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.

JPMorgan Chase is one of world's largest diversified-banking firms. The company operates a leading global corporate and investment bank and is the second-largest mortgage originator in the United States, after Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase also operates a large retail-banking network and is a leading credit card issuer.

Stock markets were down on Friday morning amid the kick-off of earnings by big banks. JPMorgan Chase is down 5% despite above-consensus results. However, net interest income decline sequentially and CEO Dimon noted a number of 'significant uncertain forces' due to inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions. The Dow was down 0.8%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.0% and the Nasdaq fell 1.1%. Oil prices are on the rise amid increasing tensions in the Middle East. Israel has reportedly started preparations for a direct attack expected by Iran this weekend in response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria last week. Crude oil is trading near $87 per barrel and gold rose $35 to $2408 per ounce.

JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest and most complex financial institutions in the United States, with nearly $3.9 trillion in assets. It is organized into four major segments--consumer and community banking, corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, and asset and wealth management. JPMorgan operates, and is subject to regulation, in multiple countries.