With key nominating contests today ahead of next week's winner-take-all contests in Ohio and Florida, the Republican presidential challengers have a week to put a monkeywrench in Donald Trump's momentum. (NBC News)
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page, and Tesla Motors and SpaceX chief Elon Musk attended a secret meeting to figure out a way to stop Trump from getting the GOP nomination. (Huffington Post)
Less than a week after he went after Trump for failing to disavow David Duke and the KKK, House Speaker Paul Ryan spoke over the phone with the front-runner about developing a Republican agenda. (NBC News)
Putting an end to speculation, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he won't run for president, because his candidacy could lead to a Republican winning the White House. (CNBC)
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders laid out some of their key differences last night in a Fox News Channel town hall in Michigan, which along with Mississippi hold primaries today. (Fox News)
A series of leading brands, including Nike (NKE), suspended sponsorship deals with tennis star Maria Sharapova, after she admitted to failing a test on a recently banned substance . (AP)
Wells Fargo (WFC) was charged with fraud tied to a now-defunct video game company founded by former Red Sox pitcher and three-time World Series champion Curt Schilling. (USA Today)
Sportscaster Erin Andrews won a $55 million judgment against a stalker and the owner of a Nashville hotel where he recorded secret nude videos of her. The videos were posted online. (NBC News)
A federal report found a Theranos laboratory in California ran a blood test on 81 patients over a six month period, despite erratic results from quality control checks. (WSJ-subscription)
Lyft's ridership has increased 500 percent in New York City since last may. Lyft recently cut fares in 33 cities, including the Big Apple. (Re/code)
BY THE NUMBERS
U.S. small business confidence declined further last month as lingering concerns about sales and profit growth hurt capital spending and hiring plans, according to a new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business.
A new study by the San Francisco Fed found growth in the median weekly pay of workers continuously employed in full-time jobs picked up sharply in 2015 to more than 3 percent on an annual basis.
In earnings news: Shake Shack (SHAK) declined sharply in premarket trading, after warning about soft 2016 same-restaurant sales increases. Earnings and revenue did beat expectation.
Urban Outfitters (URBN) surged in the premarket, after earnings beat estimates. Revenue matched forecasts. The clothing and accessories retailer pointed to improved margins during the holiday season.
Oil giant Chevron (CVX) is holding its analyst day today, against the back-drop of recently rising crude prices
STOCKS TO WATCH
IBM (IBM) Chief Executive Officer Ginny Rometty earned $19.8 million in 2015 compensation, according to an SEC filing. Her compensation was up by 2 percent from 2014 levels.
Apple (AAPL) repeated its opposition to writing encryption-cracking software for its iPhone, after the Justice Department asked a judge to reconsider a ruling in Apple's favor in New York drug case.
Facebook (FB) is working on new ways to authenticate users after their devices have been lost, stolen, or destroyed, according to the company's chief security officer.
Volkswagen (VLKAY) had delayed announcing its U.S. diesel emissions cheating scandal, hoping to strike a deal with regulators, according to the automaker's lawyers.
JetBlue (JBLU) sees February revenue per available seat mile down by 10 percent to 10.5 percent, pointing to tougher comparisons and capacity additions by the industry.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) reported a 13.5 percent increase in revenue passenger miles for February, slightly smaller than the 14.7 percent increase in available seat miles. The airline expects current quarter revenue per available seat mile to be in line with year-ago figures.
WATERCOOLER
In the latest propaganda video aimed at the younger generation in China, a cartoon version of Chinese president Xi Jinping plays whack-a-mole against corruption. (CNBC)