1) Economic growth: Heading into 2015, most analysts are pretty sanguine. Even with contraction in Q1, 2014 was a decent year (GDP will grow around 2.4% in 2014). Will 2015 be the best year of the recovery so far? Could 2015 be the best year since the '90s? Or will 2015 disappoint again?
2) Employment: With one month to go, 2014 is already the best year for employment growth since the '90s. Will 2015 be as strong? Or will job creation slow in 2015?
3) Unemployment Rate: The unemployment rate was at 5.8% in November, down 0.9 percentage points year-over-year. Currently the FOMC is forecasting the unemployment rate will be in the 5.2% to 5.3% range next December. What will the unemployment rate be in December 2015?
4) Inflation: The inflation rate is still running well below the Fed's 2% target. Will the core inflation rate rise in 2015? Will too much inflation be a concern in 2015?
5) Monetary Policy: The Fed completed QE3 in 2014, and now the question is will the Fed raise rates in 2015? If so, when? And by how much? The Fed Funds rate has been at 0 to 0.25% since December 2008.