The bar for a March rate cut from the Federal Reserve now appears higher, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) said, despite sticking with its call for March and June cut this year as the Fed chairman Jerome Powell made at the January FOMC meeting that more signs of disinflation would be needed to resume cuts.

The Fed used to have even more books with colorful covers: the Greenbook, which looked at the current state of the economy and what could happen down the road; and the Bluebook, which looked at how various decisions on interest rates could play out.

Steve Liesman, JPMorgan’s David Kelly, Wolfe’s Stephanie Roth and Morgan Stanley’s Jim Caron, join 'Power Lunch' to discuss the Fed's rate decision and the Federal rate outlook.

Major U.S. banks Morgan Stanley and Bank of America are exploring cryptocurrency service offerings while awaiting regulatory clarity, marking a shift in traditional banking's approach to digital assets.

“While dollar bulls are numerous and perhaps most vocal in expressing their views, there seems to be a more ‘silent’ plurality of investors looking to sell the dollar instead,” strategists including David Adams wrote in a note. “Many have dry powder and are waiting for a sign to enter shorts.”

A new GDP report Thursday and the expectation of a sticky inflation reading Friday should reinforce the Federal Reserve’s new wait-and-see approach on interest rates.

Citing concerns about going outside its statutory mandate, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors voted to leave the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System.

In a week when AI chipmaker Nvidia suffered the biggest one-day loss of value on record and the Federal Reserve said it was in no hurry to cut rates again, a few gauges underscore markets' vulnerability to big swings.

A placid day in markets turned volatile before the close Thursday as President Donald Trump’s vow to slap 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada sent currencies of both countries tumbling. Stocks buckled then recovered from the late-session shock,

Flagstar Financial, formerly New York Community Bank, reported a 500 percent increase in past due multifamily debts as it works to unload those mortgages

After their meeting Wednesday, Fed officials held interest rates steady in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. In December, officials had penciled in two quarter-point cuts for 2025. Also read: Powell takes wait and see approach on interest rates - drawing angry response from Trump

Both gold and Treasury bonds offer unique advantages, experts say — but one may be better than the other in 2025.