CBS MarketWatch Names Allen Sinai As Its First ``Forecaster of the Month''; Decision Economics CEO Beats 29 Others In Predictions of October Indicators

Business Wire, Nov 12, 2003

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2003

MarketWatch.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW), a leading multimedia publisher of business news and information, today announced that Allen Sinai, CEO of Decision Economics, is the first CBS MarketWatch Forecaster of the Month.

Sinai was the most accurate of 30 economists who provided forecasts of 10 monthly economic indicators released in October from the Labor Department, The Commerce Department and other sources. Those indicators are: non-farm payroll employment; retail sales; consumer price index; personal income; orders for durable goods; U.S. trade deficit; new home sales; housing starts; industrial production; in addition to The Institute for Supply Management index of purchasing manager sentiment.

A story about Sinai appears today on the front page of CBS MarketWatch and will be featured on the MarketWatch.com Radio Network.

"CBS MarketWatch decided to recognize a 'Forecaster of the Month' because so called 'high frequency' monthly indicators are the most subject to localized events and thus more volatile and harder to predict than quarterly or annual indicators," said Larry Kramer, MarketWatch.com Chairman and CEO. "Short term indicators are also of special interest to the CBS MarketWatch audience of investors because they have the greatest potential to move the market."

Following Allen Sinai, the other top CBS MarketWatch forecasters were: Lou Crandall, chief economist for Wrightson ICAP; Russ Sheldon of BMO Nesbitt Burns and Michael Englund of MMS International. Avery Shenfeld of CIBC World Markets and Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Associates tied for fifth place.

About MarketWatch.com

MarketWatch.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) is a leading multimedia publisher of business news and information. Founded in 1997, the Company operates two award-winning Web sites, CBS MarketWatch and BigCharts. The Company produces the syndicated CBS MarketWatch Weekend program, airs financial reports over The CBS Television Network, and provides updates every 30 minutes on the MarketWatch.com Radio Network. MarketWatch.com licenses market news, investment analysis tools and sophisticated charting applications to financial services firms and media companies. The Company also offers subscription products for individual investors, including the Hulbert Financial Digest.