303.57 with the broader Dow but remains a poster child for how stable cash flows and an AI‑enhanced drive‑thru can still command a premium multiple. Nokia (NOK), once again reinventing itself around networks and licensing rather than handsets, traded .66% higher to $6.12 and is up +45.71% over the last year. Rio Tinto (RIO, $71.97, +.03%) moved in line with global cyclicals, with sentiment tethered to the same growth and China‑sensitive forces that are haunting the ISM survey.

OKLO, Palantir, Opendoor and the speculative fringe

Oklo, the fast‑rising small modular reactor name tethered to the AI energy story, had a volatile session after last week’s surge, with intraday swings between the mid‑80s and around 90 dollars and pressure from news of insider selling offset by fresh institutional interest and closed at $87.36, -4.40%. The stock remains up several hundred percent year‑to‑date and trades at elevated multiples, leaving little room for engineering delays or regulatory hiccups.

Palantir (PLTR, $167.49, -.57%) eased as well, extending a pullback that has taken the shares nearly 20% below their early‑November highs after a year in which they still more than doubled on the back of defense demand and AI‑driven enterprise analytics wins. Opendoor (OPEN), tightly linked to housing liquidity and rates, reflected the same push‑and‑pull: optimism about further Fed cuts versus the reality of a still‑constrained transaction market and closed at $7.14, -7.27%. In all three cases, 2025’s story remains the same: magnificent narratives, but price targets now move in basis points of Fed guidance.

Tariffs, trade, and Washington noise

Beyond the pharma truce with the UK, tariffs stayed front‑and‑center as a structural headwind, with manufacturers flagging higher input costs and weaker sales tied directly to recent rounds of levies. A fresh political push framed those same tariffs as the engine for potential “tariff stimulus” payments, underscoring how trade policy has become both fiscal tool and campaign slogan. With new hearings underway on key trade agreements, markets are bracing for more headline risk as businesses, unions, and foreign partners lobby for targeted exemptions and longer transition periods.

IPOs, M&A, and deal flow

The new‑issue calendar remains active but not frothy, with this week’s lineup featuring mostly small‑cap and SPAC‑like deals on the NYSE and Nasdaq rather than marquee tech listings. Names on tap include several international consumer and services issuers, a gaming operator, and a biotech, alongside a blank‑check vehicle raising roughly 300 million dollars. The absence of a flagship growth IPO this week underscores how much of 2025’s risk appetite has expressed itself instead through secondary trading in AI and energy stories like Nvidia, Oklo, and Palantir.

On the M&A front, Monday’s tape lacked a single transformational mega‑deal, with most of the action confined to secondary block trades and portfolio rebalancing rather than strategic buyouts. That said, ongoing talk of AI‑related partnerships and infrastructure joint ventures continues to blur the line between organic growth and deal‑driven expansion, especially across semis, cloud, and defense‑tech.

VP Watchlist Updates

Modular Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: MODD., $.42, +4.97%), a leader in innovative insulin delivery technology targeting the $3 billion adult “almost-pumpers” diabetes market with user-friendly, affordable patch pumps, today (Nov. 17) announced Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval to conduct an in-house study of its next-generation Pivot™ insulin delivery system using insulin on people with diabetes (the “Study”). Pursuant to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations, an IRB is a group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. The Study will simulate real-world conditions by delivering insulin to adult participants to gather critical data on device function and usability and obtain user feedback. Modular Medical’s Pivot tubeless patch pump aims to enhance accessibility for underserved patients with diabetes and drive market penetration and expansion. On Nov. 14, Modular Medical announced the 510(k) premarket submission of its next generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). The Company expects to commence the commercial launch of its Pivot pump in Q1 2026. On Nov. 3, Modular Medical the successful validation of its Pivot controller line, a critical milestone in preparing for the commercial launch of its Pivot patch pump targeted for Q1 2026. The Pivot controller line validation further demonstrates manufacturing readiness for high-volume production, positioning Modular Medical to meet the growing demand in the diabetes treatment market for advanced technology.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EPRX, $5.97), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for diseases with significant unmet need, announced (Nov. 13) the second set of 52-week follow up data from its ongoing Phase 1b/2a RESOLVE trial evaluating a single administration EP-104GI for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (“EoE”). James A. Helliwell, Chief Executive Officer of Eupraxia stated, “These data further highlight the strong durability and tolerability profile of EP-104GI, reinforcing its potential to become a convenient, once-a-year treatment that fits seamlessly into routine disease management by aligning with annual patient endoscopies. The Cohorts 5 & 6 patients – the only groups to have reached 52 weeks in the trial – are demonstrating levels of symptom relief that is durable and clinically meaningful – we are very encouraged by this outcome. We’re also pleased that our previously announced 52-week data were presented as a late-breaking presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). These new results build on that momentum. Given that current EoE therapies often struggle with long-term adherence, we believe a durable, once-yearly treatment could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and establish EP-104GI as a preferred option for both physicians and their patients.”

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX, $.3764), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multi-antigen vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases and cancer, reported (Nov. 13) its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and provided a business update highlighting key corporate and clinical advancements across its vaccine and oncology programs. David Dodd, CEO of Geovax stated, “As highlighted in this report, during the third quarter GeoVax continued making important progress, advancing innovative vaccines and immunotherapies that address urgent and underserved medical needs. With continued global Mpox spread and constrained vaccine supply, our GEO-MVA program represents a U.S.-based, scalable, next-generation MVA platform. Our EMA and BARDA-aligned program position GeoVax to accelerate regulatory readiness and commercial entry. For our GEO-CM04S1 COVID-19 vaccine program, recent clinical presentations validate our belief that multi-antigen vaccines – expressing both spike and nucleocapsid – are essential for breadth and durability in vulnerable immunocompromised populations. In particular, the robust immune responses demonstrated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the unmet needs of over 40 million immunocompromised Americans. In our Gedeptin(R) oncology program, the expansion into multiple solid tumor indications builds upon a growing recognition that tumor-targeted immune priming can dramatically improve checkpoint outcomes. We are executing a clear path to clinical and commercial value creation. GeoVax continues to execute with purpose and discipline. Our multi-antigen vaccine and immunotherapy platforms position the Company squarely within the national call to strengthen America’s health security, expand domestic manufacturing, and deliver equitable global solutions.”

Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR, $1.22) and M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO, $.0949), a company specializing in the development and execution of a complete global value supply chain for critical minerals, announced on Nov. 19 that Nimy Resources (“Nimy”) and M2i will collaborate with the aim of forming commercially binding contract terms for the respective sale and purchase of gallium production. They also announced (Oct. 16) the next phase of development of the digital and commercial infrastructure underpinning the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR). M2i initiated the SMR framework and technical specifications earlier this year. Volato is now applying its proven enterprise-software expertise to build and operationalize the secure technology backbone that will support critical mineral traceability, contracting, and compliance across the United States and allied nations. This infrastructure is being developed to serve as the market-facing layer of the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve initiative, providing miners, refiners, recyclers, manufacturers, and government entities with a trusted environment for physical critical mineral transactions—with verified provenance, end-to-end custody visibility, and regulatory compliance at its core.

Serina Therapeutics (NYSE American: SER, $3.90) stands at a pivotal juncture as it harnesses fresh capital, regulatory momentum, and a sharpened communications strategy to propel its lead program, SER-252, into late-stage clinical testing for advanced Parkinson’s diseas. The Alabama-based biotech is betting its proprietary POZ platform and reimagined approach to apomorphine delivery may redefine the treatment paradigm for patients who have e96xhausted standard oral therapies.

The InterGroup Corporation (NASDAQ: INTG, $31.31,+.92%) reported (Nov. 17) results for the three months ended September 30, 2025. John V. Winfield, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We continue to observe signs of stabilization and recovery across the San Francisco hospitality market, including improving convention calendars, tourism indicators, and business travel activity. On the investment side, our marketable securities activity remained modest with a small net gain, consistent with our emphasis on liquidity and risk discipline.”

Nokia (NOK, $6.12, +.66%) is promising investors a sleeker, AI‑age version of itself by 2028, aiming to lift profits by as much as 60% while quietly admitting that the road there runs through a restructuring zone.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN, $7.14) a digital red estate disruptor, jumped higher as the belief that interest rates would be cut in December rose significantly.

DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (DV) closed at at $10.66, +1.14%. DoubleVerify Holdings is a software company that helps advertisers verify and improve the quality and performance of their digital ads across the web, apps, social platforms, and connected TV. DoubleVerify provides a digital media measurement and analytics platform that checks whether ads are viewable, shown to real people (not bots), served in brand‑safe environments, and delivered in the right geography. Its tools give advertisers independent, third‑party data so they can reduce ad fraud, avoid unsafe content, and get better return on their digital ad spend. DoubleVerify primarily earns revenue by charging advertisers, agencies, and platforms based on the volume of media it measures (such as impressions or transactions). Its technology is integrated with major ad platforms and programmatic exchanges, and is used globally by brands, marketplaces, and publishers to monitor and optimize campaigns.

Sources

by Vista Partners LLC December 1, 2025

From Encrypted Battlefields to Gallium Mines: How Nokia, Senetas, M2i Global and Volato Reinvent Security -( $NOK $MTWO $SOAR )

Nokia’s (NOK) latest partnership is less about handsets and more about hardening the digital nervous system of modern defense—and it arrives just as another corner of the market scrambles to secure the metals that make those networks possible.

Quantum-safe goes mission critical

In late November, Australian defense cyber firm Senetas and Nokia unveiled a strategic alliance aimed squarely at governments and militaries that now treat gigabits as ordnance. The duo is fusing Senetas’ certified, quantum‑resistant network encryption with Nokia’s mission‑critical IP and optical platforms, promising end‑to‑end protection from core data centers all the way out to tactical edge gear in the field.

The pitch is straightforward: as Asia‑Pacific nations and other U.S. allies pour money into sovereign defense and critical infrastructure, they want hardware and software built in “friendly” jurisdictions, certified to the alphabet soup of FIPS, Common Criteria and similar standards. In practice, that means Nokia’s existing Defence‑in‑Depth architecture now comes pre‑loaded with Senetas’ quantum‑safe encryption so that militaries can push high‑speed video, sensor feeds and command data without handing hostile actors a man‑in‑the‑middle invitation.

From submarines to sovereign clouds

Senetas has spent years selling high‑assurance encryption into defense, government and critical infrastructure networks in more than 60 countries, with products hardened for everything from submarine cables to airborne platforms. Nokia, for its part, brings a sprawling portfolio of fixed, mobile and transport networks—underpinned by Bell Labs R&D—that already undergirds a large share of global critical communications.

The alliance is calibrated for a world where “mission‑critical” now spans fiber rings around military bases, ISR drones streaming HD video, and sovereign cloud environments that must stay online even when geopolitics does not. By jointly marketing to defense and government buyers, the companies are effectively offering a one‑throat‑to‑choke proposition: one stack, one certification path, and fewer excuses if packets go missing in action.

Cyber armor meets metal backbone

There is, however, an unspoken assumption hiding inside every quantum‑safe, mission‑critical press release: that the chips inside those routers and encryptors will actually show up. The same governments demanding sovereign, trusted networks are also scrambling to secure the critical minerals—gallium, rare earths and battery metals—that underpin semiconductors, power systems and advanced sensors.

