Brisk business

Books on stock investment have also become hot cakes, with a vendor in front of the office of Shenyin & Wanguo Securities boasting he sells hundreds of copies every day. "Many of my customers are old faces. I can tell what they need and give them guidance," he said.

Then there's a group trying to be more prudent looking before they leap. During the May Day holiday, Hu Jun, a retail food business owner, took the trouble of traveling by subway from suburbs in the Pudong New Area to downtown to buy stock trading books.

"Speculating has become my hobby, part of my lifestyle," said the 26-year-old, who claimed he reads ancient books as well to learn how to be rational.

Elsewhere in the city, punters were busy sharpening their skills by attending online or offline seminars. A group of diehard retail investors gather in front of the office of Shenyin & Wanguo Securities every day from early afternoon until late into night, sometimes under sizzling sun, listening to free preaches given by their "stock gambling gurus".

(China Daily 05/14/2007 page5)