Stock Indexes Log Weekly Gains After Quiet Friday Session, Holiday-Shortened Week

Major Equities Indexes End Week Comfortably Higher

1 hr 39 min ago

Major stock indexes didn’t do much Friday. They still had a positive week overall. 

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq all advanced over the holiday shortened week, rising 1.4%, 1.2%, and 1.2%, respectively. 

All three have risen four times in the past five weeks, with the Dow bouncing back after closing lower last week.

The S&P 500 and Dow are on pace to rise for an eighth straight month apiece. 

For the year, the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow are up roughly 22%, 18%, and 15%, respectively. 

Your First Social Security Check in 2026: What to Expect

2 hr 2 min ago

If you’re collecting Social Security payments next year, there are several changes to the program that will affect your 2026 benefits. Here’s what you need to know.

The first Social Security check of 2026 will be issued on Jan. 2 for beneficiaries who started collecting Social Security payments before May 1997, as well as those who also receive Supplemental Security Income.

Retirement, spousal, and survivor benefits will be paid on Jan. 14 to those born between the first and 10th of any month. Benefits for those born between the 11th and 20th of any month will be distributed on Jan. 21, and those with a birthday between the 21st and 31st of any month will receive their payments on Jan. 28.

The annual cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 Social Security benefits will be 2.8%, or about $56 more per month, starting in January.

This increase in benefits is calculated based on inflation during the third quarter of 2025, and is intended to help beneficiaries keep pace with rising costs. However, experts say the 2026 COLA will not be enough for many seniors.

In particular, the cost of premiums for Medicare Part B, the federal health insurance used by millions of Americans who are disabled or receive Social Security payments, is expected to rise by 11.6% next year. This increase will completely wipe out the beneficiaries’ 2026 COLA increase.

Read the full article here.

–Elizabeth Guevara

5 Key Changes to Pell Grants Coming in 2026 That Students Need to Know

3 hr 11 min ago

The “One Big, Beautiful Bill” will introduce significant changes to the Pell Grant program, effective during the 2026-27 award year.

The congressional budget bill, which was passed this summer, expanded the Pell Grant program to include short certificate and licensing programs at trade schools.1 Some eligibility requirements were also modified for the Pell Grant program, the largest federal grant program offered to undergraduates.

These changes will start to take effect on July 1, 2026.1 The Pell Grant changes are already reflected on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2026-27 academic year, which opened on Sept. 24.

Read the full article here.

–Elizabeth Guevara

Target’s Stock Hasn’t Had a Great Year. Here’s Why It’s Climbing Today

3 hr 55 min ago

We might not know how Target’s sales were this Christmas yet, but its shares are getting a holiday-week bump.

Shares of the retailer rose Friday—recently up more than 2%, though a bit off earlier highs, they were among the S&P 500’s top gainers in Friday’s session—after the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the details, that hedge fund and activist investor Toms Capital Investment Management had taken a stake in the retailer.

The story did not mention the size of the reported stake. Toms did not respond to Investopedia’s request for comment in time for publication.

Target (TGT) in a statement said it maintains “a regular dialogue with the investment community.”

“Target’s top priority is getting back to growth, and our strategy to do so is rooted in three strategic priorities: leading with merchandising authority, providing a consistently elevated shopping experience and leveraging technology,” the company’s statement said. “We are confident the execution of this plan will drive the business forward and deliver sustained, long-term value for shareholders.”

Read the full article here.

–David Marino-Nachison

Why Your Credit Scores Never Match—and Which One Actually Matters

5 hr 9 min ago

Your credit score impacts whether you’ll get credit. Having a high score means you’re more likely to be approved, and you’ll also get better rates than someone with a lower score. But you may notice that your scores differ, with one report saying you have a 685 and another saying your score is 715. Confusing, right? That’s because not all credit scores are created equal. They use different models, and not every lender uses the same one.

Your credit score is a three-digit number lenders use to determine your creditworthiness. The score is based on a few factors, including the length of your credit history, your payment history, your outstanding balances, the number of open and new accounts, lender inquiries, and whether there are any negative remarks against you, such as liens, judgments, and bankruptcies.

Several factors determine your score. The three different credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) collect information about you and use it to create your credit report.

FICO and VantageScore, the most commonly used models in the industry, use different systems to create your score. FICO scores range from 580 to 800+, while VantageScores range from 300 to 850. Each weighs credit factors differently, as you can see here.

Read the full article here.

–Rajeev Dhir

An E-Commerce Stock Is Jumping Today After a Cyberattack Knocked It Down

6 hr 51 min ago

An e-commerce stock is rising Friday after the company said a cyberattack doesn’t appear to have left customer payment information at risk.

Shares of Coupang (CPNG) were recently up about 9% after the company offered an update about the cyberattack on its South Korean subsidiary, which exposed the personal data of some 33 million customers.

Coupang said “the perpetrator has been identified, and that all devices used in the data leak have been retrieved.” It added that its investigation revealed the hacker “retained limited user data from only 3,000 accounts and subsequently deleted the user data.”

The company’s shares tumbled on Dec. 1. when the breach was first revealed, later falling to their lowest levels since April. With today’s gains, the shares are up about 13% year-to-date.

Read the full article here.

–Bill McColl

A Deal With Groq Is Lifting Nvidia’s Stock as the End of 2025 Approaches

7 hr 15 min ago

The trading year is almost over—but Nvidia still has some news to make.

