Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the central bank is ready to act aggressively to help the economy. In a Washington speech, he said the Fed stands "ready to take substantial additional action as need to support growth and to provide adequate insurance against downside risks." Stephanie Dhue gets reaction to the speech and looks at if there are limits to what the Fed can do. In addition, we'll get some analysis from Brian Wesbury, Chief Economist for First Trust Advisors. Despite Bernanke's assurances and all of the M&A news, concerns remain about the outlook for the economy. The nation's biggest retailers reported weaker-than-expected holiday sales today. Suzanne Pratt takes a look at how the disappointing holiday performance is making analysts more pessimistic about consumer spending in 2008.

Plus, there's word of big mergers and acquisitions today as well. Bank of America is reportedly in talks to buy Countrywide Financial. Delta Airlines is reportedly in merger talks with another airline. And, our Economic Choices '08 coverage tonight turns to Senator Hillary Clinton. Washington Bureau Chief Darren Gersh talks one-on-one with her top economic advisor Gene Sperling.