That is where smaller players like M2i Global and Volato have begun to quietly redraw the map. While Nokia and Senetas work on sealing off attack vectors in the logical realm, M2i and Volato are trying to make sure the physical supply chain—the ores, refined metals and recycled feedstock—isn’t controlled by the very adversaries those encrypted networks are meant to deter.

M2i Global: plumbing the mineral stack

M2i Global, traded over‑the‑counter as MTWO, has positioned itself as a vertically integrated critical‑minerals house, focused on building a complete value chain for strategic metals serving the U.S. government and its free‑trade partners. The company’s mandate spans revitalizing domestic mines, advanced industrial recycling and the build‑out of a Critical Minerals Reserve designed to buffer the U.S. against foreign supply shocks.

Beyond mining, M2i is leaning heavily into technology, using research‑driven recycling to turn industrial waste and end‑of‑life batteries into high‑purity inputs for high‑end manufacturing. Recent collaborations, such as work with Nimy Resources to secure gallium supplies for defense and advanced electronics, highlight how the firm is threading itself directly into the semiconductor and defense industrial base.

Volato: jets, software and strategic ore

Volato Group, better known on the NYSE American as SOAR for its premium private‑aviation services, has recently executed a sharp turn into the $300‑plus‑billion critical minerals market via a definitive agreement to acquire M2i Global. The strategy hinges on pairing Volato’s aviation logistics and enterprise software capabilities with M2i’s mineral expertise to support the Critical Minerals Reserve (CMR) initiative.

Under joint announcements this year, M2i crafted the CMR framework while Volato’s software teams are now building the secure digital backbone for traceability, contracting and compliance across the critical‑minerals chain, leveraging experience from its Vaunt platform and real‑time fleet tracking. In effect, Volato aims to apply the rigor of FAA‑grade safety and compliance to “mine‑to‑manufacturer” minerals logistics, aligning with policy pushes to reduce reliance on China‑centric supply chains.

When bits need atoms to be brave

Taken together, Senetas and Nokia are building the cryptographic moat around national networks, while M2i and Volato are quietly pouring the concrete for the moat’s foundation in the form of reliable, domestic access to the metals that power defense‑grade hardware. One side ensures that mission‑critical packets remain confidential and intact; the other works to guarantee that the routers, satellites and smart munitions do not stall for lack of gallium, rare earths or recycled battery metals.

In an era where quantum‑safe encryption headlines and critical‑minerals policy papers share the same briefing folders, the market is discovering that secure communications and secure commodities are two halves of the same national‑security trade. For investors, that means the story does not end at the data center door: it extends down the fiber, through the fab and all the way back to the ore body—and, increasingly, to small‑cap names like MTWO and SOAR that are learning to turn rocks and flight plans into strategic leverage.

Sources

[1] Senetas and Nokia Announce Strategic Alliance to Secure Mission … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/senetas-nokia-announce-strategic-alliance-232500458.html
[2] M2i Global (MTWO) Stock Price & Overview https://stockanalysis.com/quote/otc/MTWO/
[3] Nokia Oyj (NOKIA-SEK.ST) Latest Stock News & Headlines https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOKIA-SEK.ST/news/
[4] Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.PR) Stock Price, News, Quote & History https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOKIA.PR/
[5] Senetas Corporation Limited (SEN.AX) Stock Price, News, Quote … https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SEN.AX/
[6] Senetas and Nokia Announce Strategic Alliance to – SwingTradeBot https://swingtradebot.com/news-articles/22302650-senetas-nokia-announce-strategic-alliance-secure
[7] Nokia Oyj (NOK) Stock Price, News, Quote & History – Yahoo Finance https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOK/
[8] M2i Global, Inc. (OTCQB:MTWO) – LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2i-global
[9] Volato Group (SOAR): A High-Conviction Play on Critical Minerals + … https://www.ainvest.com/news/volato-group-soar-high-conviction-play-critical-minerals-aviation-synergy-2510/
[10] Invest in M2i Stock – M2i-Global https://invest.m2i.global
[11] Volato and M2i Global Advance Development of Strategic Mineral … https://ir.flyvolato.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/114/volato-and-m2i-global-advance-development-of-strategic-mineral-reserve-digital-infrastructure
[12] M2i Global and Volato Group Announce MOU with Nimy Resources … https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/m2i-global-and-volato-group-announce-mou-nimy-resources-access-gallium-western
[13] M2i Global: Securing the Future of Energy with Critical Minerals … https://www.m2i.global
[14] Volato Enters $320 Billion Critical Minerals Market with Execution of … https://ir.flyvolato.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/101/volato-enters-320-billion-critical-minerals-market-with-execution-of-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-m2i-global
[15] Volato Group’s Proposed Acquisition Under Definitive Agreement … https://ir.flyvolato.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/106/volato-groups-proposed-acquisition-under-definitive-agreement-m2i-global-to-participate-at-nevada-strategic-growth-initiatives-lithium-strategic-minerals-forum-on-september-18-19-2025
[16] Nokia Oyj (NOK) Latest Press Releases & Corporate News https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOK/press-releases/
[17] Volato Group’s Proposed Acquisition Under Definitive Agreement … https://ir.flyvolato.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/104/volato-groups-proposed-acquisition-under-definitive-agreement-m2i-global-launches-initiative-to-build-nations-first-strategic-minerals-reserve
[18] Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.HE) Stock Price, News, Quote & History https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOKIA.HE/
[19] Nokia Oyj (NOKIA.PA) Stock Price, News, Quote & History https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NOKIA.PA/
[20] M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO) Stock Price, News, Quote & History https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MTWO/

by Vista Partners LLC December 1, 2025

Nvidia Buys the Mapmakers: $2 Billion Synopsys Stake and $1 Billion Nokia Bet Redraw Its AI Power Grid -( $NVDA $NOK $SNPS )

Nvidia’s (NVDA) latest multibillion‑dollar bet isn’t on another data center, but on the software that tells everyone else how to build the chips that feed those data centers. The GPU king is putting $2 billion into Synopsys (SNPS) and wrapping it in a multi‑year partnership that essentially says: if you’re designing silicon – or almost any complex system – you’ll be doing it on Nvidia’s rails.

