10 things you need to know before the opening bell (AAPL)

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February 27, 2017 11:57 AM

Warren Buffett says he has raised his stake in Apple.

Barry Jenkins, the writer and director of "Moonlight," with the Oscar for best picture on Sunday night.

Here is what you need to know:

Warren Buffett says stocks are "on the cheap side" when measured against today's interest rates."If interest rates were at seven or eight percent, then these prices would look exceptionally high," the Berkshire Hathaway chairman told CNBC.

Berkshire bought more Apple shares. Buffett said he raised his stake in Apple this year to about 133 million shares, more than double his holding as of December 31.

Japan's SoftBank Group nears an investment in the US office-sharing startup WeWork. The deal is expected to be worth over $3 billion, CNBC reported on Sunday.

President Donald Trump's first budget proposal will not seek cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News on Sunday. It will seek a hike in defence spending, The Wall Street Journal reports.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is reportedly preparing Scotland to hold a second independence referendum. According to The Times, the call in March would coincide with the triggering of Article 50, the formal notification of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union.

The London Stock Exchange's merger with Deutsche Boerse AG is in doubt. The LSE's board said it did not think the deal would pass regulatory scrutiny, Reuters reports.

Deutsche Bank cuts its bonus pool for 2016 performance by 80%. The cuts are "of course frustrating," Karl von Rohr, the lender's chief administrative officer, told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Samsung preps a new smartphone. The company sent press invitations for an event in New York City on March 29, when it will announce the Galaxy S8, its first major product since the Galaxy Note 7 explosions debacle last year.

The Dow could stretch its record closing streak for a historic 12th session. It would be the longest since 1987. Futures are little changed.

US economic data flows. Preliminary durable-goods orders for January cross at 8:30 a.m. ET, pending-home sales at 10 a.m., and the Dallas Fed manufacturing index at 10:30 a.m.

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