Thursday, March 4, 2010

Now For The Snowstorm Hangover

Forbes

February saw two of the 25 most significant snowstorms to hit the Northeast United States in the past 50 years, and it wouldn't be a surprise if some lingering snowflakes show up in a pair of key economic gauges due over the next few days.
The storms could also be a major swing point for February's retail sales, and Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi recently provided a list of companies that had outsize exposure to inclement weather on the East Coast.

"Just think, mall parking lots needed to be plowed, stores opened late--if at all," Sozzi wrote in a Tuesday note.
Sozzi warned that certain retail chains have a considerable presence in regions where weather is an issue, but one of those, BJ's Wholesale Club, which has 72% of its store base on the East Coast, managed to overcome the challenge of rough weather to post a 7.5% gain in February sales from a year ago.

Link to full article: http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/03/jobs-retail-sales-markets-economy-february.html?boxes=Homepagelighttop