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What to Do with Your Tax Refund: 5 Smart Moves for Canadians

  Tax Season · Personal Finance By MoneySavings.ca Editorial Team • May 7, 2026 • 7 min read Tax season is wrapping up across Canada, and for millions of Canadians, that means a refund cheque — or a direct deposit — is on its way. The average Canadian tax refund hovers around $1,800. That's real money. The question is: what's the smartest thing you can do with it? It's tempting to treat a tax refund like "found money" and splurge. But here's the truth — that refund was your money all along. The government was just holding it for you, interest-free. So before it quietly disappears into day-to-day spending, let's look at five moves that will make it work harder for you. $1,800 The average Canadian tax refund — enough to make a meaningful dent in debt, pad an emergency fund, or kick-start your TFSA for the year. 1 Pay Down High-Interest Debt First If you're carrying a balance on a credit card, this should be your very first call. Most Canadian credit car...

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Nasdaq 100 Surges as Investors Bet on Fed Rate Cuts in 2024


The Nasdaq 100 index, which tracks the performance of the largest technology companies in the US, is on track to post its best annual return since the dot-com bubble of 2000, as investors anticipate the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates next year amid slowing economic growth.

The index has gained more than 30% this year, outperforming the broader S&P 500 index, which is up about 25%. The Nasdaq 100 is also close to its all-time high reached in February 2022, before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global market sell-off.

The rally in tech stocks has been fueled by expectations that the Fed will cut rates as early as March 2024, following a series of weak economic data and rising inflation pressures. The Fed has signaled that it is ready to act if the economy falters, and traders have stepped up bets on rate cuts, according to Fed swaps pricing.

Some analysts believe that lower interest rates will benefit tech companies, which tend to have higher growth prospects and lower debt levels than other sectors. Lower rates also make future earnings more valuable, boosting the valuation of tech stocks.

However, not everyone is convinced that the tech rally will last. Some investors are wary of the high valuations of some tech companies, especially those that have not yet turned a profit. Others are concerned about the potential impact of regulatory scrutiny, trade tensions, and competition on the tech sector.

The Nasdaq 100 index is composed of 103 companies, with the top five being Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook. These five companies account for more than 40% of the index’s weight, making it vulnerable to any shifts in their performance or sentiment.

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