A pigeon stretches its wings in the Ka Faroshi bird market in Kabul on July 16, 2022. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Photo)

Some are in it just for the money, others to help buy a meal. Then there are those who trade for fun or to spend time among friends. Millions of investors – pensioners, security guards, high-school students – dominate China's stock markets, conducting about 80 percent of all trades. Retirees gather in brokerage houses dotted around China also to enjoy some company and savour the air conditioning on hot days. Some start as young as 13, trading from home with an eye on future careers in finance. Winning isn't guaranteed. This year, among the most turbulent in China's financial history, its stock markets more than doubled in the six months to May, only to crash amid concerns that growth in the country, which makes everything from cars to steel, is slowing faster than previously thought. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A man walks with a camel at Birqash camel market on January 27, 2012 in Cairo, Egypt. On the edge of the western dessert, thousands of camels are bought and sold every Friday at Brqash camel market, one of the biggest in the Middle East. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

A boy tumbles as he plays soccer on the streets of the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town, December 3, 2009. (Photo by Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters)

This restroom on the rubbly flanks of Jonsknuten in Norway looks up at the peak of the 904m mountain. Yu have to leave the door open to enjoy the view but the chances of being disturbed are minimal. (Photo by Olaf Menz/Lonely Planet)

In this Monday, July 24, 2017 photo, a police officer walks in front of a mural during a protest demanding an end to the current pension fund system, in Santiago, Chile. Protesters say the government pension system robs retirees of fair pension payments, and are demanding a new social security system with higher payments. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

Members of the Pussyfooters dance at the Krewe of Cleopatra Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, Friday, February 2, 2018. Mardi Gras season is kicking into high gear with a slew of major parades throughout New Orleans. Although Carnival season officially began Jan. 6, the festivities really kick into high gear the two weekends ahead of Fat Tuesday. This year Fat Tuesday is Feb. 13. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)

A man poses for a photograph in front of a mural of Democrat US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton clad in a swimsuit bearing the colours of the US flag in West Footscray in Melbourne on July 30, 2016. An Australian mural of US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in a revealing, stars and stripes swimsuit may be taken down, after it has reportedly been deemed offensive. (Photo by Paul Crock/AFP Photo)