Futures point to higher open on tech rise
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures pointed to a stronger start for Wall Street on Friday as the technology sector was cheered by strong results from Research in Motion that sent shares of the BlackBerry maker surging.

Oil rises on supply concerns
LONDON – Oil prices rose Friday because of supply concerns following a report that U.S. crude oil stocks fell for the fifth straight week. Prices were also supported by forecasts that OPEC oil shipments were falling.

Consumer spending surges in November
WASHINGTON – Consumers put aside worries about slumping home sales and soaring gasoline prices and headed to the malls in November, pushing spending up by the largest amount in 3 1/2 years.

BofA: Attitudes Changing Towards Default (Calculated Risk)
[V]ia the WSJ: … “At least a few cash-strapped borrowers now believe bailing out on a house is one of the easier ways to get their finances back under control.” If every upside down homeowner resorted to “jingle mail” (mailing the keys to the lender), the losses for the lenders could be staggering. Assuming a 15% total price decline, and a 50% average loss per mortgage, the losses for lenders and investors would be about $1 trillion. Assuming a 30% price decline, the losses would be over $2 trillion.

Barclays sues over sub-prime losses
Barclays’ exposure to America’s sub-prime mortgage fiasco took a dramatic turn [Wednesday] night as the bank sued the Wall Street firm Bear Stearns for fraud and deception over the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in an ill-fated hedge fund. In a lawsuit filed in New York, Barclays accused Bear Stearns of systematically hiding losses in a fund which swallowed $400m (£200m) of the British bank’s money… The suit alleges that up to the last days before the bail-out, Bear Stearns executives engaged in a cover-up to hide the slump in its value.