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Grocery Benefit Pays Monday, Oct. 5: What You'll Actually Get — and Who Gets $0

  The second Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) payment lands Monday, Oct. 5, and it's the last one of 2026. Some households will see $222.50. Others will see nothing. Here's how to tell which group you're in. At a glance Payment date: Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 (tax-free) Maximum per payment: $169.75 single, $222.50 couple, plus $58.50 per child under 19 Based on: your 2025 tax return Next payments: January and April 2027 Check which number you're reading: yearly or per payment A lot of coverage this week quotes $679 for singles and $890 for couples. Those are the yearly maximums for the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit year, paid in four quarterly instalments. What arrives Monday is one quarter of that. Household Max per year Max per payment Single, no children $679 $169.75 Married or common-law $890 $222.50 Each child under 19 (added on) $234 $58.50 First child in a single-parent family $445 $111.25 Most households get less than the maximum The CGEB is incom...

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Anticipation and Reaction to Fed’s Rate Decision

 


As investors braced for the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision, North American stock markets experienced a mixed close. The Fed maintained its key interest rate at 5.25%-5.50%, leaving the future of rate cuts uncertain. Despite this, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dipped, while the Dow Jones and S&P/TSX Composite saw modest gains.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference offered a glimmer of hope as he dismissed the likelihood of an immediate rate hike, causing a surge in market optimism. He acknowledged the persistent issue of inflation but expressed confidence in the progress towards the 2% target.

The labor market showed signs of normalization, with job openings at a three-year low2. Meanwhile, the earnings season is more than halfway through, with a majority of S&P 500 companies surpassing consensus expectations.

In the corporate landscape, AMD’s AI chip sales forecast led to a 9% drop in its shares, while Amazon’s AI-driven cloud growth pushed its stock up by 2.2%. Johnson & Johnson plans to proceed with a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit settlement, and Starbucks faced a significant sales forecast cut.

The energy sector took a hit due to falling oil prices and a potential Middle East ceasefire, while uranium miners saw a boost from a U.S. ban on Russian imports. Canadian manufacturing activity continued to contract, reflecting ongoing economic challenges.

In summary, the market’s response to the Fed’s decision was a complex interplay of anticipation, relief, and sector-specific movements, highlighting the intricate dynamics of financial markets.

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