What actually happened

Nvidia is buying $2 billion of Synopsys stock, at just over $414 a share, as part of an expanded strategic tie‑up.
The deal takes an already close relationship and formalizes it into a multi‑year collaboration covering chip design, physics‑heavy simulation, and broader “engineering and design” workloads.
Crucially, the partnership is non‑exclusive, leaving both firms free to keep working with rival chipmakers and EDA providers, a reminder that even in the age of AI moats, everyone still needs an open ecosystem.

The engineering moonshot

The pitch is simple: move the computational heart of engineering from CPU farms to Nvidia GPUs, then let AI agents do more of the grunt work. Synopsys plans to accelerate a broad swath of its portfolio – from electronic design automation and physical verification to molecular and optical simulations – using Nvidia’s CUDA‑X libraries and AI‑physics tooling.

On top of that, the duo want to turn “agentic AI” from buzzword into billable feature. Synopsys’ AgentEngineer will plug into Nvidia’s AI stack – including NeMo tools, NIM microservices and foundation models – to create autonomous workflows that don’t just suggest design tweaks but actually iterate through design, simulation and analysis themselves. In theory, the engineer becomes more portfolio manager than line‑item modeler, watching AI agents juggle layouts, constraints and corner cases at machine speed.

Digital twins and virtual labs

The partnership also leans hard into industrial‑scale digital twins. Using platforms like Nvidia Omniverse and Cosmos, the companies plan to offer high‑fidelity virtual versions of everything from chips and robots to airplanes, factories and energy systems. Those twins would let customers design, test and validate products in silico long before they risk metal, wafers or wind‑tunnel time in the real world.

That ambition reaches beyond semiconductors into automotive, aerospace, industrial automation, healthcare and more, effectively turning Nvidia‑powered simulation into a horizontal infrastructure layer for “how things get built.” Cloud‑ready offerings are part of the pitch, giving smaller engineering teams access to the same GPU‑accelerated toolchains without owning a warehouse full of hardware.

Strategy, stakes and a wider pattern

On Nvidia’s side, the move deepens its grip on the upstream of the AI value chain: not just running trained models, but shaping the tools that design the chips those models run on. Synopsys, meanwhile, secures both capital and a marquee hardware ally as AI begins to reshape the EDA business it dominates. Early market reaction has been approving, with Synopsys shares jumping and Nvidia ticking higher as investors priced in faster growth from AI‑enhanced design workflows.

Perhaps the most telling detail is what the partnership is not: it’s not a closed shop. Both companies emphasize that they will keep working with the broader semiconductor and EDA ecosystem, an acknowledgment that even the most vertically ambitious AI powerhouse still needs its would‑be competitors to feel welcome on the platform. It also fits a broader pattern in which Nvidia is sprinkling equity across its strategic map, including a recent $1 billion investment for roughly a 2.9% stake in Nokia (NOK) to push AI‑native 5G and 6G networks – a reminder that Jensen Huang is now quietly buying into the pipes, the blueprints, and even the radio towers that will carry the next wave of AI traffic.

The Sources

by Vista Partners LLC December 1, 2025

Bargain Bins and Big Tech: Dollar Stores, Salesforce and CrowdStrike Headline Earnings -( $CRM $CRWD $DG $DLTR $FIVE )

Wall Street’s earnings caravan may be nearing the city limits, but there’s still one last strip mall to visit before the season officially shutters for the holidays. This week’s marquee acts: three bargain empires—Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Five Below—sharing the consumer check-out line with Salesforce and CrowdStrike, two tech names that increasingly double as sentiment indicators for everything from AI budgets to cyber risk appetite.

Dollar stores, deluxe macro signal

The dollar-store cohort has become a de facto readout on the health of the “strained but still swiping” U.S. consumer. Analysts are watching Dollar Tree and Dollar General to see whether trade-down trends are still strong, and whether traffic gains can keep pace with the hit from higher shrink and wage bills. A solid week from the group would reinforce the narrative that lower- and middle-income shoppers are stretching paychecks through value channels rather than closing their wallets altogether.

Five Below adds a twist to the script, straddling the line between true discounter and teen-focused impulse bazaar. Its upcoming report is expected to show healthy revenue growth, but with pressure on earnings per share as the chain invests in new stores and navigates a more promotional environment. A meaningful top-line beat paired with softer margins would fit neatly into the broader retail theme of “sales are fine, profitability is doing the heavy lifting.”

Salesforce: AI, agents, and expectations

On the tech side, Salesforce steps up midweek with what amounts to a status check on the corporate software wallet. Street forecasts call for high single-digit revenue growth and a high-teens gain in earnings per share, with particular attention on how AI products and its Agentforce strategy are translating into billings and guidance. Options pricing implies investors are braced for a sizable move in the stock, suggesting expectations are finely balanced between “AI hero” and “macro collateral damage.”

Beyond the numbers, investors will parse every comment on enterprise demand, cloud budgets, and the integration of recent deals, all of which feed into the broader debate on whether AI is adding incremental dollars or just being shuffled within existing IT lines. In a market where AI acronyms often move more quickly than cash flows, Salesforce’s tone on renewals and new logos may matter as much as the headline EPS print.

CrowdStrike and the cost of paranoia

If Salesforce measures enthusiasm for AI, CrowdStrike is this week’s barometer for the cost of corporate paranoia. The cybersecurity firm is coming off a string of quarters with revenue growth north of 20% and consistent earnings beats, cementing its status as one of the cleaner secular-growth stories in large-cap software. Consensus still bakes in robust EPS expansion over the coming year, leaving little room for a misstep on net new ARR or margin trajectory.

With geopolitical risk high and attack surfaces expanding, security spend has been one of the few IT line items that CIOs are reluctant to trim, a dynamic investors will want confirmed in commentary on renewals and platform consolidation. Any hint that deals are slipping or budgets are tightening could reverberate well beyond one ticker, given CrowdStrike’s role as a poster child for “must-have” software in a market increasingly asking which growth names are merely “nice-to-have.”

What this week is really about

Taken together, the week offers something close to a mini stress test of the U.S. economy: dollar stores for the paycheck-to-paycheck reality, Salesforce for AI-powered corporate ambition, and CrowdStrike for the non-negotiable cost of keeping it all online. Investors will be less focused on whether earnings season is “over” and more on whether these late reporters confirm the soft-landing narrative or hint at a consumer and corporate sector quietly trading down—on goods, on software, and perhaps, on valuations.

The Sources

[1] Salesforce, Marvell Technology, Dollar General, Ulta Beauty, and … https://www.barrons.com/articles/salesforce-marvell-technology-dollar-general-ulta-beauty-and-more-stocks-to-watch-this-week-c660c7b4
[2] Labor Market Data; Earnings from Salesforce, CrowdStrike, and More https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expect-markets-week-cyber-monday-100000606.html
[3] Dollar Stores Cash In As Shoppers Seek Bargains At Dollar General … https://www.itiger.com/news/2541088195
[4] Earnings Insights 3Q24, Week 7: Dollar Stores and Kroger See Growth https://coresight.com/research/earnings-insights-3q24-week-7-comp-sales-growth-for-dollar-general-dollar-tree-kroger-and-more/
[5] Top Dollar Store Stocks to Watch According to WarrenAI: Five Below … https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/top-dollar-store-stocks-to-watch-according-to-warrenai-five-below-leads-the-pack-93CH-4376091
[6] Dollar Tree Set to Report Q3 Earnings: What Surprise Awaits … https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/dollar-tree-set-report-q3-earnings-what-surprise-awaits-investors
[7] The Week Ahead: US ISM, ADP data; Salesforce earnings https://www.cmcmarkets.com/en-nz/market-news/the-week-ahead-us-ism-adp-data-salesforce-earnings
[8] Why Salesforce Q3 Earnings Will Be a Tipping Point for Agentforce https://www.salesforceben.com/why-salesforce-q3-earnings-will-be-a-tipping-point-for-agentforce/
[9] Salesforce, Inc. Common Stock (CRM) Earnings Report Date | Nasdaq https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/crm/earnings
[10] Salesforce earnings, September PCE, auto sales: What to Watch https://finance.yahoo.com/video/salesforce-earnings-september-pce-auto-220012170.html
[11] Unpacking Q2 Earnings: CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) In The … https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unpacking-q2-earnings-crowdstrike-nasdaq-033745549.html
[12] CrowdStrike (CRWD) Earnings Date and Reports 2025 – MarketBeat https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/CRWD/earnings/
[13] CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) Earnings Dates & Reports https://www.investing.com/equities/crowdstrike-holdings-inc-earnings
[14] CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. Class A Common Stock (CRWD) Earnings https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/crwd/earnings
[15] Wall Street Brunch: Plenty Of Earnings To Kick Off December https://seekingalpha.com/article/4848830-wall-street-brunch-plenty-of-earnings-to-kick-off-december
[16] Investors : Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR) https://corporate.dollartree.com/investors
[17] Dollar Tree, Inc. Reports Results for the Second Quarter Fiscal 2025 https://corporate.dollartree.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/292/dollar-tree-inc-reports-results-for-the-second-quarter
[18] Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) Stock Price, News, Quote & History https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/FIVE/
[19] What date does CrowdStrike’s (CRWD) report Earnings https://www.zacks.com/stock/research/CRWD/earnings-calendar
[20] DG v. DLTR v. FIVE: Retailer Trade Down “Really Strong” – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_egd7GZki8

by Vista Partners LLC November 29, 2025

AI Boom Drives Record Double-Digit Jump in Global IT Spending In 2025 -( $AMZN $GOOG $META $MSFT $NVDA $WMT )

Global IT spending is on track to jump about 11% in 2025, driven by a corporate AI binge that has turned data centers into gold mines and turned every software vendor into a “generative AI” shop, according to Gartner and IDC forecasts that now look like understated first drafts of a tech boom.

The AI Spending Surge

Gartner now expects worldwide IT spending to hit roughly $5.5 trillion in 2025, up about 10–11% from 2024, with the strongest growth in data center systems, software, and devices. The driver is clear: artificial intelligence, especially generative AI, which is pulling forward demand for servers, cloud capacity, and AI-optimized PCs and smartphones. IDC’s Stephen Minton calls this “the strongest IT spending growth since 1996,” a period when every CFO suddenly remembered that IT was a thing worth funding.

Spending on data center systems (servers, storage, and networking gear) is up sharply, with Gartner forecasting 42% growth in that segment for 2025 alone, as companies race to build or lease AI-ready infrastructure. The hyperscalers—Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft—are leading the charge, accounting for roughly two‑thirds of global AI server spending, according to Gartner. For chipmakers like Nvidia , this has turned the data center into a “fantastically expensive” but very profitable line of business, with AI-optimized servers selling as fast as they can be built.

Software Gets an AI Markup

On the software side, vendors are quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) hiking prices to reflect the new “AI tax” baked into their products. Enterprise software companies, from CRM to ERP to analytics suites, are rushing to add generative AI features and then charging more for them, turning what was once a cost center into a growth engine. Gartner expects software spending to grow around 15% in 2026, with AI application software alone more than tripling in two years as companies pay for AI-enhanced productivity tools.

