Watch Art Cashin: Two key focal points for 2014

Art Cashin says he'll be watching carefully to see if the market forces interest rates higher at a faster rate than the Federal Reserve wants.

Cashin, UBS' director of floor operations at the NYSE, told CNBC's Bob Pisani around midday "that will be a very key focal point ... in the beginning of the coming year — to see if the bond market decides to tamper, if you would, with the tapering by accelerating or moving rates in a manner that the Fed is not ready for."

He added, "And then the other thing to look for is kind of the reverse of that ... All the money that the Fed has pumped in, does it finally begin to move into the economy? Do banks begin lending aggressively? And that might cause the Fed to taper more aggressively, fearing inflation."