The cold hard message is sinking in. Higher rates are here to stay for longer than expected. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said multiple times that the Fed will be 'data-driven' when deciding on monetary policy. And the data has spoken. First, let's look at inflation. There has been great progress made in knocking inflation down from its peak of 9.1% in June of 2022. But achieving progress at the current lower levels, with inflation in the low-3% range, as expected, has been difficult. The Fed has been specific, saying inflation needs to be at 2% before restrictive policy will be eased. The Fed was patient after the January inflation data, and again with February data. But when March showed persistently higher prices, the Fed threw came right out and said that change can wait. Chairman Powell said the following last week. "The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence..." and "If higher inflation does persist, we can maintain the current level of restriction for as long as needed." Now let's consider unemployment. The Fed again has been specific. Officials are looking for a 4.1% unemployment rate to gently (hopefully) slow the economy. Currently, the rate is not budging and is vacillating between 3.8% and 3.9%. Given the current macroeconomic backdrop, the following is a list of industries and companies we like that should benefit from a sustained period of higher interest rates. All are BUY-rated at Argus.

In this edition, rental equipment companies haven't dug moats yet; homeowners are repairing remodel spending numbers; GE Vernova might power through the gap between position and performance; and Santos, Crown Castle, and Melrose Industries.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Lennar Corp. based in Miami, is one of the two largest builders of homes based on 73,087 closings, across approximately 23 states, in FY23. Rival D.R. Horton actually delivered 82,917. Lennar's $34.2 billion in revenue ranks close to Horton's $35.5 billion helped by an average sales price that is about $60,000 higher. The company's East region is its biggest, accounting for 31% of deliveries. Lennar builds step-up (68% of closings), entry level (28%) and retirement (4%) homes, with an average selling price of $446,000. The company also provides mortgage financing. Lennar's Multifamily business develops and manages apartment complexes through joint ventures. Homebuilding represented $32.7 billion of the company's $34.2 billion in FY23 revenue. It is also the biggest contributor to pretax earnings. The company's fiscal year ends on November 30.