BY THE NUMBERS
U.S. stock futures were pointing to an over 700-point or 2.4% decline at Wall Street's open on Monday for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, trimming some earlier losses. European stocks were faring worse, with Italian equities down 4% as Italy grapples with the largest coronavirus outbreak outside of Asia, with more than 150 reported cases and five deaths. (CNBC)
* Mnuchin: Economic impact of coronavirus will be clearer in 'three or four weeks' (CNBC)
* Cramer on market plunge: Coronavirus impact on companies could be 'more severe than thought' (CNBC)
Investors were buying U.S. Treasury bonds in a perceived flight to safety — pushing yields, which move inversely to prices, sharply lower. The 10-year Treasury yield sank below 1.4% and the yield on the 30-year hit new all-time lows around 1.83%. Gold was surging about 2.5% in Monday trading after soaring nearly 4% for all of last week. (CNBC)
South Korea cases climbed to more than 830, with seven deaths. Health authorities said that global cases rose to nearly 79,500 with over 2,600 deaths — still with the vast majority of cases and deaths in China where the new virus originated. (CNBC)
* China's Xi rallies people back to work as country continues to battle virus outbreak (CNBC)
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who joins CNBC's "Squawk Box" for three hours ending at 9 a.m. ET, said Monday that he views the stock market's huge decline as a buying opportunity. "We're a net buyer of stocks over time. When stocks are down we're going to be buying on balance. Would rather buy at a lower price than a higher price," he said. Click here to keep up with everything Buffett says on CNBC on Monday morning.
* Buffett releases most widely anticipated shareholder letter of the year and discussed how Berkshire Hathaway's business fared (CNBC)
Berkshire Hathaway saw operating profit drop by 23 percent for its latest quarter, but surging stock prices for its holdings like Apple (AAPL) led to record full-year earnings. No major earnings out this morning. Hertz Global (HTZ), HP (HPQ), Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Shake Shack (SHAK) issue their quarterly numbers after the bell. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Bernie Sanders will win Saturday's Nevada Democratic caucuses, NBC News projected. Joe Biden, whose campaign needs a boost after poor results in Iowa and New Hampshire, will finish second in Nevada, followed by Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren. South Carolina holds its primary this coming Saturday ahead of Super Tuesday on March 3, when a third of the delegates are up for grabs in 16 nominating primaries and caucuses.
* Bernie Sanders unveils $1.5 trillion universal child care and pre-K plan (CNBC)
President Donald Trump's first state visit to India signifies the growing strength of the bilateral relationship between Washington and New Delhi, a top member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party said. Trump kicked off his two-day state visit to India on Monday. (CNBC)
Intuit (INTU) is near a deal to buy privately held credit monitoring firm Credit Karma for about $7 billion in cash and stock, according to the Wall Street Journal. Intuit – the company behind TurboTax and QuickBooks – would operate Credit Karma as a standalone unit.
Wells Fargo (WFC) will pay $3 billion to settle fraudulent sales practices probes by the SEC and the Justice Department. The bank also said it will continue to cooperate with any ongoing investigations.
Goldman Sachs (GS) units in Malaysia pleaded not guilty to misleading investors in the sale of $6.5 billion in bonds for the state-run 1MDB fund. The Justice Department has estimated that $4.5 billion was misappropriated from the fund between 2009 and 2014. (Reuters)
A London court hearing Monday could determine whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who published classified U.S. government communications as well as emails hacked by Russia from Hilary Clinton's failed 2016 presidential campaign, will continue to be confined. (USA Today)
Four weeks after Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash, the public will have an opportunity to say goodbye, in memorial on Monday at the Staples Center. (USA Today)
STOCKS TO WATCH
PepsiCo (PEP) agreed to buy China snack maker Be 7 Cheery from its Chinese owner Haoxiangni Health Food Co. for $705 million.
Beyond Meat (BYND) and Impossible Foods have a new plant-based burger challenger, privately held Cargill, which plans to launch its own plant-based patties in April.
Xperi (XPER) received an unsolicited buyout offer from private equity firm Metis Ventures for $1.16 billion in cash, or $23.30 per share. The Delaware-based tech licensing firm already has a deal in place to merge with set-top box maker TiVo.
Blackstone (BX) said it would raise its bid for Japan hotel chain Unizo to 6,000 yen per share, 5.2 percent higher than a bid by US investment firm Lone Star. Blackstone said it would go ahead with the offer only if Unizo agrees with Blackstone's conditions by April 30.
WATERCOOLER
Annual income for workers with at least a bachelor's degree is $71,864 versus $38,844 for those with only a high school diploma, according to median weekly earnings data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But some jobs that don't require a college degree pay more than others. (CNBC Make It)