Stocks opened lower today as concern rose over whether the European Union and International Monetary Fund are able to aid Greece in future bailout installments. If Greece does not receive another rescue payment, the nation could face default in only a matter of weeks. EU and IMF officials have debated on whether funds should be used to continue the financial rescue effort or be allocated to focus on spreading the contagion should Greece’s economy collapse. The decision on the next $11 billion installment has been shelved until early October. In the U.S., President Barack Obama made a firm stance against the opposing party after unveiling a $1.5 trillion plan to generate tax revenue from high-income households. The taxes would come from letting some of the Bush tax cuts expire and would be part of a larger $3.6 trillion plan in cutting the nation’s debt. The proposal also includes cuts to certain social programs and defense spending from the two wars. Wall Street is also anticipating an announcement from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, hoping that the central bank will unveil a new stimulus plan as recessionary factors have intensified. Oil prices fell as much as 3.6 percent today, and gold fell over 2 percent as well.

Major U.S. Stock Indices

DJIA: 11,288.17 (-1.92 percent)
S&P 500: 1,193.17 (-1.87 percent)
NASDAQ: 2,590.86 (-1.19 percent)
Russell 2000: 696.60 (-2.48 percent)

In other news:

  • Netflix (NFLX), whose shares have been absolutely battered over the last two months, may be positioning itself to spin-off the video-by-mail business and focus on its future in streaming video. Analysts do not approve. [Marketwatch]
  • In battling recession and challenging economic times, central banks are willing to tolerate more inflation risk, but when is the line where additional stimulus does more harm than good? [Bloomberg]
  • What’s hot: consumer discretionary selling people things they don’t need. What’s not: financials selling people things they don’t need. [CNBC]
  • Netflix isn’t the only company talking spin-off. Major conglomerate Tyco International (TYC) says it plans to split into three public companies, which is something it did in 2007 when it spun off Tyco Electronics (TEL) and Covidien (COV). [WSJ]
  • Facebook aspires to be a $1 trillion company, and here’s how they plan to do it. [Business Insider]

Check back for more news.