5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday, February 27th

Here are the top stories investors need to start their trading day:

Stock futures rose on Monday as the major averages attempted a rebound after ending Friday’s session with big weekly losses. Still, the story is about inflation, the Federal Reserve, and consumer spending. Monday brings data on durable goods orders, and later in the week investors will take a look at new consumer confidence and ISM manufacturing surveys, as well as more headline retail earnings. “As we head into a period of seasonal weakness, with bets mounting that the Fed could hike by 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points in March, although still a minority opinion, short-term market risks remain to the downside though. “Three consecutive weeks of bears dusting themselves off after being kicked out in January,” said Louis Navellier, chairman and founder of growth investment firm Navellier & Associates. Follow live market updates.

The Oracle of Omaha wrote in Berkshire Hathaway’s annual letter that share buybacks benefit all shareholders, saying, “When you are told that all buybacks are harmful to shareholders or the country, or particularly beneficial to CEOs, you listen to either mom.” a silver-tongued economist or demagogue (characters who are not mutually exclusive). A highly anticipated shareholder letter from Warren Buffett each year to gain insight into his investment strategy and a broader perspective on the business. Berkshire started the buyback program in 2011 and has relied on buybacks in recent years as deals dried up and the cost of shares increased. “The math isn’t complicated: When the number of shares goes down, your interest in our many companies goes up,” Buffett said. “It must be emphasized that gains from value-accumulating buybacks benefit all owners – in all respects.”

NASA’s Crew 6 mission, which will take four crew members to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket, was delayed early Monday — just two and a half minutes before launch — due to a technical glitch related to the flow of ignition fluid. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule were scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and were to carry two American astronauts, a Russian astronaut and a colleague from the United Arab Emirates. . Six-month trip. SpaceX said later Monday morning that it would target the morning “no earlier than Thursday,” shortly after midnight, for another launch attempt.

Ukraine received aid from an unexpected donor: Saudi Arabia. The Russian oil ally signed a $400 million aid package to Ukraine after a diplomatic visit in which Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine, participated. And the Saudi Press Agency stated that the agreement stipulates 100 million dollars for joint humanitarian efforts between the two countries. “Of course, we are working on a higher level of visits and relations. But now we have finally come to interaction,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “This … brings tangible and sensitive results to the Ukrainians, especially with regard to the release of prisoners of war. I thank our Saudi partners for their cooperation and assistance,” he added. Follow CNBC live news about the war in Ukraine.

Ford has extended production outages on its F-150 Lightning electric car after a battery issue led to a pickup truck catching fire earlier this month. The automaker told CNBC on Friday that its battery supplier, SK, has resumed building battery cells at a plant in Georgia, but Ford said it will take some time “to ensure they get back to building quality cells and delivering them to the Lightning production line.” The F-150 Lightning is critical to Ford’s electric vehicle transition plans and is seen by many in the industry as the best candidate for mass adoption from the increasingly crowded midsize electric truck segment.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Machel, Yoon Lee, Holly Ellyatt, Michael Weiland and Reuters contributed to this report.

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