(NECN) – For a look at the top business headlines, we turned to CNBC’s Bertha Coombs.

She said stock futures will start lower Friday morning. She said investors seem to be shrugging off reports that retail sales tumbled in January.

She said winter storms are threatening to chill the economy. When consumers did spend, it was a gas stations and grocery store. As a result, she said first quarter economic growth is expected to be lower.

Coombs said that because there have been so many snow days, it could be some time before that growth picks back up.