Crunch time at broking firms: The good, bad and ugly

Santosh Nair
moneycontrol.com

It is that phase of the bear market when sackings and pay cuts at retail stock broking firms start making headlines. And there have been plenty of them in the last few weeks.

In every downturn in the stock market, broking houses are the first to feel the heat, as trading volumes drop sharply. Already, many of the leading brokerages have started closing down unprofitable branches, firing employees and slashing salaries. The question now is: how much worse can it get?

The bad news first. All indications are the current wave of downsizing