The Met office keep warning us that we might have the coldest winter since 1963. Now that was a bad winter, as a slip of a lad living in the Cotswolds I remember snow drifts over the top of 7ft signposts.

Today Ian McLeod, chief executive of Halfords Group PLC, reckons the car parts and cycle retailer is well set to benefit if official forecasts that the UK is set to endure its coldest winter for 10 years come true. 'The colder it gets the happier I am,' he told AFX News in an interview after the group, which floated in June last year, published interim results in line with market expectations and revealed solid current trading.

So who could be the gainers and losers,I think

Gainers

Gas Producers
Gas Utilities
Electricity Producers
Electricity Utilities
Oil Producers (heating oil)
Oil Suppliers
Coal Miners
Holiday Companies ( Get away to the sun/ski packages)
Salt Suppliers(gritters)
SSL PLC- you can work that one out for yourself:-)




Losers

Ice Cream manufacturers
Sun Tan cream makers
Water Utilities (burst pipes)
Car Insurance Companies ( prangs)
Farmers/Crop Futures

WINNERS-salt producers and disc break manufacturers - the salt rots the hell out of discs around here!

Comfort food and instant hot food manufacturers - watch people turn to instant hot chocolate and cuppa soups rather then queuing for the usual take away coffee. Comfort food for when they don't feel like boosting SSL's sales of an evening whlist sat curled up by the fire!
;>)

The Sled Warehouse should mint it.



Designed specifically for all children aged over 40.

Look at a comapny called Telecom Plus. TEP . Now this is a great little outfit selling all your home services phone, gas electricity etc to you.

BUT

As they pointed out yesterday with a warning current hedging does not cover gas prices over the winter while customer rates are set -- these guys are exposed on the wrong-side.

Saying all that barring the coldest Xmas, since that very cold Xmas , they should just make it through to the Spring when it might be worth a look.

Undertakers should do well :-)

Found this company that specialises in insurance for women....possible short? ;-)

http://www.girlmotor.com/

I'm happy with my little holding in Just Car Clinics (JCR) who mend the prangs and are paid by the insurers :)

Greggs the bakers. All those hot pies and pasties.

Movies-on-demand and online DVD rentals.
People may even go back to reading books if it gets worse than 62/63.

What was the 1947 winter like?

The winter of 1947 was very severe, and back in those days we didn't have no poncy wind-chill factors -- when it were cold it were just bloody cold.

MM - was that when you had just started work? I bet the horses had trouble pulling the carts in those drifts!

I was told 47 was longer (16 weeks) but 62 (6 wk) was much colder.
His mains water supply pipe was frozen for two weeks but had the enjoyment of skating on the canal :-)

Not sure airline will do well in a big, prolonged freeze. If rail transport can't cope with autumn leaves and powdery snows, what chance will airlines cope with severe winter weather. We are not Switzerland with universal, genuine personal pride in efficiency, quality and work well-done.

Bones: Bog off :) I was 4 and up to my waist in snow in Scotland. Nasty business, but I remember it well.

As for the airlines, you just need to remember the aquaplaning formula for nervous flyers (the speed at which the aircraft tyres lose adhesion on a wet runway).

As I recall, it's (7.7 x sqrt tyre pressure in lbs/sq inch) kts for spin-up (take-off) and (9 x sqrt tyre pressure in lbs/sq inch) kts for spin-down (landing).

It's a bit different if it's a slushy runway.

Happy landings :)

MM,and how much pressure does it require to move you Zimmer Frame old boy,even Mike cant remember that far back :-)

If Holiday Companies ( Get away to the sun/ski packages are gainers why are suncream companys not ?

Mega, you young whippersnapper. A couple of glasses of red wine is all it takes to supercharge me . . .

How you keeping Derek ????

Oh, the rudest of rude health!

A long cold winter will be excellent news for PDX.

Um, I haven't worked out why yet, but I'll post as soon as I come up with something vaguely credible.