Wall Street Winces Ahead of Alcoa's Earnings

President-elect Barack Obama last week pledged accountability and transparency in a pitch for his administration's $800 billion economic stimulus plan, dubbed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Obama said late Monday that he is moving forward with efforts to gain approval to allocate the second half of the TARP and has contacted the leadership in the Senate and the House.

The president elect has promised to better monitor the second $350 billion and said Monday that he aims to change some of the practices in using this next phase of the program.

The president elect said his administration will focus the TARP on housing foreclosures and small businesses, making sure that the credit is flowing to consumers.

"This is one more aspect to a broader approach to reinvigorating our economy and we're absolutely going to get it done," said Obama.

Last week, Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren, who chairs a panel charged with overseeing the TARP money, urged Congress to consider whether prospective beneficiaries will be accountable and transparent in their use of the money and whether it will be used for the purpose for which it was intended.

Meanwhile, Mideast tensions, signs that OPEC supply restrictions are being implemented and the Gazprom-Ukraine gas dispute were outweighed by concerns that the economic downturn would continue to weigh on demand. Oil prices fell 17% last week, and started the new week on a downward course, declining $3.24 to close at $37.59 a barrel Monday.