Wall Street Tumbles Into Earnings Season

The president elect has promised to better monitor the second $350 billion, and said he aims to change some of the practices in the next phase of the program. It will focus specifically on housing, foreclosures and small businesses, making sure that credit is flowing to consumers, he said.

"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 fell 17% last week, and started the new week on a downward course, declining $3.24 to close at $37.59 a barrel Monday.

Gold fell $34 to settle at $821 an ounce. Longer-dated Treasuries reversed; the 10-year note was adding 24/32 to yield 2.3%, and the 30-year was up 1 16/32, yielding 3%.

The dollar was stronger against the euro, pound and yen.

Overseas, the FTSE in London and the DAX in Frankfurt lost ground Monday, while Japan's Nikkei Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended with losses as well.