This year, CPE selected 10 fast-rising executives to feature as Stars to Watch. The profiles appeared in the April 2011 issue of the magazine; what follows are further insights from those that have worked with them as clients, managers and in other positions, as well as words of advice from these successful 40-and-unders.

Today is the last day to submit your entry for CPE’s Distinguished Achievement Awards! Recognizing the top commercial real estate deals, projects and programs of 2010, entries must be postmarked by end of day.

Economy Watch reporter Dees Stribling offers insights into the top economic news of the week ending April 29 and what to watch out for in the coming week.

Now available: CPE’s April digital edition.

The deal comes as no surprise to those who keep an eye on the ins and outs of the industry. B. Riley & Co. L.L.C. director of research Ian Corydon said, “It has made sense for a long, long time.”

The broadest measurement of economic activity in the United States, real gross domestic product, increased at an annualized rate of 1.8 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to the advance estimate released by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. That compares unfavorably to the fourth quarter of 2010, when real GDP increased 3.1 percent.

The 1.6 million-square-foot Class A office building is located two blocks from New York’s Penn Station and includes tenants such as The Associated Press and New York Daily News.

Don’t be left out! Submissions for CPE’s Distinguished Achievement Awards must be postmarked by today! Make sure your 2010 commercial real estate deal, project or program gets consideration!

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took center stage, holding the first-ever press conference by a Fed chairman in the 98-year history of the central bank. That in itself is historic, but the content of what he said wasn’t much different than what he’s been saying all along.

The Elektra, the luxury apartment building at 290 Third Ave. in Manhattan, has come under new ownership. Almost five years after having acquired the 166-unit residential tower for $92.5 million, JP Morgan Investment Management Inc. has sold the asset to Invesco Real Estate.