Low interest rate environment creates opportunity for scam artists, warns co-author of Financial Serial Killers at FPA annual meeting.

The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first three months of this year. Governments spent less, and businesses cut back on investment. But consumers spent at the fastest pace in more than a year.

Drugmaker Merck & Co. said Friday that its first-quarter profit jumped 67 percent despite lower-than-expected sales, due to lower spending on production, marketing and research as well as an arbitration charge a year ago.

While the economy is showing signs of improvement, workers' compensation could face different directional trends, resulting in a complex mixture of improvement and further deterioration, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting.