Investing tax refunds is low priority for Canadians amid high cost of living: poll | Canada News Media
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Investing tax refunds is low priority for Canadians amid high cost of living: poll

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Only one in 10 Canadians plan on investing their tax refund this year as other financial demands take priority, a new CIBC poll found.

Most Canadians are choosing to hold the funds as cash (39 per cent) or spend it on essentials (29 per cent). Some are planning on paying down debt (24 per cent) or putting it toward discretionary expenses (12 per cent), the poll released Friday found.

Investing was the least chosen option for handling tax refunds this year at 12 per cent.

Luka Marjanovic, managing director and head of CIBC Investor’s Edge, says more Canadians should consider investing their tax refund this year.

“There are more demands on money these days, but Canadians getting a lump sum this spring should consider the opportunity to put those funds to work for them as part of a broader investment plan—particularly given that higher inflation means the value of parked cash erodes more quickly,” Marjanovic said in a press release Friday.

“While many Canadians are planning to hold on to their refund as cash, it may not be a good long term strategy.”

 

Savings, investments take a hit from rising cost of living

CIBC’s figures on tax refund spending plans are similar to last year’s findings, as Canadians continue to feel the financial burden of the high cost of living and ongoing economic uncertainty.


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Statistics Canada reported a 2.9 per cent inflation rate in March. Though the overall rate has cooled from the high of 8.1 per cent in the summer of 2022, the Bank of Canada’s policy rate remains elevated, forcing Canadians to cope with higher borrowing and shelter costs.



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2024 Federal budget poll 

 

Another Ipsos poll released Friday, conducted for Global News, showed the cost-of-living crisis is only getting more bleak. Four in five Canadians (80 per cent) feel that owning a home is only for the rich, the poll found.

With a bigger chunk of the monthly budget going to cost-of-living expenses, the poll also found some Canadians have less to put away in savings.

Twenty-one per cent of respondents said they’re putting retirement saving on pause as life becomes more expensive, which is six percentage points higher than in March 2023.

Some 29 per cent said they’ve dipped into their personal savings to make ends meet, while 15 per cent are using the money they’ve put aside for retirement.

Both poll findings come after the 2024 federal budget’s release last week, promising to boost affordability for Canadians.

The Ipsos poll on behalf of CIBC Investor’s Edge was conducted between April 3 and 4. A sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18 and over were interviewed.

The precision of the online poll is measured using a credibility interval, the release says. In this case, the findings are accurate to within ±3.8 percentage points, or 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18 and over been polled.

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Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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