What to watch today: Dow set to plunge, Trump tariff threat, Buffett and more

BY THE NUMBERS

Dow futures were sharply lower this morning after President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will hike tariffs on goods imported from China. The Dow posted its second straight weekly drop last week, though the S&P 500 is up for two weeks in a row. The Nasdaq has six straight weekly gains. (CNBC)

* Chinese markets plunge more than 5% as US-China trade tensions escalate (CNBC)

Trump said over the weekend that tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods will increase to 25% on Friday, despite repeated claims by the Trump administration in recent weeks that trade talks with Beijing were going well. The tariff rate on those goods was originally set at 10%. (CNBC)

* Goldman Sachs: Here's what could happen next with the US-China trade war (CNBC)
* China says it's still preparing for US trade talks — but won't give details after new Trump threats (CNBC)

Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA, BRKB) saw operating profit rise to $5.56 billion during the first quarter from $5.29 billion the prior year. Berkshire held its annual meeting over the weekend, and CEO Warren Buffett joins Becky Quick on "Squawk Box" this morning from 6am to 9am ET. (CNBC)

* Buffett knocks Elon Musk's plan for Tesla to sell insurance: 'It's not an easy business' (CNBC)

Food distributor Sysco (SYY) and Tyson Foods (TSN) are set to issue quarterly earnings this morning, while AIG (AIG), International Flavors (IFF), KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Mosaic (MOS), and Rent-A-Center (RCII) will be out with earnings after today's closing bell. (CNBC)

There are no economic reports on the calendar for today.

IN THE NEWS TODAY

Trump said Robert Mueller should not testify before Congress about his findings in the Russia probe. "There was no crime, except on the other side (incredibly not covered in the Report), and NO OBSTRUCTION," Trump tweeted. (CNBC)

* Democrats hope Mueller will testify May 15 (USA Today)

Palestinian officials said an Egyptian-mediated ceasefire agreement was reached with Israel today to end a recent surge of violence in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. Israeli officials did not comment on whether a truce had been reached. (Reuters)

Investigators said the devastating Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 250 people in Sri Lanka were locally planned and executed, without direct guidance from the Islamic State militant group. (WSJ)

Boeing (BA) said a standard alert that had been disabled on the 737 Max jet due to a glitch was not necessary to safely operate the aircraft. The statement came after Southwest Airlines (LUV) said it was not informed about the disabled alert. (CNBC)

Executive turnover at Kraft Heinz (KHC) is continuing as Chief Marketing Officer Eduardo Luz is leaving the company. Kraft Heinz announced last month its long-time CEO Bernardo Hees is stepping down on June 30. (CNBC)

A closer look at Amazon's (AMZN) delivery network illustrates why it is now ready to make one-day shipping the default for its Prime members. The vast delivery network is a result of significant investments over the past four years. (CNBC)

More people are giving their pets CBD, a non-intoxicating cannabis compound, to ease pain and anxiety. CBD pet products could balloon to a $1.16 billion industry in the U.S. by 2022, the Brightfield Group estimates. (CNBC)

STOCKS TO WATCH

Occidental Petroleum (OXY) increased the cash portion of its $38 billion cash-and-stock bid for Anadarko Petroleum (APC), as it seeks to convince Anadarko to abandon its deal to be acquired by Chevron (CVX).

Tesla's (TSLA) bid for a tariff exemption was rejected by U.S. trade officials. Tesla had sought the exemption for the Chinese-manufactured technology that controls its Model 3 vehicle.

Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBGI) announced a deal to buy 21 regional sports networks from Walt Disney (DIS) for $9.6 billion. The deal had been widely reported to be imminent on Friday before the late-day official announcement.

Fiat Chrysler's (FCAU) $307.5 million settlement over diesel emissions was approved by a U.S. judge. The settlement involves about 100,000 owners of diesel vehicles that allegedly had illegal software allowing excess emissions.

Dish Network (DISH) was upgraded to "neutral" from "underperform" at Credit Suisse, which thinks video subscriber losses for the satellite TV provider will lessen in the second half of the year.

WATERCOOLER

"Avengers: Endgame" continues to catapult over film industry records. It has garnered more than $2.189 billion worldwide, the fastest a film has ever surpassed the $2 billion mark at the box office. (CNBC)