Commodities Drop;NBA Fans Hopeful

Wheat dropped to a sixteen-month low this week.It was believed to be because of the fear that a weak economy is causing a reduction in demand.Cocoa,sugar and coffee also declined.
Stocks had a very poor Thanksgiving week on thin trading,and the S&P futures fell 6.50 Friday evening,portending an unenthusiastic Monday morning.Next week will be dominated by Friday's employment report,along with the deficit-driven headlines of the day.
NBA fans are cheering the announcement that the professional basketball season will tentatively begin with a triple-header on Christmas Day after the bitter labor squabble that threatened to cancel the entire season.Many hospitality workers were laid off because of the games already canceled,but their prospects are looking decidedly better this weekend.

Tech Sector Leading

The S&P futures were up 1.4 tonight,while the Dow futures were down 1.0,and the NASDAQ futures were up 17.0.Only the NASDAQ had a positive week,rising 0.98.Oracle and Research In Motion posted strong quarters,with growth on both the top and bottom lines.Commodities futures were up across the board this evening.At this point,the shortened week ahead looks promising for investors-especially tech investors.Tech could well lead the way the remainder of the year.It's earning it's leadership.Retail can only hope that shoppers will go online this weekend,since a major east coast snow storm will cost them brick and mortar sales.This can't be emphasized enough at this critical time in the holiday cycle.