Axios

Warren Buffett released his highly-anticipated annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders Saturday morning. It's widely read for clues on where the world's most famous investor thinks the economy and markets are headed. Key points:

• Hedge funds stink: Buffet devoted nearly 5 pages to condemning hedge funds for charging high fees while delivering meager results to their investors: "When trillions of dollars are managed by Wall Streeters charging high fees, it will usually be the managers who reap outsized profits, not the clients."
• Immigration is good: Buffet said that you don't need to be an economist to understand that immigration has been at the foundation of what makes America great, adding that immigrants are partly responsible for the nation's "miraculous" economic growth. Note, however, that Buffet never mentions President Trump by name in his letter.
• Stocks will continue to go up: "The years ahead will occasionally deliver major market declines — even panics — that will affect virtually all stocks." But don't panic, he says. "Yes, the build-up of wealth will be interrupted for short periods from time to time. It will not, however, be stopped... American business — and consequently a basket of stocks— is virtually certain to be worth far more in the years ahead."

And he heaps praise on Jack Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group and father of low-fee index funds. "If a statue is ever erected to honor the person who has done the most for American investors, the hands-down choice should be Jack Bogle," Buffett writes.

J.C. Penney announced 4th-quarter earnings Friday, posting a higher-than-expected loss and announcing the closure of up to 140 stores. Shares in the department store are down more than 1% in pre-market trading.

Why it matters: Americans increasingly want to shop online, and retailers are taking the hint. E-commerce sales now account for more than 8% of all retail sales, double the rate in 2011. That number is even higher when you remove sales of items like gasoline that can't be bought online. Penney's is joining the dozens of other stores like Sears, Macy's and CVS in announcing store closures this year.

Tucker Carlson, whose new 9 p.m. show on Fox has been a ratings and echo-chamber hit, sat down with McKay Coppins, now a staff writer for The Atlantic:

"The SAT 50 years ago pulled a lot of smart people out of every little town in America and funneled them into a small number of elite institutions, where they married each other, had kids, and moved to an even smaller number of elite neighborhoods. We created the most effective meritocracy ever. ...

"But the problem with the meritocracy ... [is that it] leeches all the empathy out of your society … The second you think that all your good fortune is a product of your virtue, you become highly judgmental, lacking empathy, totally without self-awareness, arrogant, stupid — I mean all the stuff that our ruling class is."

A keeper: "He recalls receiving a text message on election night from a stunned Democratic friend declaring his intention to flee the country with his family. Carlson replied by asking if he could use their pool while they were gone."

One quibble: McKay calls The Monocle, where he had lunch with Tucker, "upscale" when he meant "old-school."