THE WORLD'S HOT NEWS ON MARCH 2ND, 2015

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Stocks are struggling to get March off to a bullish start this morning, asfutures fell despite an interest rate cut in China. The major averages ended a positive February with a whimper, with the Dow falling the final two days of the month and the S&P 500 falling the final three days, but it was still the best monthly gain for the S&P 500 since October 2011. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway released its annual letter this weekend, in which the Oracle of Omaha hinted at his successor and suggested Berkshire cannot grow at the same pace in the future. Buffett is on CNBC's "Squawk Box" today for a full three hours. (CNBC) Hardwood flooring manufactured in China and sold by Lumber Liquidatorscontained levels of formaldehyde above those permitted by California's safety standards, "60 Minutes" reported on Sunday night. Only one of the 31 samples tested met emissions standards. (Reuters) Twitter is working with law enforcement officials to investigate a potentiallyISIS-related threat against co-founder Jack Dorsey. A post condemning Twitter for shutting down ISIS-affiliated accounts cropped up on a website used by programmers to store and share code. (NBC News) Wells Fargo has imposed a cap for the first time on the number of auto loans it will make to subprime borrowers. The bank is one of the biggest lenders in the space, but will now limit the dollar volume of subprime originations to 10 percent of its total auto lending. (NYT) Samsung revealed the latest version of its flagship Galaxy smartphoneand announced it will launch a mobile payment service called Samsung Pay at the Mobile World Congress. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge abandoned the company's traditional plastic case for a metal-and-glass design. Taiwanese handset maker HTC made less dramatic changes to the newest iteration of its One phone, the M9. The company tweaked the design, upgraded the camera, and added a more powerful processor. (Re/code) HTC also announced it will challenge Facebook and its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. It is partnering with Valve, the largest PC game distribution platform, to launch the Vive VR headset later this year. (CNBC) Manufacturing activity in Chinese factories hit a seven-month high, but producers still face inconsistent export demand and deflationary pressures, according to a HSBC/Markit report. The Chinese Central Bank cut interest rates ahead of expectations on Saturday by another 25 basis points. (Reuters) NXP Semiconductors has agreed to purchase Freescale Semiconductor in a deal that values the combined firm at more than $40 billion . The transaction is the largest by far of four deals announced in the chip-making space this year. (Reuters) News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch is rehiring former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks following her acquittal in a case related to the company's phone hacking scandal, sources told the Daily Mail. Brooks is expected to tackle News Corp's digital expansion. News Corp declined to comment. (Daily Mail) Forecasters are calling for a tough commute on the first business day of March, as ice and snow descend on the Midwest and Northeast overnight and Monday morning. Areas of Indiana and Illinois saw 8 to 10 inches of snow by Sunday night, while 4 to 6 inches fell in parts of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. (NBC News)