SHANGHAI: Every weekend, hundreds of retail investors gather on Shanghai’s Guangdong Road to exchange investment tips. The informal "stock salon" has been a fixture for three decades, taking place near some of China's pioneering brokerage offices along the stretch. These days, much of the discussion centres on artificial intelligence. “There’s no real earnings to back up all that buzz,” warned one regular at the street salon. “Without solid profit, if you buy in at the market peak right before prices crash, you could lose money.”