The Daily Editor

*Update at 5:30 p.m. ET: The S&P 500 added Vertiv (VRT), Lumentum (LITE), and Coherent (COHR) in addition to EchoStar (SATS). Match Group, Molina Healthcare, Lamb Weston, and Paycom were deleted. It’s a massive endorsement of AI stocks. We listed Lumentum as a dark horse earlier; it’s now in the index.

We have a full story on the new inclusions here.* 

Tonight,

 » Read more about: S&P 500 Rebalancing Tonight: Could Vertiv, SoFi, or Lumentum Join the Index?  »

Amid President Donald Trump‘s trade wars, the real story for Wall Street in 2026 is a tug-of-war between record-high valuations, a “messy” Federal Reserve, and a literal war in the Middle East. However, experts have told Benzinga that what looks like a bubble to some is simply “agility” to others.

 » Read more about: Forget Tariffs, If Stock Market Crash Occurs Under Trump, These 3 Catalysts Will Be To Blame  »

Key Points

• Costco’s comparable store sales remained strong in fiscal Q2, rising 7.4%.

• Membership trends and digitally-enabled sales growth remain key catalysts.

• The big question is whether there’s too much optimism priced in.

As usual,

 » Read more about: Costco's Strong Growth Continues. But Is the Stock Too Expensive?  »

In 2023, my dad called to tell me he’d dropped down to four days a week at work.

He’d had a long career as an insurance underwriter, though it didn’t define him. At one point, he even left the profession to become a plasterer for a decade to better balance out his schedule.

 » Read more about: My dad died at 56 and never made it to retirement. The 3 lessons he taught me changed my own plans and perspective.  »

As “College Decision” day approaches, many students are convinced that the school they choose will determine the rest of their lives. The pressure to secure a spot at an elite institution looms, yet one of the world’s most successful investors is signaling a move in the opposite direction.

In his 2024 shareholder letter,

 » Read more about: College Decision Day Is Just Around the Corner. Warren Buffett Says ‘I Never Look at Where a Candidate Has Gone to School. Never!’  »

Quick Read

• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) disclosed a position in Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), down 14% to $402.70 with $671.5M free cash flow up 31%. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) is down 31% to $37 with $1.4B Q4 free cash flow.

 » Read more about: The Restaurant Stock Warren Buffett Bought Is Up. Here’s the One His Successor Will Likely Buy Next  »

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has formally nominated Kevin Warsh, a former top Federal Reserve official, to be the next Fed chair when Jerome Powell’s term ends in two months.

Warsh’s nomination, which was initially announced Jan. 30,

 » Read more about: White House formally nominates Warsh to be Federal Reserve chair  »

A weak jobs report for February quashed the notion that the labor market is stabilizing, but it likely won’t push the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this month, given the oil price shock from the Iran war poses a risk of higher inflation.

“This jobs report has got my attention,” San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly told CNBC.

 » Read more about: Weak jobs report likely to keep Fed on hold in wake of oil price shock  »

 » Read more about: Forget Tech Stocks. If Oil Goes to $100 These Energy Plays Are Unstoppable  »

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

 » Read more about: Is Expand Energy Corporation (EXE) The Best Affordable Energy Stock to Buy?  »