reported gross short sales of turnover is 45%, page-3

Property bears and bank shares - I think there's undue fear here. Property may well be overvalued, significantly overvalued ... but the way the banking sector operates here to the way it works in the US is very different ... so it is not wise to extrapolate the US outcome to what may happen here, especially regarding residential real estate. (Commercial is another matter, ie the early 90s and the current situation with property trusts). Nonetheless bank shares are a proxy for this irrational fear at the moment.

I'm more of the opinion that the era of the banks as stockmarket leaders are over - they'll be dividend plays with small capital growth - as the credit growth economy of the past 30 years draws to an end.