NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wall Street is nearly unanimous on this one: The Federal Reserve will not cut rates today, even though the economy looks like it's losing steam and the stock market stinks.

And Fed officials, notably some Fed bank presidents, have made their view clear: We're on the bumpy road to recovery and we're just going to have to take some lumps.

But a number of economists say the Fed should act now, and I found one who is willing to go out on a limb and say there's a chance the Fed WILL cut rates today.

Ram Bhagavatula of the Royal Bank of Scotland writes in his latest market letter, "The slump in stock prices and bond yields points to weaker economy ahead. An easier monetary policy will help the economy stay on an even keel as consumers and businesses adjust to a weaker outlook ... We think the FOMC will see the wisdom of acting early."

The collapse in stock prices destroyed a lot of wealth. Profits are meager in many instances. In the aggregate, businesses aren't doing much investing, merging, nor spending. Consumer confidence is ebbing, weekly chain store sales are soft, and big retailers like Wal-Mart are seeing disappointing sales.

The struggling economy Consumer confidence falls Retail sales head down Just how bad is the economy?

Those who think the Fed needs to act believe that rate cuts would have an impact immediately. Prime borrowing costs would drop as big banks follow the Fed's rate cutting lead, and that helps small businesses. It's possible this would fuel the bond market rally and that would help bring mortgage rates down further.

Steve Slifer of Lehman Brothers doesn't think the Fed will cut today, but he says it will cut rates this quarter. "It seems to me what we're missing at the moment is confidence, confidence on the part of investors, consumers," Slifer told me yesterday. "A rate cut in my mind would help because it would send a signal that the Federal Reserve...is prepared to do something."

Dave Resler of Nomura Securities says the Fed is in danger of letting the economy fall into deflation. That's bad for profits. Bad for stocks. And bad for jobs. "I think we are certainly in the zone of danger where continued signs of weakness in the economy would magnify deflationary pressures," Resler said Monday. "And if the Fed doesn't act against soon enough against those deflationary pressures it will get to be too late and we may find ourselves in a dangerous deflationary spiral."

Resler agrees with the Fed that this may be simply a bumpy road to recovery. Problem is, he says, some of those bumps can be big enough to break your axle.

Kathleen Hays co-anchors Money & Markets, airing Monday to Friday on CNNfn, and appears throughout the day reporting on the economy and how it affects financial markets. As part of CNN's Business News team, she is also a regular contributor to Lou Dobbs Moneyline.