The Week Ahead: Next leads the retailers' post-Christmas results

For consumers, Christmas shopping is no more than a distant memory, but executives in the retail sector are still keen to pore over any data that can shine a light on how much of a boost the country's economy received during the festive period.

This is true more than ever this time, with question marks hanging over just how much disruption was caused to high-street performance by the extreme weather that swept the country in December.

Next's fourth-quarter trading statement, which is due to be released tomorrow, is one of the earliest opportunities to get a feel for how well the retailers have done and the health of the sector going into a new year whose outlook – according to many – is not too bright.

The update from the clothing chain should give an idea of just how much the snow kept shoppers away, and whether any lost sales were recovered in the few days before Christmas. It will also indicate how well the post-Christmas sales have gone.

The signs are already fairly good, with John Lewis reporting that in the first three days of its clearance event, sales were 25 per cent higher than at the same time last year.

Still, analysts have urged caution, particularly regarding the outlook. "A key question for retailers and the economy in general is how much the spending in the sales is bringing forward consumption from 2011, thereby limiting expenditure in the early months of next year," said Howard Archer, the chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.

Alongside the wider consequences for the retail sector, investors will also be looking at how Next is dealing with increasing cotton prices, which rose sharply in 2010 and are still going up.

Daniel Harris of H2O Markets, who has Next on a "sell" recommendation, is one of those who has been warning about the effect of commodity prices. He said: "[The company] faces the very real threat that consumers will seek out and trade down to cheaper, non-branded products, particularly at a time of austerity and weak consumer spending."

Today

Results/Updates: None.

Tomorrow

Domino's Pizza is releasing its fourth-quarter interim management statement and, according to Hugh-Guy Lorriman, an analyst at Seymour Pierce, investors could see the takeaway company enjoying a boost from December's cold weather.

"In the last two seasons of heavy snows ... Domino's has reported some very high like-for-like sales growth," said Mr Lorriman. He attributes this to a number of factors, including the fact that Domino's delivery drivers are well equipped to deal with the conditions on scooters. However, he does point out that the franchises are supplied by articulated lorries, "thus sustained heavy snowy conditions could be bad news on this account".

Meanwhile, Goldman Sach's Rachel Carson – who has Domino's on a "buy" recommendation – says it "has an impressive record of delivering like-for-like growth", and she has given its shares a six-month price target of 750p.

Results/Updates: Domino's, Next and William Sinclair.

Thursday

Rathbones releases its update on Thursday and the investment manager will aim to carry on from its steady interim management statement in November. Back then, the company described the third-quarter period as "very positive", with the value of funds under management increasing by nearly 10 per cent.

Investors will be hoping that the trend it saw then – of clients investing more cash – will have continued, while the ongoing improvement of equity markets should also have helped the business. Also set to update the market on Thursday is the small-cap company Clinton Cards, which is releasing its Christmas trading update.

McBride is another group in the spotlight, with its first-half trading statement due. The company – which produces several own-brand cleaning products – saw its share price hit in 2010 by fears about how it would cope with increasing raw materials costs. In its last update in September, it said that any price increases would be near the lower end of forecasts, and there will be hopes that it will be similarly positive about the issue this time.

Meanwhile, also on Thursday, the recruitment company Hays is releasing its trading update for the three months to 31 December 2010. It, along with many of its peers, has previously talked about its aim of expanding its international business, so more information about this should be expected.

Results/Updates: Clinton Cards, Hays, McBride and Rathbones.

Friday

Results/Updates: Robert Walters.

ECONOMICS DIARY

Today

Bank of England consumer credit; Bank of England mortgage approvals; Eurozone CPI estimate; M4 money supply; Manufacturing PMI; US factory orders; US motor vehicle sales; US release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting.

Tomorrow

Construction PMI; Eurozone PPI; US ADP employment report; US ISM non-manufacturing composite.

Thursday

Eurozone retail sales; Services PMI.

Friday

Eurozone GDP; Eurozone unemployment rate; US change in non-farm payrolls; US consumer credit; US unemployment rate.