LIC offers 'Smart Pension Plan' with a lifelong pension of 25,000 rupees upon a lump-sum investment

In 2015, an incident occurred on Amazon India when an error in an Excel spreadsheet turned a pack of Surf Excel worth 185 rupees into an item priced at 82,740 rupees. Within 40 minutes, 90 buyers placed orders, resulting in revenue of nearly 74 lakh rupees, which the company had to cancel. None of these items were delivered to the customers.

Anubhav N, Head of Business at Amazon, reported the incident in a LinkedIn post. According to Anubhav, Amazon had launched the home and personal hygiene category several months prior, and products and their pricing were handled by Cloudtail, one of the largest sellers on Amazon India.

Anubhav explained that in the evening, someone uploaded an Excel sheet where the date column was shifted into the price column. Because Excel has strict rules regarding dates, it inadvertently converted one of them into a number. Consequently, a modest Surf Excel, usually sold for 185 rupees, appeared for sale at the price of a two-wheeler motorcycle.

Although such an unusually high price usually deters buyers, in this case, the product listing was shared on Twitter along with advice for customers to purchase the product, keep their invoices, and seek compensation through consumer protection lawsuits. As a result, as Anubhav noted, orders began coming in.

He recounted that at 6:20 PM, while he was having a quick meal, a customer service agent called to report the emergency. The next half hour was spent determining the cause of the glitch and resolving the issue. By then, 90 packs had been sold at 82,740 rupees each, totaling 74 lakh rupees of detergent in 40 minutes—the best evening statistic for his category on paper. However, canceling these orders proved to be a more complex task.

After the price was corrected, the hardest part was preventing the delivery of these goods to customers' homes. Returning the 90 packs took 12 hours, contradicting the system designed for fast customer deliveries. Anubhav specified that 55 orders had not yet reached the warehouse and were canceled without major issues. Another 15 packs arrived at the warehouse and required multi-level management approval before they could be stopped. Twelve packs had already been packed and were ready for shipment, forcing Anubhav to wake up his category director at 1 AM to get permission to halt these shipments.

Eight packs had already been sent out for morning delivery, requiring authorization from the Amazon country head to intercept. Two more packs were with couriers who were preparing to start their delivery routes. The Amazon operations team eventually located these two couriers and asked them not to deliver the products.

For Anubhav, this incident also had personal consequences. He stated that the experience made him lose trust in Excel when dealing with dates. He also recalled that this was the only time during his tenure at Amazon that he was praised for ensuring that goods were not delivered.

Gold prices in Dubai showed relative stability, losing 9.25 dirhams over one week. Investors are assessing the impact of oil price fluctuations and the likely interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

24-karat gold traded at 517 dirhams per gram at the opening of markets on Thursday, which was higher than 516.25 dirhams during Tuesday's session. Other varieties, including 22K, 21K, 18K, and 14K, cost 478.75, 459, 393.5, and 306.75 dirhams, respectively.

Globally, the spot price of gold was $4291.3 per ounce, showing a 0.2 percent increase according to UAE time at 9:00 AM. Silver dropped by 0.25 percent, trading at $64.28 per ounce.

Financial analyst and Director of Investments at Century Financial, Vijay Valecha, noted that the precious metal has become more sensitive to recent changes in oil prices. Investors are deciding whether high energy prices will be high enough to maintain inflationary pressure and thus lead to further Fed rate hikes.

The analyst explained that since higher borrowing costs usually weaken the case for holding gold, as the metal does not yield interest, its attractiveness as a portfolio hedge remains strong due to strong inflows into gold ETFs and demand from central banks, despite rising real yields in the US and the dollar's power limiting immediate profits.

From a technical perspective, gold has recovered, finding support from the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) around the $4320 level, continuing its movement within the established range since the beginning of the month, Valecha explained.

He added that a decisive close below this level is necessary to confirm a short-term downtrend, with the next potential support possibly being near the $4261 level, determined by the upward trend line connecting the lows of July 17, July 29, August 3, and September 16.

Valecha also reported that silver shows a similar technical profile and will need to decisively break above the $67.50 level from recent highs to potentially trigger a buying impulse. The 200-day EMA is around $65.56, and yesterday's lows were close to $64.56, providing short-term support.

The United States announced the extension of the economic détente with China until January 10. Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed this decision in an interview with Fox News, stating that the extension aims to allow more time to evaluate possibilities in the economic plan, given that the original agreement would expire on November 10.

This announcement came after a meeting held in Washington between Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng. Bessent mentioned on X that they held important discussions about the economic relationship between the US and China.

The conversations, according to him, remained focused on ensuring relevant commitments that benefit American workers, farmers, and businesses, while also promoting the country's national and economic security interests.

Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for his first visit to the United States in over ten years. In an unusual gesture for an American president, Trump personally went to the runway at Andrews Air Force Base, near Washington, to receive his counterpart, instead of waiting for the guest's arrival at the White House during his first state visit to the capital.

In an effort to honor the Chinese leader, the American President and First Lady, Melania Trump, participated in the reception ceremony for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. This three-day visit is scheduled to be quite ceremonial, even by White House standards.

The state visit, which includes an official dinner at the White House on Thursday, seeks to mirror the ceremonial pomp that occurred during Trump's visit to China in May.

This ostentation occurs during a period of high tension between the two geopolitical rivals, driven by issues such as trade, artificial intelligence, Trump's confrontation with Iran, and China's aspirations regarding Taiwan.

Besides seeking to maintain 'strategic stability' between the nations, Trump has praised Xi, referring to him as a 'great leader' and describing the relationship as warm, addressing him as a friend. However, he avoids confronting the Chinese president on sensitive issues, despite internal pressure from his own party.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticized the 'sumptuous reception' given to Xi, raising doubts about 'China's massive military expansion goals or clear support for Iran.' Wicker argued in a Senate speech on Tuesday that Trump should not have invited the Chinese leader, 'given all the worrying issues we have regarding President Xi and the Chinese Communist Party.'

On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that Washington and Beijing need to interact at the highest levels, given that they are 'the world's two largest economies' and 'probably the world's two greatest military powers.' Rubio told journalists in New York that 'the idea of not interacting with them at the highest levels is irresponsible. It is absurd. We must do it.'

Xi's reception at the airport will be followed on Thursday by other formalities, including arrival at the White House and an inspection of troops. It is expected that the two leaders will privately discuss issues such as trade and artificial intelligence (AI) before a gala dinner, which will feature figures from the technology sector, such as Jensen Huang (Nvidia) and Elon Musk (SpaceX).

On Friday, Xi and Peng will return to the White House for tea with the Trump couple before being taken on a tour of the National Archives in Washington. The White House announced that they will examine historical documents that illustrate the relationship between the two countries.