Word: coldness
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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Once upon a time, many businesses blamed a convenient scapegoat whenever profits went south--Mother Nature. Too hot. Too cold. Too rainy. Too sunny. When your product didn't sell, your losses grew and you lost market share, it was easier to point the finger at meteorology than management. But those days are over. Thanks to a blossoming of private firms that make sense of weather data in business terms, and a new financial tool called a weather derivative, a variety of industries are using forecasts to fine-tune corporate performance. "Weather may still be an act of God," says...
...fire logs better known for setting the mood than heating the house, prepared for winter by stocking 20% more inventory in its warehouses than the firm thought it would need. With weather affecting its average sales volume up to 15%, Duraflame couldn't afford to miss out on a cold snap. But unseasonably mild weather in one part of the country could mean inventory would sit useless for weeks. At the time, Duraflame executives made short-term decisions based on a daily USA Today weather map plastered to an office wall...
...need in Atlanta in January or in Denver in November. The model, created by Planalytics, tracks Duraflame's historical sales against weather data for the same time period and then makes projections from long-range weather forecasts. The formula is a lot more complex than the simple deduction that cold weather equals sales. Regional buying habits, for example, are taken into account. In Jacksonville, Fla., fire logs sell when temperatures dip into the 60s. In San Francisco, people buy when it's rainy. And in hardy Chicago, the mercury has to drop below 39[degrees]F for folks to gather...
According to U.S. diplomats, Kim finally realized that with his cold war benefactors gone, he has no choice but to open up to other countries for help in rescuing his devastated economy. Does this mean Pyongyang will curb its missile program, as the U.S. wants? Not yet. A senior North Korean delegation will visit Washington next month, and the missile negotiations "will be difficult," says a Clinton aide...
Some skipped work to catch a glimpse of the parade. Some carried signs. But all 50 or so of the wrestling fans waiting in the cold outside 44 Bow St. never saw World Wrestling Federation (WWF) star the Rock yesterday...