The School of Hard Knocks

The following is from Bloomberg's review of China market today:

Wang Qihong, 25, a former cosmetic company clerk who quit her job to become a full-time investor, said yesterday she would keep her money in Chinese stocks even after the government's latest cooling measure.

She invested all her savings of 10,000 yuan ($1,300) in Harbin Shirble Electric-Heat Co., which supplies electricity to the city of Harbin in China's northeast, and the stock has tumbled 26 percent since the government announced the increase in stamp duty.

``I started trading stocks because my friend told me it's easy to make money,'' Wang said, speaking outside Guotai Junan Securities Ltd.'s branch in Shenzhen, a city across the border from Hong Kong. ``Right now my biggest concern is to look for a job because I don't think it's as easy to make money in the stock market as my friend said.''

Poor Qihong. Hope her job is still available. Hope that so many other Chinese don't have to lose all their savings before they learn.