Filed under: Media The good news: Magazine ad pages are actually up in the fourth quarter for the first time in a dog’s age. The bad news: Metropolitan Home won’t be around to enjoy it. Hachette Filipacchi Media just announced that it’s shutting down the shelter title following publication of its December issue, choosing to focus its limited resources on Elle Decor , its last remaining home-design magazine. A company spokeswoman says 13 editorial staffers have been let go, including editor-in-chief Donna Warner, along with a yet-to-be-determined number of business-side employees. Shelter publications have been hit especially hard by the advertising downturn of the past couple years — not surprisingly, considering that the recession was precipitated by the collapse of the housing bubble. Preceding Met Home into extinction were Home , another Hachette Filipacchi title, Conde Nast’s Domino and House & Garden , and Hearst’s O at Home , a spinoff of O, The Oprah Magazine . Continue reading Metropolitan Home magazine becomes latest recession victim Metropolitan Home magazine becomes latest recession victim originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink | Email this | Comments

Read more:
Metropolitan Home magazine becomes latest recession victim

Filed under: Columns , Economy , Berkshire Hathaway President Barack Obama’s recently extended homebuyers’ tax credit may help revive the flagging fortunes of the manufactured home industry — and not a moment too soon. According to the Manufactured Housing Institute, about 55,000 prefabricated homes will be sold in the U.S. in 2009, down from 81,000 a year earlier. Improvement could come in 2010 thanks to the tax credit, but expectations appear to be modest. The industry’s woes extend beyond the current economic crisis, with one executive talking of “10 tough years.” Continue reading Manufactured homes may need more than tax breaks to spur sales Manufactured homes may need more than tax breaks to spur sales originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View original post here:
Manufactured homes may need more than tax breaks to spur sales