John-David Lovelock, a distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, puts it bluntly: “It will be an extinction-level event for software not to have generative AI feature functionality in their product”. That sentiment has turned every mid-tier software vendor into an AI shop overnight, and it’s why IT budgets are now being reallocated from “keeping the lights on” to “keeping the GPUs humming”.

Devices and the AI Hardware Rush

The AI wave is also lifting device sales, with smartphones and PCs seeing stronger-than-expected demand as businesses and consumers upgrade to AI-enabled models. Gartner notes that the availability of AI devices has boosted overall device spending by more than $30 billion in 2025, with mobile phones leading the surge. However, that pull-forward effect means growth will moderate in 2026, as the initial rush to buy AI PCs and phones subsides.

Meanwhile, the data center boom continues, with Gartner forecasting 19% growth in data center systems spending in 2026 as companies expand their AI-ready infrastructure. Supply constraints on high-end GPUs and AI accelerators remain a bottleneck, but the appetite for capacity is undimmed, especially among cloud providers and large enterprises that see AI as a competitive necessity, not just a nice-to-have.

The Circular Economy of AI Spending

There is, of course, a circularity to all this: AI spending is helping lift the broader economy, which in turn boosts business confidence and justifies more IT and AI investment. That virtuous cycle has made AI tools, software, and security among the categories most immune to budget cuts, even as some executives express anxiety about the pace of spending.

Analysts at IDC and Gartner stress that while this level of growth is not sustainable forever, there are few signs of a bubble about to burst. Instead, they see a structural shift: organizations are moving beyond AI experimentation toward full-scale integration, modernizing infrastructure and services in one of the strongest growth cycles the IT industry has seen in decades. For investors, that means the AI boom is still very much in the “show me the money” phase, where the real test isn’t just how much is being spent, but how much revenue and productivity it actually generates.

The Sources

by Vista Partners LLC November 28, 2025

Black Friday Rally, Dow, S&P, Nasdaq Move Higher As Russell 2000 Charges Forward -( $AAPL $AVGO $DV $EPRX $GOVX $INTC $LLY $MCD $META $NOK $OPEN $PLTR $RIO $SER $SOAR $SPY $TSLA Rise!)

Wall Street danced and some times ran through the holiday-shortened week like a shopper on Black Friday: determined, a bit fatigued at times, but still somehow spending freely once again as bargains seemed to be perceived to be most everywhere. The indices overall moved forward in celebratory fashion over the holiday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 47,716.42, closed up +4.29% over the last 5-days and the S&P 500 closed at 6,849.09, +4.75%, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 23,365.69, +5.83% and the Russell 2000 charged forward to 2,500.43, +8.47% as investors rotated strongly to growth stocks as interest rates were once again believed to be headed to lower levels when the Fed meets again in December.

Macro tone

Macroeconomic data were thin but not irrelevant: small-business optimism ticked slightly lower, mortgage activity stabilized, and the holiday week’s light calendar kept attention pinned on the Fed and politics rather than hard numbers. The bigger macro story was expectations, not releases—markets spent the week repricing the odds of a December rate cut downward to the +80% level, as Fed officials’ rhetoric shifted from s, turning rate-cut euphoria into more of a sure bet.

Yields, shutdown and tariffs

Across the curve, Treasury yields ended with the 2‑year moving to 3.502% and the 10‑year to 4.018%. With the shutdown further in a rearview mirrors and our federal agencies scrambling to fully restart data releases, including key employment and inflation reports that may never be fully reconstructed the world moved on. On tariffs, the week produced more noise than action—markets continued to digest earlier rounds of measures and looming deadlines, but there were no fresh, market-moving tariff shocks, beyond ongoing trade rhetoric and sector-specific positioning ahead of 2026 supply-chain shifts.

Commodities

Commodities played their usual supporting role: crude oil edged lower on shifting narratives about 2026 oversupply, falling more than .49% over the last 5-days to finish the week to $58.55/bbl. Gold, $4,218.30/oz, +3.09% over the last 5-days and silver, $56.446/oz, +6.67%, both jumped, with investors treating the metals as modest insurance rather than a full-throated safety trade, while Bitcoin, $91,187.88 continued to nurse losses from its recent “Great Crash of 2025,” trading well below the psychologically important six-figure mark as outflows from major spot products kept pressure on crypto sentiment.

Eli Lilly, chips and jumbo-cap tech

Eli Lilly ($1,075.47, +3.08% over the last 5-days) extended its reign as health-care royalty, rallying around 10% for the week as investors cheered its obesity franchise and a pricing agreement with the Trump administration that eased some policy overhang while still preserving rich long-term growth assumptions. The stock’s strength helped make health care one of the week’s standout sectors, even as broader defensives like utilities and staples treaded water.

NVIDIA (NVDA, $177, -2.02% over the last 5-days) spent the week in the spotlight for both good and bad reasons: early gains tied to revived AI enthusiasm and a late-week rebound were offset midweek when news that SoftBank had exited its stake and Fed hawkishness pressured high-multiple chip names, leaving the stock volatile but emblematic of the market’s “can we still pay this much for AI?” debate. Apple (AAPL,$278.85, +4.73% over the last 5-days) outperformed much of Big Tech after comments from President Trump on progress toward a trade deal with India—one of its key manufacturing hubs—buoyed expectations for smoother supply chains, even as the broader mega-cap complex oscillated between profit-taking and dip-buying.

