Stocks open lower as lawmakers doubt budget deal

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street amid concern that lawmakers will fail to reach a deal to stop the U.S. going over the so-called fiscal cliff.

The Dow Jones industrial average is down 39 points at 13,151. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is off four points at 1,426. The Nasdaq composite is down six points at 3,013.

Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that it is now "more likely we'll go over the cliff than not," following the collapse late Thursday of House Speaker John Boehner's plan to allow tax rates to rise on million-dollar-plus incomes.

Failure to agree on a plan to cut the budget deficit by Jan. 1 would lead to simultaneous government spending cuts and tax hikes that could push the economy back into recession.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stocks-open-lower-lawmakers-doubt-budget-deal-144147710--finance.html

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