Stifel Bits

Summary

• The Federal Reserve raised the Fed funds rate by 0.25% to a range of 3.75%-4.00% on September 23, 2026, marking its first increase since 2023.
• Artificial intelligence spending accounted for approximately 40% of U.S. economic growth over the past year.
• The average annual cost of car ownership excluding auto loan payments reached $5,851 as of August 2026.
• High school flag football saw an average of 102,000 female participants in the 2025-26 season, representing a 551% increase over the previous four years.
• A new book states that individuals control only one-sixth of the time in their lives.
• 38% of job seekers report leaving a hiring process after encountering an AI interviewer.
• Seven NFL teams remained winless two weeks into the 2026 season.
• Dancing with the Stars Season 34 Week 2 drew 5.46 million viewers, while the finale generated 72 million votes \& captured 53% of adults ages 18-49.
• Jamie Beaton holds master's degrees from Penn, Stanford, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, King's College London, \& Tsinghua University.
• Spotify introduced parental controls allowing parents to exclude children's listening history from recommendations \& Wrapped.
• Kraft Heinz announced three new Philadelphia cream cheese flavors with 10 additional flavors planned over the next two years.
• Burger King upgraded its burger ingredients to focus on higher quality rather than lower prices.
• Conagra created a 429-foot Slim Jim in Omaha to claim the world's longest meat snack record.
• Meta is reportedly developing camera-free AI smart glasses.
• Campari launched a sweeter, bright-pink Sarti Spritz featuring mango, passion fruit, \& blood orange flavors.