Tesla (TSLA, $430.17, +8.84% over the last 5-days). Broadcom in and AI concert with the chip complex—benefiting when semis rallied on AI optimism and stabilizing when yields backed off and rose +16.19% TO $402.96 over the last 5-days. Meta Platforms (META) rose +9.98% to $647.95 as advertising trends remain broadly supportive and AI spending continues.

Nokia, McDonald’s, Rio Tinto and Oracle

Nokia (NOK, $6.08, +3.58% over the last 5-days) remained in the headlines through its deepening relationship with Nvidia on AI networking and infrastructure, including a previously announced multi-hundred-million-dollar investment that positions the Finnish vendor as a leveraged beneficiary of carrier and cloud AI build-outs. McDonald’s (MCD, $311.82) rose +2.52% over the last 5-days) as investors weighed its defensive cash-flow appeal against the headwind of rising real yields and persistent concerns about consumer trade-down.

Rio Tinto Group (RIO, $71.95, +4.61% over the last 5-days) tracked the global growth and metals narrative, with its shares buffeted by worries over Chinese demand and longer-term decarbonization metals demand, but no blockbuster, company-specific catalyst in the holiday week beyond ongoing commentary on iron ore and copper markets. Oracle (ORCL) dropped 4.15% to $201.95 this week.

Intel, OKLO, Opendoor and Palantir

Intel (INTC) rose +20.64% to $40.56 this week & continued its rehabilitation story, leading the broader semiconductor complex as investors balanced near-term PC and data-center headwinds against long-horizon bets on its foundry ambitions and U.S. onshoring incentives. OKLO ($91.38, +3.84%)—the advanced nuclear power developer that has captured attention as a listed small-cap—remained tethered to broader nuclear and energy headlines rather than company-specific fireworks, with sentiment still linked to expectations for new reactor approvals and long-cycle government-backed contracts.

Opendoor Technologies (OPEN , $7.70) jumped +25% over the last 5-days stayed a high-beta proxy for U.S. housing sentiment and mortgage rates, with its shares whipping around as investors recalibrated the path of Fed cuts and the likely pace of housing turnover in 2026; the week’s modest back-up in yields did little to ease concerns about the company’s sensitivity to volume and spread volatility. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) enjoyed a sharp early-week pop, rallying 8.16% to $168.45 and recapturing its 50‑day moving average as part of the broader AI complex, underscoring that in this tape, “AI plus government contracts” remains one of the more durable equity narratives, even if daily moves remain volatile.

VP Watchlist Updates

Modular Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: MODD., $.3943), a leader in innovative insulin delivery technology targeting the $3 billion adult “almost-pumpers” diabetes market with user-friendly, affordable patch pumps, today (Nov. 17) announced Institutional Review Board (“IRB”) approval to conduct an in-house study of its next-generation Pivot™ insulin delivery system using insulin on people with diabetes (the “Study”). Pursuant to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulations, an IRB is a group that has been formally designated to review and monitor biomedical research involving human subjects. The Study will simulate real-world conditions by delivering insulin to adult participants to gather critical data on device function and usability and obtain user feedback. Modular Medical’s Pivot tubeless patch pump aims to enhance accessibility for underserved patients with diabetes and drive market penetration and expansion. On Nov. 14, Modular Medical announced the 510(k) premarket submission of its next generation Pivot™ tubeless patch pump to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”). The Company expects to commence the commercial launch of its Pivot pump in Q1 2026. On Nov. 3, Modular Medical the successful validation of its Pivot controller line, a critical milestone in preparing for the commercial launch of its Pivot patch pump targeted for Q1 2026. The Pivot controller line validation further demonstrates manufacturing readiness for high-volume production, positioning Modular Medical to meet the growing demand in the diabetes treatment market for advanced technology.

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: EPRX, $6.21, +0.0% over the last 5-days), a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary Diffusphere™ technology to optimize local, controlled drug delivery for diseases with significant unmet need, announced (Nov. 13) the second set of 52-week follow up data from its ongoing Phase 1b/2a RESOLVE trial evaluating a single administration EP-104GI for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis (“EoE”). James A. Helliwell, Chief Executive Officer of Eupraxia stated, “These data further highlight the strong durability and tolerability profile of EP-104GI, reinforcing its potential to become a convenient, once-a-year treatment that fits seamlessly into routine disease management by aligning with annual patient endoscopies. The Cohorts 5 & 6 patients – the only groups to have reached 52 weeks in the trial – are demonstrating levels of symptom relief that is durable and clinically meaningful – we are very encouraged by this outcome. We’re also pleased that our previously announced 52-week data were presented as a late-breaking presentation at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting (ACG). These new results build on that momentum. Given that current EoE therapies often struggle with long-term adherence, we believe a durable, once-yearly treatment could meaningfully improve patient outcomes and establish EP-104GI as a preferred option for both physicians and their patients.”

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (Nasdaq: GOVX, $.4111. +2.52% over the last 5-days), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing multi-antigen vaccines and immunotherapies for infectious diseases and cancer, reported (Nov. 13) its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, and provided a business update highlighting key corporate and clinical advancements across its vaccine and oncology programs. David Dodd, CEO of Geovax stated, “As highlighted in this report, during the third quarter GeoVax continued making important progress, advancing innovative vaccines and immunotherapies that address urgent and underserved medical needs. With continued global Mpox spread and constrained vaccine supply, our GEO-MVA program represents a U.S.-based, scalable, next-generation MVA platform. Our EMA and BARDA-aligned program position GeoVax to accelerate regulatory readiness and commercial entry. For our GEO-CM04S1 COVID-19 vaccine program, recent clinical presentations validate our belief that multi-antigen vaccines – expressing both spike and nucleocapsid – are essential for breadth and durability in vulnerable immunocompromised populations. In particular, the robust immune responses demonstrated in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) patients represents a meaningful step forward in addressing the unmet needs of over 40 million immunocompromised Americans. In our Gedeptin(R) oncology program, the expansion into multiple solid tumor indications builds upon a growing recognition that tumor-targeted immune priming can dramatically improve checkpoint outcomes. We are executing a clear path to clinical and commercial value creation. GeoVax continues to execute with purpose and discipline. Our multi-antigen vaccine and immunotherapy platforms position the Company squarely within the national call to strengthen America’s health security, expand domestic manufacturing, and deliver equitable global solutions.”

