CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower, US Markets Lag European, Chinese, And Emerging Markets Since Election Day, Berkshire Hathaway's Cash Hoard Grows 2/24/25

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Evinger, CNBC. It was a short-lived attempt at a recovery for stocks this morning. The markets plunged Friday. They're coming off two weeks back-to-back losses. Markets opened in the green and are now in the red. The Dow down 19 points, being led lower by shares of Walmart, pulling back 2%. The S&P 500 index is down 27 points. That's a half percent. The NASDAQ falling almost 200 points now, almost 1%. Nvidia shares pulling back 1%. President Trump is losing the stock market war to the rest of the world so far since Election Day. European, Chinese and emerging markets have dramatically outperformed the U.S. as measured by the S&P 500 index.

The Dow and the Nasdaq now in negative territory since inauguration day. Jim, in fact, since inauguration day, the U.S. is the worst performing G7 ETF. The money that's being made in Europe overnight, you come in and it's like, holy cow, they're doing pretty good. Japan's good. Thank you, Warren Buffett, for verifying that. China obviously on fire plus 20%. And us, well, people are very confused, particularly in the Russell 3000, which is small business. They're just certainly less happy about things. And they're

taking out that lack of happiness on the market. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer and CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sitting on more cash after selling more stock in the last quarter without giving an explicit reason why. In Buffett's annual letter to shareholders over the weekend, some investors think with markets near all time highs, Berkshire is hoarding cash to buy stocks on sale after a big sell off or opportunity that may be looming. If you go back to a few of his letters a few years ago he talks about you know really rare opportunities coming around you know every five ten years and so you know look we just have to

have faith in the system that's worked over those 60 years you know and if you look back at 08 09 look there could be other events that we don't know and have shown up in history. So I think he's well situated to take advantage of that. Gabelis MacRae Sykes on CNBC. Starbucks reportedly firing more than a thousand corporate staffers. The chain faces near record high coffee prices because of unfavorable weather and coffee growing regions of the world. And the new CEO, Brian Nicol, has been trying to turn it around.

Catalyst brands, which runs JC Penney, Eddie Bauer, AeroPostale, Brooks Brothers, Nautica, and Lucky Brand has fired about 250 people, according to Retail Dive. Jeep owners are done with in-vehicle ads that are popping up on the dashboard screen, telling them they need to buy a FlexCare Extended Care Premium plan. Kelly Blue Book says it was a software glitch.

Fur coats making a comeback for young Americans? But the Wall Street Journal says the consumers are mostly buying used and vintage fur. IKEA says it'll open eight new stores this spring and summer in the US in California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Oregon, and Arizona. Some will be new formats according to retail dive. Apple TV Plus says Severance has surpassed Ted Lasso as its most watched series. Severance is back with season 2 after making fans wait three years. Disney Marvel's Captain America Brave New World was number one at the weekend box office, but

its ticket sales plunged from last weekend. Neon's The Monkey had a strong showing at number two for an indie horror film. Jessica Edinger, CNBC.