businessfortnight

Bose Sport Open Earbuds have been launched. They come with a unique outer ear fit that lets the user clearly hear their surroundings along with the music. With a distinctive design that incorporates ear hooks and an earpiece that sits completely outside the ear canal, Bose Sport Open Earbuds are meant for users who may need to hear their surroundings while listening to music. The earbuds may come in handy for fitness focused as well as regular users in outdoor settings. Bose Sport Open Earbuds price Bose Sport Open Earbuds true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones have been listed for pre-orders in the US for $199.95 (roughly Rs. 14,600) and will start shipping on January 20. The company hasn’t announced any information on the earphones’ India pricing or availability yet. However, they can be expected to be launched in the country in the coming months, priced around the Rs. 20,000-mark. Bose Sport Open Earbuds specifications, features Bose Sport Open Earbuds feature TWS connectivity, with

The electric two-wheeler industry has recorded a sales decline of 5.46 per cent in the last calendar year selling 25,735 units in 2020 as compared to 27,224 units sold in the same period a year ago. According to the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), the electric two-wheeler industry has been able to weather the COVID-19 pandemic by sales of high speed electric two wheelers in the January 2020 – December 2020 period, but the target of generating a sale of one million under the faster adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles (FAME) 2 scheme still seems too ambitious. Commenting on the Industry sales figures, Sohinder Gill, Director General – SMEV said, “The FAME 2 scheme had some good points and laudable objectives but came with so many strings attached, most of them introduced prematurely or unnecessarily, that lead to the achievement of only 4 per cent of the stated targets. The scheme could not attract the customers to shift from the polluting petrol bikes t

The European Medicines Agency said on Wednesday that it had given the green light for US firm Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the second jab for the disease to be cleared for use in the EU. “EMA has recommended granting a conditional marketing authorisation for Covid-19 Vaccine Moderna to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 in people from 18 years of age,” the Amsterdam-based regulator said in a statement.

Growth in India’s dominant services industry continued to lose momentum in December as a resurgence in coronavirus infections weighed on new business and employment, a private survey showed on Wednesday. Asia’s third-largest economy has been gradually recovering from a coronavirus-induced recession but is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels soon, especially within the service industry — the engine of economic growth and jobs in the country. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 52.3 in December from November’s 53.7 but held above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for a third straight month. “A spike in Covid-19 cases was reported as a key factor restricting growth of new work intakes among service providers, which in turn curbed the rise in output and led to increased business uncertainty about the outlook,” Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at IHS Markit, said in a release. “It is clear that the early part of 2021 will c

India’s economy is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21, reflecting a sharp drop in household spending and private investment, and the growth is expected to recover to 5.4 per cent in 2021, the World Bank said on Tuesday. In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank said that the informal sector, which accounts for four-fifths of employment, has been subject to severe income losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In India, the pandemic hit the economy at a time when growth was already decelerating. The output is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in Fiscal Year 2020/21, reflecting a sharp drop in household spending and private investment,” it said. “In India, growth is expected to recover to 5.4 per cent in 2021, as the rebound from a low base is offset by muted private investment growth given financial sector weaknesses,” the bank said. The informal sector, which accounts for four-fifths of employment, has also been subject to severe income los

Honda Motor Co is offering voluntary retirement to a group of employees at its motorcycles and scooters unit in India amid slowing demand in the country following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a company letter. Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI), the country’s second-largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, made the offer to “maintain its existence” in a competitive market, it said in a letter to its employees’ union dated January 5. While automakers globally have been battered by the pandemic, companies in India have been hit by slowing demand since 2019. “The Indian auto industry is going through an exceptionally challenging phase considering the prolonged demand slowdown and economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis,” HMSI said in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters. “In these uncertain times, we are aligning our production strategy for improved overall operational efficiency with the objective of long term business sustainability,” it said. HMSI did not immedia

Bitcoin crossed the $35,000 mark for the first time in Asia on Wednesday to rise to a high of $35,879, less than three weeks after crossing $20,000 (roughly ₹ 14.6 lakh) for the first time, on December 16. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency has risen more than 800 per cent since mid-March. Bitcoin’s steep rise can be attributed to a variety of factors. Some expect bitcoin to become a mainstream payment method in due course. Others see bitcoin as a hedge against inflation as governments and central banks turn on the stimulus taps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet others view it as a safe-haven play during the COVID-19 pandemic, something akin to gold, according to analysts.