May 20, 2026

The Appetizer

“We are all standing at the same starting line. This is your moment to help shape what comes next. So run, don’t walk.”

• Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, during a commencement speech at Carnegie Mellon University. Congratulations, Class of 2026!

Now, on to the numbers. Drum roll, please …

• 45 million: The number of Americans projected to travel at least 50 miles from home for Memorial Day.
• 2 hours, 57 minutes: The projected drive time from New York to the Jersey Shore during peak Memorial Day traffic – Friday at 2:15 p.m.
• $3.02 billion: Domestic box office sales so far in 2026, up 16% for the same time period in 2025.
• 8,278: The number of LEGO pieces for the new Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith™ set, its largest LoTR set ever.
• 11,000 carats: The size of a ruby (4.8 pounds) recently found in Myanmar.
• 3,500: The approximate number of items that Amazon Now locations have in stock for 30-minute delivery.

Dig In
AI Gets an A

Over in Cambridge, Massachusetts, students are suffering from too much success. They’ve been handing out so many A’s at Harvard that some faculty members are now stepping in. Grades have been inflated to the point where an A has gone from “genius-level achievement” to “solid attendance record.” Last year, roughly 60% of grades were A’s – up from about 25% in 2005 – pushing the median GPA to a near-perfect 3.83.

Now, the university is trying to restore some meaning by capping A-range grades at around 20% per course.

Meanwhile, over at Princeton, the issue isn’t too many A’s – it’s who (or what) is earning them. Their 130-plus-year-old honor code, built on trust and un-proctored exams, was not established with artificial intelligence in mind, where “independent work” comes with a silent co-author. After more than a century, Princeton is bringing back exam proctors as AI-enabled cheating becomes harder to ignore.

For students, the “easy A” era may be ending just as the tools to earn one became effortless. In the AI crossfire, a moment of silence for Chegg.

Weekly Specials

Remember when the day’s biggest stress was your Wordle score? NBC just said “hold my coffee” and turned it into a primetime game show. Savannah Guthrie will host, while the rest of us relive the emotional damage of family Wordle group chats. If you know, you know.

The green energy race now includes solar, wind, nuclear, and even kelp. Scientists are exploring seaweed as a biofuel for planes and ships, which still rely on oil. Boats may run on kelp before we get self-tying shoes. Priorities, people.

My favorite pastime was going to the mall – the Galleria, to be exact. It had so many stores all in one place. Peak happiness. Now malls are “back,” but banning teens unless they bring a chaperone after chaos incidents. So, congrats, we revived malls, just without the teenagers who made them fun … honestly, that one’s on them. Act right!

Conflict in Iran is now hitting … potato chips. Calbee says petrochemical shortages are forcing some chip bags into black-and-white packaging instead of their usual bright colors. Supply chains are stressed, companies are nervous, and suddenly your chips look like they’re broadcasting from 1953.

Corporate Lunch

Whoop hosted the on-demand clinician access for U.S. users, with consultations based on your wearable data, blood work, and medical history, meaning it's about to go from a fitness bro staple to an all-ages reality check.

Chewy hosted the world’s largest dog pool party with 277 pups in Florida. I guess it makes sense that at Chewy, corporate events revolve more around pets than people.

Spotify rolled out a “Party of the Year(s)” feature that shows your most-played songs ever, total listens, and even your very first stream. Looks like I’ve listened to 11,000 songs since 2017 and have spent over 6,000 minutes on my top artist. Productive!

Amex’s Business Platinum and Gold cards now offer a $300 credit for ChatGPT Business – another sign of how quickly AI is making its way into everyday work.

Target is opening “baby boutiques”  in around 200 stores, meaning shoppers can see, feel, and test strollers, car seats, and high chairs.

Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or protect against loss.

The risk of loss in trading commodities and futures can be substantial. You should therefore carefully consider whether such trading is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. The high degree of leverage that is often obtainable in commodity trading can work against you as well as for you. The use of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.

Stifel does not provide legal or tax advice. You should consult with your legal or tax advisor regarding your particular situation.

Investing involves risks, including the possible loss of principal invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Index returns include the reinvestment of dividends but do not include adjustments for brokerage, custodian, and advisory fees. Indices are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment. This material is for informational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation to purchase or sell any security or instrument discussed herein.