Volato Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SOAR, $1.335, +24.77% over the last 5-days) and M2i Global, Inc. (MTWO, $.10, +.10% over the last 5-days), a company specializing in the development and execution of a complete global value supply chain for critical minerals, announced on Nov. 19 that Nimy Resources (“Nimy”) and M2i will collaborate with the aim of forming commercially binding contract terms for the respective sale and purchase of gallium production. They also announced (Oct. 16) the next phase of development of the digital and commercial infrastructure underpinning the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR). M2i initiated the SMR framework and technical specifications earlier this year. Volato is now applying its proven enterprise-software expertise to build and operationalize the secure technology backbone that will support critical mineral traceability, contracting, and compliance across the United States and allied nations. This infrastructure is being developed to serve as the market-facing layer of the U.S. Strategic Mineral Reserve initiative, providing miners, refiners, recyclers, manufacturers, and government entities with a trusted environment for physical critical mineral transactions—with verified provenance, end-to-end custody visibility, and regulatory compliance at its core.

Serina Therapeutics (NYSE American: SER, $4.26, +13.30% over the last 5-days) stands at a pivotal juncture as it harnesses fresh capital, regulatory momentum, and a sharpened communications strategy to propel its lead program, SER-252, into late-stage clinical testing for advanced Parkinson’s diseas. The Alabama-based biotech is betting its proprietary POZ platform and reimagined approach to apomorphine delivery may redefine the treatment paradigm for patients who have e96xhausted standard oral therapies.

The InterGroup Corporation (NASDAQ: INTG, $29.) reported (Nov. 17) results for the three months ended September 30, 2025. John V. Winfield, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We continue to observe signs of stabilization and recovery across the San Francisco hospitality market, including improving convention calendars, tourism indicators, and business travel activity. On the investment side, our marketable securities activity remained modest with a small net gain, consistent with our emphasis on liquidity and risk discipline.”

Nokia (NOK, $6.08, +3.58% over the last 5-days) is promising investors a sleeker, AI‑age version of itself by 2028, aiming to lift profits by as much as 60% while quietly admitting that the road there runs through a restructuring zone.

Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN, $7.70, +25% over the last 5-days) a digital red estate disruptor, jumped higher as the belief that interest rates would be cut in December rose significantly.

DoubleVerify Holdings Inc. (DV) closed at at $10.54, +3.33% over the last 5-days. DoubleVerify Holdings is a software company that helps advertisers verify and improve the quality and performance of their digital ads across the web, apps, social platforms, and connected TV. DoubleVerify provides a digital media measurement and analytics platform that checks whether ads are viewable, shown to real people (not bots), served in brand‑safe environments, and delivered in the right geography. Its tools give advertisers independent, third‑party data so they can reduce ad fraud, avoid unsafe content, and get better return on their digital ad spend. DoubleVerify primarily earns revenue by charging advertisers, agencies, and platforms based on the volume of media it measures (such as impressions or transactions). Its technology is integrated with major ad platforms and programmatic exchanges, and is used globally by brands, marketplaces, and publishers to monitor and optimize campaigns.

Macro Data Thin, Shutdown Delays Persist

Yields Steady, FOMC Looms Next Week

Commodities Dip, Bitcoin Bounces Back

Lilly Shines on Analyst Upgrades

AI Chips and Large caps Lead the Charge

Infrastructure AI Plays Draw Capital

Traditional Names Hold Steady

Emerging Plays in Nuclear and Housing

IPOs and Deals Stay Selective

VP Watchlist Updates

Sources

Walled gardens grow higher

Marketers want light, not just scale

Social platforms as shopping malls

Verification as a passport

An arms race in trust

The bill comes due for opacity

How Google, Amazon, and Walmart fit in

The Sources

The deal on the table

From “dig first” to “talk first”

Royalties, jobs and the long game

Life after Juukan

The Sources…

A century-old chill

Tule fog takes center stage

From Spare the Air to spare the pipes

Offshore winds and king tides on deck

A quiet, warmer epilogue—maybe

The Sources…

Macro and policy backdrop

Rates, curve, and shutdown afterglow

Commodities and crypto

Big AI, chips, and megacaps

Healthcare, industrials, and other single‑stock stories

OKLO, Palantir, Opendoor and the speculative fringe

Tariffs, trade, and Washington noise

IPOs, M&A, and deal flow

VP Watchlist Updates

Sources

Quantum-safe goes mission critical

From submarines to sovereign clouds

Cyber armor meets metal backbone

M2i Global: plumbing the mineral stack

Volato: jets, software and strategic ore

When bits need atoms to be brave

Sources

What actually happened

The engineering moonshot

Digital twins and virtual labs

Strategy, stakes and a wider pattern

The Sources

Dollar stores, deluxe macro signal

Salesforce: AI, agents, and expectations

CrowdStrike and the cost of paranoia

What this week is really about

The Sources

The AI Spending Surge

Software Gets an AI Markup

Devices and the AI Hardware Rush

The Circular Economy of AI Spending

The Sources

Macro tone

Yields, shutdown and tariffs

Commodities

Eli Lilly, chips and jumbo-cap tech

Nokia, McDonald’s, Rio Tinto and Oracle

Intel, OKLO, Opendoor and Palantir

VP Watchlist Updates

Sources

Your Guide To Staying Informed In The Markets