American actress and singer Victoria Justice in the last decade of October 2025 channels her devious side. (Photo by VictoriaJustice/Instagram)

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 Taliban fighter jumps into the vehicle after praying at Deh Bori square in Kabul, Afghanistan on October 18, 2021. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

American model, media personality and socialite Hailey Bieber in the first decade of October 2022 kicks off fall with a plunging neckline. (Photo by haileybieber/Instagram)

American rapper Doja Cat shares a silly selfie on her gram on October 23, 2024. (Photo by dojacat/Instagram)

A competitor competes during the Hortobagy Hobby Horse Cup in Tiszafured, Hungary, on October 26, 2024. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)

A family rides a bike amid rain in Lahore on October 16, 2023. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

A woman dressed up for Halloween travels on a Metro train in São Paulo, Brazil on October 30, 2017. (Photo by Cris Faga/Rex Features/Shutterstock)