Morning Briefing: 10 Things You Should Know

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were sharply lower Wednesday after European finance ministers delayed approval of the next €31.5 billion ($40 billion) installment of Greece's bailout loan.

European stocks were moving to the downside while Asian shares declined. Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.2%.

The economic calendar in the U.S. Tuesday includes the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism survey for October at 7:30 a.m. EST, the weekly ICSC-Goldman Sachs and Johnson Redbook reports on retail sales, and the Treasury Department budget for October at 2 p.m.

U.S. stocks on Monday finished flat with investors mostly sticking to the sidelines after last week's big pullback following the election results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped less than a point, or 0.23%, to close at 12,815.16.

President Obama on Tuesday kicks off a series of meetings this week with labor officials, business executives and congressional leaders aimed at pushing Congress to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

Obama plans to meet with corporate CEOs on Wednesday ahead of a meeting Friday with Congressional leaders, who return to Washington Tuesday with just seven weeks to go to reach an agreement on the fiscal cliff.

Microsoft's (MSFT) Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live, is leaving the software giant.

The company didn't provide a reason for Sinofsky's departure which comes just weeks after Microsoft launched Windows 8.

Home Depot(HD) , the home-improvement retailer, is expected by analysts Tuesday to report third-quarter earnings of 70 cents a share on revenue of $17.92 billion. Home Depot reports before Tuesday's opening bell.