With interest rates set to fall over the next year, these three stocks could be smart buys today.Last month, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (0.5%), the first reduction since early 2020 when it cut rates to near zero at the start of the pandemic. It also marked the end of the Fed's most aggressive interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s.The higher interest rates that prevailed since early 2022 weighed on many companies -- including some in the lending industry. ...