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So much for a quiet end to the year!

The stock market took a surprise turn south, thanks to the outlook for interest rate cuts the Federal Reserve unveiled after its meeting this past week. The Fed has become skilled at signaling to investors what they should expect, leaving most meetings as non-events. But not this one.

As Morningstar senior US economist Preston Caldwell explains, the Fed now forecasts just two rate cuts in 2025 against a backdrop of healthy growth and stickier inflation. In fact, he thinks two cuts might be optimistic. Check out his take here.

The Fed's stance only added to the uncertainties for investors to navigate. As we head into 2025, government policymaking in Washington and congressional wrangling are shaping up to be some of the main factors that could influence markets. I spoke with Ivanna Hampton about where the Fed and Washington more broadly fit into the outlook for the markets.

Speaking of outlooks, Sarah Hansen chatted with Fidelity's veteran market watcher, Jurrien Timmer. He's generally optimistic about stocks, although another boom year like 2023 or 2024 may not be in the cards. Find out more about Timmer's outlook here.

Of course, investing is more than just stocks; bonds matter too. That shows up most clearly in the classic 60/40 portfolio mixing stocks and bonds. Even if that's not your exact portfolio mix, the same concept applies: Holding bonds should reduce the short-term ups and downs stocks cause in your portfolio. You may remember 2022 as an awful year for 60/40 portfolios, but they've been back on track. Morningstar director of multi-asset ratings Jason Kephart sat down with Susan Dziubinski to examine the 2025 outlook for 60/40 strategies.

Lastly this week, Morningstar Indexes strategist Dan Lefkovitz looks at 2024's dominant market trends and offers three contrarian plays for 2025.