Best Buy a Retail Health Read

Best Buy's (BBY Quote) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report Wednesday will provide a much-needed checkup on the health of the retail sector.

The consumer electronics giant's earnings report will include results for the vital month of December, as well as January and February. That makes Best Buy one of the first major retailers to report results for the first two months of the calendar year; most other retailers close their fiscal year at the end of January.

Furthermore, if Best Buy comments on its fiscal first quarter, which includes March, it will offer a peek into the retail landscape for the first three months of 2007. In other words, it is an important "tell" for the group, which has been subject to concerns that the subprime lending debacle and ongoing housing downturn will hurt consumer spending. ...