The chip giant earlier this week struck a deal with inference chipmaker Groq, a non-exclusive licensing pact that according to the announcement leaves the latter company independent—but also has founder and CEO Jonathan Ross, President Sunny Madra and other members of the company joining Nvidia (NVDA) “to help advance and scale the licensed technology.”

The news helped lift Nvidia’s shares on Friday, with the stock—up some 40% in 2025 so far—more than 1% higher in morning trading.

Investors may be cheered in part by reports that Nvidia is also acquiring some of Groq’s assets, with CNBC reporting a $20 billion price tag for them—it’s considered Nvidia’s biggest-ever acquisition—in an indication of sustained opportunity for dealmaking in the AI sector to close out the year. Neither Groq nor Nvidia responded to Investopedia’s requests for comment in time for publication.

Read the full article here.

–Bill McColl

Will Your Home’s Value Rise in 2026? Experts Weigh In on Market Trends

7 hr 26 min ago

Will the value of your home increase in 2026?

The answer is maybe, but it’s likely to depend on where you live and how much impact inflation has on the economy.

Some economists predict that house prices will gain value in 2026.

The National Association of Realtors expects home prices to continue to rise in 2026, with Chief Economist Lawrence Yun projecting home price appreciation of 4% next year.

That’s better than the inflation rate projections tracked by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, which projected Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation coming in at 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2026.

If those projections hold, housing wealth would rise in 2026.”Home prices nationwide are in no danger of declining,” Yun said.

But not everyone is as optimistic. Fannie Mae is projecting a more modest rise of 1.3% in 2026, while Zillow is similarly projecting a 1.2% rise in housing prices, both of which are below the expected inflation levels.

Read the full article here.

–Terry Lane

Mining Stocks Rise Along With Precious Metals

7 hr 45 min ago

Precious metals keep on hitting record highs. Mining stocks are surging along with them.

Mining companies Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Southern Copper (SCCO) rose a respective nearly 2% and 1.2% soon after markets opened on this quiet Friday of trading.

Shares of Freeport-McMoRan are up nearly 40% this year, including about 25% over the past month as precious metal prices have jumped. Southern Copper stock is up 70% in 2025.

Gold and silver futures set their latest all-time highs Friday, rising to $4,568 and $75.84 an ounce, respectively.

6 Smart Purchases to Make After Christmas for Maximum Savings

8 hr 37 min ago

Waiting out the frenzy of Christmas sales could actually save you a lot of money. We talked to a trio of savvy shoppers to learn which items you should wait until after Christmas to buy to save some cash.

Shopping after Christmas will mean waiting longer for a particular item, but the money you save on that product will make the wait worthwhile. You’ll see a lot of deep discounts on products ranging from electronics to clothing, and just about every other retail item that is updated in the January inventory turnover.

You will need to plan ahead to make the most of post-holiday sales. Timing major purchases for after-Christmas sales can yield huge savings if you have a list of target items.

“I always tell people that if they have the money and the storage space, shop with the entire next year in mind,” suggests Josh Elledge of SavingsAngel.com. “Rock-bottom pricing is available on everything from electronics to clothing to jewelry.”

Read the full article here.

–Andrew Beattie

Got a Big Pile Of Unwanted Stuff to Send Back? You’re Not Alone—It’s Return Season

9 hr 25 min ago

Gather up the itchy socks and unwanted accessories. It’s return season. 

Returns tend to rise during the last days of December, and Adobe Analytics data suggests the spike may be even pronounced this year. Returns this month were running about 2.5% below where they were midway through the holiday season in 2024, according to Adobe, which analyzed millions of online transactions—so we’re either getting better at selecting presents, or slower at sending back unwanted stuff.

It’s likely the latter, according to Schorr Packaging, a shipping material and services firm that called returns “practically a holiday tradition.”1 Half of shoppers return gifts within a week, while roughly another quarter do so within two or three weeks, according to consumer surveys Schorr conducted.

The rise of online shopping—and expansion of flexible return policies during the pandemic—have contributed to higher return rates, the National Retail Federation trade group said. Companies on average expect 16% of their 2025 sales to be returned, according to the NRF and Happy Returns, a UPS company that facilitates returns. That’s down slightly from last year, but double the 8% return rate in 2019, the groups said.

Despite the growth of e-commerce, many Americans take a traditional approach to returns. Bringing unwanted items back to a store is the most common return tactic, according to Schorr, ahead of using third-party drop-off sites and mailing back products.

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Expecting a Big Raise in 2026? Don’t Count on It

10 hr 13 min ago

Employers in the year ahead are likely to remain reluctant to embark on any major hiring sprees, and the lack of demand for workers should serve to keep a lid on pay increases.

Several major forecasts and surveys of employers largely call for the continuation of the job market’s recent trends, in which hiring has slowed to a crawl compared to the last few years. Employers have been reluctant to hire too many workers, but also wary of mass layoffs, as economic uncertainty caused by unpredictable tariff policies has made planning future expansions difficult.

U.S. employers plan to give raises averaging 3.3%, a tenth of a percentage point lower than in 2025, according to a survey by payroll software company Payscale.

Forecasters at jobs website Indeed expect the job market to remain in low gear over the next year, with job openings stabilizing rather than continuing to decline, and unemployment rising, but not too much. None of that would push employers to give out huge pay raises like they did in 2022 when labor was in high demand, and the economy was reopening from the pandemic.

Wage growth, as measured by salaries advertised in job postings, has cooled down over the last year, according to Indeed.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Stock Futures Little Changed to End Holiday-Shortened Week

11 hr 6 min ago

Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed down 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were fractionally lower.

Nasdaq 100 futures were fractionally higher.