Heard on Street

Brokers���cartel slams doors on realty

Real estate companies are in for a rude shock yet again. This time it is the brokers��� cartel that has slammed the doors in the face of property developers, by refusing funding at least eight high-profile names in the sector. ���Most of these companies have borrowed at high interest rates but with the sharp correction in land prices as well as their share prices, chances of these companies defaulting on interest payments have gone up tremendously,��� said a broker on condition of anonymity. The BSE Realty Index was the worst performer among sectoral indices on Friday, plummeting over 11%.

Bear phase? Not on job street

Whoever said jobs will be a problem once the market enters a bear phase. Attrition continues in financial services industry even as benchmark indices trade 50% below their record highs. If market sources are to be believed, HSBC Investments��� PMS head Sai Tampi is moving on to head Credit Suisse���s portfolio management business. According to sources, Mr Tampi was widely tipped to head the equity broking venture of HSBC. He could not be reached for comment. In another high-profile job shift, SBICap Securities head of institutional sales Jignesh Desai has put in his papers to join the institutional sales desk of Religare Securities. While sources at SBI Cap Securities confirmed the development, Mr Desai was not available for comment.

(Contributed by Payaswini Upadhyay & Shailesh Menon)