KTE, there is also Oxford Economic Forecasting (www.oef.com). Their 'global model' is a easy to use menu driven application in which you can simulate different macroeconomic scenarios. Another firm that uses large structural models is FERI Research.

www-gsb.uchicago.edu/fac/john.cochrane/research/Papers/timeser1.pdf

<t>Hint. I think you don't have to buy excel link to call matlab from excel. Example:Sub CallMatlab()' Dimension variables Dim MatLab As Object Dim ResultDim Invals(3, 4) As Double Dim MImag() As DoubleDim i, j As Integer ' Invoke Matlab Set MatLab = CreateObject("Matlab.Application") ' Read Invals ...

There is a quiet new literature linking macro factors estimated from large panels with excess returns and volatility. Try: www.econ.nyu.edu/user/ludvigsons/