• Washington Takeout: President Obama isn't getting much of a vacation, reports Julie Mason, White House correspondent for the Washington Examiner, since a Nigerian-born man allegedly tried to detonate a home-made bomb aboard a Detroit-bound flight.
• Gift Takeout: Amazon's e-book reader, the Kindle, was the most-gifted item on Amazon.com this year.  Jane Sasseen, writer for Business Week, joins us to talk about what this portends for paper books.
• Sports Takeout: After a long, undefeated run this season, the Indianapolis Colts finally lost last night, to the New York Jets. Ibrahim Abdul-Matin looks at the Colts' gametime strategy and what's ahead for the playoffs.

Starting Wednesday the U.S. government will begin examining how each of the country’s major banks would do in case of a worst-case scenario for the economy. Depending on the results of these so-called “stress tests,” the Treasury Department says it will make sure banks have the capital they need to survive an economic meltdown. Business Week Washington Bureau Chief Jane Sasseen gives a preview of how this process is likely to unfold.

The Obama administration is considering the creation of a “bad bank” to buy up billions in so-called toxic assets. We’re taking an in-depth look at this seemingly counter intuitive proposal — a proposal that could cost in excess of $2 trillion. Can bad banks be a good thing? The Takeaway is joined by Jane Sasseen, Washington Bureau Chief for BusinessWeek, and Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner.