The home furnishings industry is descending upon Las Vegas this week as the Las Vegas Market trade show kicks off at World Market Center, soon to be the largest trade complex in the world. Celebrities and furniture designers world-wide are taking notice of the growing Market, which opened in 2005, and is quickly emerging as the destination for the international home furnishings industry.

Phillips Edison & Company, a retail real estate owner, manager and developer, announced the purchase of Walled Lake Commons in Walled Lake, Michigan. This is a 90,675 square foot center anchored by Farmer Jack. Walled Lake is the third center that Phillips Edison has purchased in the state of Michigan.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has proclaimed April 2007 as National Landscape Architecture Month. ASLA chapters across the country will celebrate with public outreach activities to help individuals "Discover Careers in Landscape Architecture," the theme for this year. The month encompasses Earth Day on April 22 and the birthday of Frederick Law Olmsted on April 26, who founded the American landscape architecture profession.

MEGA Brands is delighted to report that 2006 saw it leap ahead of the competition to become the UK leader in toy building sets with an impressive 43% market share(1). MEGA Brands attained the #1 position in the UK with a strong retail performance by its Mega Bloks(R) and Magnetix(R) brands during the peak selling Christmas season. The robust finish capped an excellent year in which MEGA Brands integrated Rose Art(R) products into its international portfolio, bringing more building toys into its offering.

Charged with the daunting task of reducing homeowners insurance premiums for millions of Florida property owners, the Florida Legislature has passed a 167-page bill that could lower premiums between 5 percent and 40 percent and provide other insurance relief to millions of property owners.

President Bush addressed several critical challenges facing our country in his State of the Union address, challenges which deserve our attention and our best efforts to resolve them. However, notably absent from the President's list of priorities were the administration's plans to address the undeniable shortage of affordable housing. Long-term disinvestment in federal housing assistance programs has begun to take a toll on our ability to address unmet housing needs. We must make an immediate and concerted effort to meet the needs of people who are on long waiting lists or paying more than half their income for housing.

Stellar Processes announced that a recent energy study found that Home Comfort Zones' customers save an average of 5 percent on their energy bills with the top survey participant reducing energy use by 40 percent. The energy savings come from a combination of increased automation and room-by-room control that are unique to the system.

Dominion Enterprises, a leading media and information services company, today said that it has acquired Pullan Communications, Los Angeles, Calif., for an undisclosed cash purchase price. With nearly 6,000 customers, Pullan Communications is a leader in real estate marketing solutions and provides Web site development and e-mail marketing services to real estate professionals nationwide, with particular strengths in California and Hawaii. The company has annual revenue of approximately $2.3 million.

Sir Richard Branson is today heralding the United States as a key expansion market for his award winning collection of unique retreats, Virgin Limited Edition. Virgin Limited Edition's current portfolio of properties includes Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands, Ulusaba in South Africa, Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco and, coming soon, The Lodge in Verbier and Natirar in New Jersey. Since its inception in 2000, the group has achieved phenomenal success globally, leading to unprecedented demand for future expansion worldwide.

The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) is working to educate Asian American real estate and mortgage professionals about a new law that makes mortgage insurance tax deductible and lowers the cost of homeownership for many homebuyers. And AREAA's website now has valuable information for real estate and mortgage professionals to advise their clients about how low downpayment products with mortgage insurance stack up against alternatives.