Home Depot shares might not have held up under pressure when the company reported fourth quarter results because of a highly profitable winter last year an unseasonably warm period that boosted numbers across retail.
On the soon to be announced GDP figures, he said that because of the climate over winter it was likely to be "a pretty bad quarter" but said there should be evidence of "quite strong growth beginning to happen in manufacturing and exports".
Most analysts expect oil prices to be softer in the first quarter as the euro-zone crisis dominates the news and unseasonably warm winter weather keeps oil demand weak.
The course for the Coral Welsh National covers almost three-and three-quarter miles, and the meeting is one of the most eagerly anticipated races of the winter race season.
Michelin's management said in a conference call that the company would have a strong winter season, particularly in Eastern Europe and Russia, where rising sales would help boost its fourth-quarter results.
Of course, if Apple had ordered more than it needed last quarter to make sure that it was ahead of the game, it would need fewer still going into winter and might only require 30-35 million.