Market Full of Blarney; Index of Irish-Related Stocks Beats S&P 500

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day...Is it the luck of the Irish? Eleven Irish-related stocks are beating the S&P 500 for the second year in a row, according to Keck's Index. Could be good news for the earning o' the green...

Washington, DC -- March 11, 2003 -- Is it the luck of the Irish? Eleven Irish-related stocks are beating the S&P 500 for the second year in a row, according to Keck's Index. Could be good news for the earning o' the green.

The Index includes such St. Paddy's favorites as corned beef, cabbage and potatoes - with plenty of libations to wash the traditional meal down, of course. Guiness Stout, Harp Lager and Kilkenny Irish Beer are listed, as well as Jameson's and Old Bushmills Irish whiskies.

And, for an element of fun, youll also find Irish Spring soap, Cabbage Patch Kids, Lucky Charms cereal and the distributor of the Leprechaun movies

The large corporations on Keck's Index: St. Patrick's Day sell many products, but they seem to have found a few lucky shamrocks - enough to trounce the S&P 500 (though that index is calculated somewhat differently). While Keck's Index: St. Patrick's Day is down 14% versus last year, that's less than half of the S&P's losses.

"We put the St. Patrick's Day Index together for fun," says creator Gayle Keck. "It gives another dimension to the market."

And while there's no pot of gold at the end of the stock market these days, Keck says you might want to keep an eye on these stocks. "Theyre beating the S&P 500 -- that's no blarney."

About Kecks Index: Kecks Index takes unusual looks at the stock market by indexing stocks as they relate to holidays, events and life. Each Index is derived by compiling the individual share prices for all included stocks; changes in the Index are calculated based on that total. Kecks Index:Silver Screen, Kecks Index:Sex, Kecks Index:Romance and Kecks Index:St. Patricks Day are currently posted at www.Kecksindex.com

About Gayle Keck: Gayle Keck co-founded and sold an innovative Internet business that taught money management to teens and kids. Currently, she is a freelance writer who still enjoys finding new ways to explore the world of finance.

Legal: Kecks Index: St. Patricks Day is provided for entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to be used for making investment decisions. The inclusion or exclusion of a stock is purely at the discretion of Kecks Index; no compensation is received for any stocks listed (or not listed). In some case, products listed are only a single component of an entitys corporate holding and do not reflect the complete nature of the subject companys business. Kecks Index attempts to be as accurate as possible in the information it provides, but assumes no liability or responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors or omissions. Kecks Index shall not be responsible for any trading or investment decisions made based on any information which it provides.

Periodical publications are free to publish or quote information provided by Kecks Index, with proper attribution. All materials are © 2003 Gayle Keck.

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