Featured Article: Retail M&A Activity: What Does the Future Hold?  M&A activity in the retail sector experienced unprecedented growth in 2005 from the highly publicized $11.9 million Federated/May Co. merger to the acquisitions of Burlington Coat Factory, Toys "R" Us, and Neiman Marcus Group. The increase in retail activity is primarily a result of department stores making efforts to stay afloat as discount retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and specialty stores continue to dominate the market. Read more in the 2006 Fall issue of Options>>>