In the choppy waters of today’s current economy, we continue to get mixed signals – this time from the housing market. Last week, we learned that residential construction starts declined in June by 0.9% below the rate in May. This week, we find that sales of newly built homes in June increased by 7% as compared to sales in May.
LG Adds Apple AirPlay 2 & HomeKit to Select TVs
Says It’s the First Global TV Maker to Support HomeKit
LG Electronics announced today that starting tomorrow Apple AirPlay and HomeKit will be available on its 2019 Thinq AI TV line. The company says this makes them the first global television manufacturer to support HomeKit.
See more on LG offering Apple HomeKit on its TVs…
[Read more…] about LG Adds Apple AirPlay 2 & HomeKit to Select TVsU.S. No Longer Global Biz Leader, There’s a New #1 – China
Fortune just published its latest Global 500 ranking of the top companies in the world – and the results this year are earth-shaking. For the first time ever, since this list was launched in 1990, another country has more companies on the list of top companies than the U.S. And the bad news for the White House is that new #1 is China, the country with which it is currently in the midst of a high stakes trade war.
See how China has surpassed the U.S. in global top companies…
[Read more…] about U.S. No Longer Global Biz Leader, There’s a New #1 – ChinaDid Control4 Just Try to End-Run Multiple Shareholder Lawsuits?
As Strata-gee recently reported, there are currently seven active lawsuits that have been filed against Control4 and their Board of Directors in the wake of their acquisition by SnapAV. In a new DEFA14A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, the company addresses the issue of these lawsuits – saying that they are going to fight them. But then they do something very curious – they file an amendment to their original Schedule 14A filing, their Proxy Statement, with added information that appears to add missing material in response to allegations in the lawsuits filed against them.
Is Control4 trying to end-run the litigation just days before shareholders vote? See more below…
[Read more…] about Did Control4 Just Try to End-Run Multiple Shareholder Lawsuits?Control4 Hit With Another Class Action Lawsuit by Shareholders
The Control4 Corporation has been hit with another class action lawsuit filed on behalf of all shareholders of their stock in connection with their acquisition by Wirepath Home Systems, LLC – better known as SnapAV. Filed by the law firm of Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., the lawsuit alleges certain violations of Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and names both Control4 and its Board of Directors as defendants.
See more on this litigation against Control4…
[Read more…] about Control4 Hit With Another Class Action Lawsuit by ShareholdersSnapAV Continues to Grow Their Physical Footprint, Buys Custom Plus
SnapAV announced this afternoon that they have acquired Custom Plus Distributing, a regional distributor that started in the Pacific Northwest and expanded into California. This is the fourth acquisition by the company who seeks to grow their physical distribution footprint to better serve their customers in local markets.
See more on this new acquisition by SnapAV…
[Read more…] about SnapAV Continues to Grow Their Physical Footprint, Buys Custom PlusSnapAV Slammed with Credit Downgrade by Moody’s
Credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the credit rating of Wirepath LLC (corporate name of SnapAV) from B2 to B3 in the wake of their announced acquisition of Control4. The primary reason for the downgrade is due to the fact that SnapAV will be forced to increase their debt by an additional $390 million to a new high of $683 million in order to close on this acquisition.
See more on SnapAV’s credit downgrade…
[Read more…] about SnapAV Slammed with Credit Downgrade by Moody’sJames Loudspeaker Says Size Definitely Does Matter, So Go Micro
James Loudspeaker, an innovative manufacturer of architectural speaker products for the residential and commercial custom integration industry, announced this week that they have redesigned their speaker grilles to a new Microperf-style for their small aperture product line. The new Microperf design is sure to be popular with architects, designers, integrators and end-users as it helps to more perfectly visually blend the speakers into the surrounding environment.
See more on James Loudspeaker’s new Microperf speaker grilles…
[Read more…] about James Loudspeaker Says Size Definitely Does Matter, So Go MicroFinding His Voiz
In consumer electronics, we tend to find products separated into certain ranges or categories, largely based on the intended target market. There are high-end/high-performance products targeted for audio aficionados (aka audiophiles) that tend to be better performing, but at a higher price. And then there are inexpensive items targeted to the mainstream consumer who likes the looks or features – such as a nostalgia look – but isn’t willing to pay much extra for performance…because that’s not necessarily their “thing.”
But like “East” and “West,” these two things almost never meet together in one product. Never, that is, until product design expert Hiro Ogura launched his Voiz lossless streaming smart speaker.
See why Voiz is unique…
[Read more…] about Finding His VoizEx-Nortek Exec Speaks With Strata-gee, See What’s On His Mind
The last ninety days or so have been somewhat turbulent at Nortek Security and Control (NSC), with two top executives departing under foggy circumstances. First, in May we learned that President Mike O’Neal had left the company. Then, last week, news emerged that Joe Roberts, Executive VP of Products and Marketing had also departed.
I reached out to Joe Roberts to try to find out what was up with all of these changes at NSC.