Top officials at Standard and Poor's are defending the decision to downgrade the U.S. government's credit rating. The financial institution is under heavy criticism from Washington. Meanwhile, New Yorkers are considering the possible consequences of the move. Our Zack Fink reports.

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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Standard and Poor's is standing by its decision to downgrade the U.S. credit rating.

On Friday, the stellar AAA rating was reduced to AA+. Standard and Poor's is not ruling out the possibility of a second downgrade.

S&P officials also plan to explain how local and state governments, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and insurers will be affected.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administrations said S&P made a $2 trillion error when it made the decision. Standard and Poor's said the Treasury's complaint is just a smoke screen for the unhappiness about the decision and either way, the projections of long-term U.S. debt "far into the future" are not good.

"This year, that indebtedness should be around $11 trillion," said David Beers, Managing Director of Standard & Poor's. "We expect by 2015 it will be about $14.5 trillion. We expect that by 2021, it should exceed $20 trillion. These are very large numbers."

Beers said that is the overall U.S. debt which includes federal, state and local governments, but excludes assets.

NYSE begins Monday trading with sharp drop

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NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The New York Stock Exchange dropped more than 300 points so far, after the fallout from Standard & Poor's unprecedented downgrading of the U.S. government's credit rating was felt in financial markets worldwide.

S&P officials have issued still more downgrades today for the credit ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and other agencies linked to long-term U.S. debt.

Also, S&P will indicate how local and state governments and insurers will be affected by the move.

U.S. stock futures fell early in the morning, signaling that a downturn was immediately ahead.

Gold is also trading around $1,700 an ounce, as investors scramble for secure investments.

Stocks traded lower across Asia on Monday after S&P lowered the U.S. government's rating from the coveted AAA rating to AA+ after the markets closed Friday.

Meanwhile, some markets in Europe showed signs of stability today, but the market in Greece fell to a 14-year low.

The European Central Bank said late Sunday it would aggressively support the bond market amid the latest concerns about the financial health of Italy and Spain.