This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Deep Freeze Profits

The deep freeze, or the so-called “polar vortex,” has been dominating the headline news for the past few days. Record-breaking lows have been spreading across the country, as regions such as the Midwest have experienced temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Air travel has been crippled, as major airlines have cancelled thousands of flights, and delays have impacted tens of thousands of additional flights. Sporting events, including the “wild card weekend,” were impacted by the weather — several games were faced with “blackouts” on local stations due to a lack of ticket purchases. Only a concerted effort by retail and corporate customers staved off the “blackout.”

Combined with the snowfalls that had blanketed the Midwest and the Northeast at the end of last week, the combination has proved to be treacherous, inconvenient, and a bitterly cold beginning to the New Year. Combined with the post-holiday blues, the beginning of 2014 has been sobering, freezing, and depressing for many. With the weather so dominant in so many people’s minds, it might be difficult to think about how to make the best of it.

So, how do you profit from this unusual event?

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A few suggestions that come to mind as possibilities to profit from the cold weather are as follows:

1) Firms that sell large amounts of cold weather gear such as Macy’s, Dicks Sporting Goods, L.L. Bean, and the “usual suspects,” Target and Wal-Mart

Find out what's happening in Greenwichwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2) Companies that manufacture shovels, ice melt, and other cold weather products. All of the sales that have taken place now will not be reflected in earnings until a later date, so this might be a good opportunity.

3) Utilities and natural gas firms – obviously, the colder it is, the more heat people use, the more that utilities and natural gas firms will benefit.

Bundle up, stay warm, and think of how to profit from the cold

http://www.macys.com/

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?