After a rocky start to the year, U.S. equity markets delivered the strongest weekly gain since the post-election rally in November 2024 in last week’s trading.

Strong labor numbers brought out the good news is bad news theme for the markets. High private payroll numbers combined with low initial jobless claims point to a continuing strong economy, which should be good news.

Scams are constantly evolving as fraudsters uncover new vulnerabilities in technology systems or uncover successful coercion strategies. So how can you protect yourself against this ever-changing system?

After closing out a second consecutive year of remarkable returns in 2024 with the S&P 500 posting a total return of 25%, the U.S. stock market kicked off the new year on a turbulent note in last week’s holiday-shortened trading.

Compare how Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z handle spending, saving, and retirement planning and how First Merchants can help you save after.