Here's a look at some of the big stories on and off the Radar that we're focusing on for Power Lunch today:
1) minutes from the January meeting will be released live promptly at 2:00pm Eastern on Power Lunch. The big question is whether the Fed will signal exactly when it will raise interest rates. Right now, the consensus is sometime between this June and September.
2) The slowdown/shutdown continues at 29 key West Coast ports. We'll have a live report as some experts now say this is costing the U.S. economy $2 billion per day. Also, more and more scrutiny is being applied to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). It's a powerful group that seems to be more powerful than ever right now.
Read MoreUS manufacturers feel the pain of port dispute
3) Speaking of interest rates, mortgage rates have hit their highest levels of this year. And mortgage apps are way down. With the Fed expected to jack rates higher within the next six months, are we on the verge of another housing downturn?
4) Citigroup says it's going to invest $100 billion to "combat climate change." Is this good corporate citizenship, public relations, or actually a good investment?
5) Off the RADAR: There's been a possible breakthrough in the race to develop an AIDS vaccine. Researchers have been able to produce a molecule that suppresses the disease and has been able to keep lab monkeys from developing it. The work has been led by the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. Obviously, it's way to early to gauge the repercussions of this from an investing standpoint, but it's encouraging none the less and quite worth filing away for later reference.
Read MoreMortgage applications plunge
6) Off the RADAR 2: The top general news story today is the fight over President Obama's executive orders to significantly scale back immigration rules and reduce deportations. But the federal judge's ruling putting those orders on hold contains some interesting economic arguments. The decision points to the huge added costs individual states will have to face simply by issuing special drivers licenses to the previously undocumented immigrants, not to mention the other new administrative costs. As President Obama uses examples of broken families as an argument to relax the rules, many of his opponents can now point to examples of severe budget cutbacks taxpayers might have to endure.
7) Off the RADAR 3: Divers off the coast of Israel have found 2,000 gold coins that are about 1,100 years old. Obviously, the value of such a find would be in the tens of millions of dollars. But antiquities laws in Israel prohibit the divers who found the treasure from keeping or selling even one coin. Perhaps some magazine will pay them handsomely for their story?