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March Housing Starts Surge Almost 20% to 15-Year High

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Housing Prices Photo

In new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, residential construction – housing starts – appear to have taken off in March, rocketing to nearly 15-year highs. This is welcome news, as a serious shortage of available homes has been constraining housing sales recently. An increase in construction will help add inventory for sale. This shortage emerged after a protracted period of sales growth as urban dwellers left over-crowded cities during the time of COVID-19 for more spacious digs in the suburbs.

See more on the burst of housing starts in March

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Investors Dub Melrose the Biggest ‘Loser’ After Sale of Nortek Announced

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Photo of Nortek facility

If you read my report on the sale of Nortek Air Management on Monday, you know that Melrose sold off the division in a deal valued at approximately $3.6 billion. But in my discussion of the deal, I expressed some skepticism about the metrics the company was using to tell investors what a great deal it was. I don’t claim to be some kind[1] of a financial expert, but something smelled fishy to me.

Now we know what investors think of that deal…and it isn’t good for Melrose.

See what investors think of the Melrose sale of Nortek Air

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Melrose ‘Disposes’ of Nortek Air Mngmt in Deal Valued at $3.625B

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Melrose Industries PLC announced this morning that they have entered into an agreement to sell off the Nortek Air Management business – the most valuable part of the company – to Madison Industries of Chicago, Il. The cash deal is valued at approximately $3.625 billion. Melrose refers to this transaction as the “Disposal.”

See more on Melrose ‘Disposing’ of Nortek…

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A/V Maker ClearOne Files Application for Trademark on ‘MAGA’

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ClearOne wants to register this 4 letter acronym, MAGA, as their trademark
From ClearOne’s trademark registration application

Industry audio/visual manufacturer ClearOne [NASDAQ: CLRO] has filed an application to register a trademark on the characters “MAGA.” According to multiple comments on Twitter on the matter, ClearOne apparently intends for MAGA to represent Make Audio Great Again. This is very close to a political slogan that has became quite controversial in America. From the looks of the comment stream I saw on Twitter…this is going to be the topic of a lot of discussion.

See more on ClearOne and MAGA

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Budding Onkyo & Voxx Romance Grows, Adds Teac & Esoteric to 11 Trading Company

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photo of teac component once part of Onkyo now to be distributed by 11 Trading Company

This week we learned that 11 Trading Company…part of Premium Audio Company…which itself is part of Voxx International (love those big corporate structures), has added the only remaining Onkyo brands – Teac & Esoteric – to their distribution line list. They did not include these brands in the original announcement of their agreement with Onkyo, but most people expected it to be added in time. With this new development we get a nice progression of the budding relationship between the companies – Voxx distributing Onkyo, Integra, Pioneer, Pioneer Elite, Teac & Esoteric – while Onkyo Corp. becomes the Klipsch distributor in Japan. Where could this be heading?

See more on Onkyo & Voxx/11 Trading Company partnership…

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Barely Pausing to Catch Their Breath, Vanco Launches More New Audio Products

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Chicago-based Vanco International has recently been releasing new products, especially audio products, at a furious pace. Once again, after barely stopping to catch their breath, the company is introducing five new audio products into their PulseAudio line of affordable, easy-to-integrate products for the residential and commercial markets.

Learn all about these new Vanco models…

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More Positive Consumer News as Luxury Marketer LVMH Reports Q1 Sales

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Photo of LVMH Louis Vuitton store in Paris, France
Louis Vuitton store in Paris, France

LVMH, the global owner and marketer of luxury goods carrying some of the most prestigious brands, reported on Tuesday strong first quarter 2021 sales growth that handily exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts of market analysts. This is yet another encouraging sign of a significant rebound in consumer spending – especially with the type of consumer who tends to be the primary customer base for the custom integration channel.

See more on LVMH and its results with luxury consumers…

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Top AudioControl AVRs and Pre/Pros are Now Certified Roon Ready

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AudioControl system with Roon

AudioControl announced this week that their top-rated X-Series audio/video receivers and preamp/processors are now certified to be Roon Ready. What this means is that these models can auto-discover and connect to Roon without any user or integrator involvement with advanced configuration steps.

See more on AudioControl and Roon…

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Consumer Confidence Rebounds to Highest Level in a Year

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Here’s some good news! In a report by the National Association of Home Builders’ writer Fan-Yu Kuo, we learn that consumer confidence in March jumped to its highest level in a year. This is the second month of increase for consumer confidence, after a more modest increase in February. This mini-trend suggests that confidence is building in consumers about their future…after a rough year.

See more on this report of Consumer Confidence…

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Onkyo Corps’ Struggle to Survive: The Situation has Become Dire

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photo of Onkyo component system
Onkyo turntable and component system from days gone by…

Last Thursday, Onkyo notified the Tokyo Stock Exchange that its latest forecast for fiscal 2021 results shows that – despite their best efforts – the company remains insolvent. It was a disappointing announcement, as it means that the company’s well thought-out plans to return to solvency failed. So what happens now?

What happens to Onkyo now?

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