AP - Department store stalwarts J.C. Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl's Inc. all reported steep drops in first-quarter profits on Thursday as Americans snub apparel to focus on basic necessities at discounters in a challenging economy.

AP - Industrial output plunged in April as factories making everything from autos to heavy machinery felt the adverse effects of the weak economy. Analysts held out hope that production will revive in the second half of the year, helped by the government's economic stimulus checks.

CHICAGO (Business Wire EON) May 15, 2008 -- Frederick L. Fellows has established an investment management company focused on commercial real estate debt securities. Fellows, 43, founded Basalt Capital LLC (Basalt) in Chicago IL to build upon the success of its predecessor, Cargan Investment Management LLC which he formed in 1999. Basalt, an institutional advisory firm, currently manages commercial mortgage backed security (CMBS) investments for a related investment partnership. Basalt has launched a $500 million high yield CMBS oriented investment fund and expects to have their first closing within the next several months. (PRWeb May 15, 2008)

Read the full story at http://ww1.prweb.com/releases/basalt/fellows/prweb947194.htm

MINNEAPOLIS (Business Wire EON) May 15, 2008 -- Active extension strategies, which are relatively new to institutional investors, are already in use or are under consideration by more than half of public defined contribution plans and one-third of corporate plans, based on responses to a new research study. The research was sponsored by RiverSource Investments, LLC, a subsidiary of Ameriprise Financial, Inc., (NYSE: AMP) and conducted by PLANSPONSOR magazine. The data validates increasing interest in and knowledge about the strategies among both public and corporate plans. (PRWeb May 15, 2008)

Read the full story at http://ww1.prweb.com/releases/riversource/investments/prweb947524.htm