Thousands of Japanese are defying rising prices at home and the pain of the feeble yen to have one final foreign holiday over “golden week” before airlines increase fuel surcharges. The operator of Narita International Airport anticipates that 1.59 million travellers will pass through the airport on the outskirts of Tokyo between Friday and May 10, an increase of around 2 per cent from last year’s...
Thousands of Japanese are defying rising prices at home and the pain of the feeble yen to have one final foreign holiday over “golden week” before airlines increase fuel surcharges. The operator of Narita International Airport anticipates that 1.59 million travellers will pass through the airport on the outskirts of Tokyo between Friday and May 10, an increase of around 2 per cent from last year’s “golden week” holiday season. Sunday was the peak for departures, with nearly 57,000 people flying...
Citadel Securities LLC is expanding in Asia by recruiting a string of high profile hires and plans to bring its so-called “high-touch” equities business to the region. Ken Griffin ’s market maker recently named former Millennium India Chief Executive Officer Prakash Subramanian K. V. as country head of India and Singapore, the company said in a statement. In addition, Citadel Securities is seeking...
Citadel Securities LLC is expanding in Asia by recruiting a string of high profile hires and plans to bring its so-called “high-touch” equities business to the region. Ken Griffin ’s market maker recently named former Millennium India Chief Executive Officer Prakash Subramanian K. V. as country head of India and Singapore, the company said in a statement. In addition, Citadel Securities is seeking to expand its high-touch equities business in Asia after it launched in the US this year, according to President Jim Esposito . The firm is leveraging its existing strength in electronic execution to “capture much more of the large, concentrated flows” through value-added services and relationship management, he said. Citadel Securities has been intensifying competition with Wall Street firms through its expansion into equity block trades. Its high‑touch business, launched in 2016, also supports rates, options and credit, contending with traditional brokers on complex, non‑routine trades. The firm uses its proprietary data and analytics to help clients make better decisions. Read More: Citadel Securities’ Stock Trading Push Sets Wall Street on Edge Traditionally, electronic market makers like Citadel Securities specialize in “low-touch” systems — algorithmic programs that buy and sell at lightning speeds without much human involvement. The profit on every trade is tiny but volumes are high, with retail investor orders usually coming via a broker. With this model, Griffin’s firm has become a giant of the US stock market, executing about 35% of individual investor trades and 24% of all equity orders. In contrast, a “high-touch” business handles fewer but much larger trades. Orders usually come directly from clients, and frequently require human intervention to keep costs down and minimize market impact. It’s a different skill-set and far more labor intensive, but there’s money to be made. A Bloomberg Intelligence analysis showed that high-touch trading desks account for 55% ...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund ( TAREX ) Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter. Insights from the Emerging Trends in Real Estate report were not exclusive to the U.S., however. In fact, some of the more notable shifts internationally included (i) Asia Pacific's "retail scene" offering "strong opportunities" and (ii) additiona...
ismagilov/iStock via Getty Images The following segment was excerpted from the Third Avenue Real Estate Value Fund ( TAREX ) Q1 2026 Shareholder Letter. Insights from the Emerging Trends in Real Estate report were not exclusive to the U.S., however. In fact, some of the more notable shifts internationally included (i) Asia Pacific's "retail scene" offering "strong opportunities" and (ii) additional progress on the regulatory front further solidifying China's real estate investment trust ("REIT") market. Both of which seem constructive for the Fund's recent investment in Hang Lung Group ( HNLGY ). Founded in 1960, Hang Lung Group is a well-capitalized Hong Kong-based real estate enterprise that owns approximately 2.9 million square feet of highly leased retail and office properties in Hong Kong and Shanghai with a near net-cash position. Importantly, the company also owns a 65.1% interest in Hang Lung Properties ( HLPPY ), a separately listed real estate operating company with an additional 29 million square feet of retail centric properties in Hong Kong and Mainland China, as well as 10 million square feet of developments and residential projects available-for-sale. In combination, Hang Lung Group is viewed to control one of the most productive (and valuable) retail-centric portfolios in the Asia Pacific region, with some of its iconic properties including Plaza 66 in Shanghai and the Fashion Walk in Causeway Bay. The path to establishing this platform has been far from easy though. As a matter of fact, Hang Lung Properties has spent the better part of three decades building out the core portfolio of its 11 market-dominant mixed-use locations, with more than $15 billion of "capex" in Hong Kong Dollars this decade alone. At one point, Hang Lung Properties even had to reduce its dividend, with Hang Lung Group electing to take shares instead of cash for further support. Due to such strong sponsorship, Hang Lung Properties can now embark on a more operational focused st...
Chayada Jeeratheepatanont/iStock via Getty Images InfraCap REIT Preferred ETF ( PFFR ) is a preferred shares ETF focusing on replicating the Indxx REIT Preferred Stock Index . As a result, the fund is passive in nature. The 30-day SEC yield at present is ~7.94% , which is decent, along with an ~8.3% distribution yield based on recent trailing distribution. The fund charges an expense ratio of ~0.4...
Chayada Jeeratheepatanont/iStock via Getty Images InfraCap REIT Preferred ETF ( PFFR ) is a preferred shares ETF focusing on replicating the Indxx REIT Preferred Stock Index . As a result, the fund is passive in nature. The 30-day SEC yield at present is ~7.94% , which is decent, along with an ~8.3% distribution yield based on recent trailing distribution. The fund charges an expense ratio of ~0.45% , which is rather moderate and not altogether on the lower side, but isn’t excessive either, considering the nature of the ETF to be that of investing in preferred securities. Considering that the ETF is primarily exposed to REITs, a look into the underlying security composition and performance is warranted, along with certain important additional aspects for assessing whether the ETF holds a place in the portfolio of income-seeking investors. Fund Webpage Performance Evaluation and Interest Rates Over the last five years, PFFR has not had a satisfactory performance. The ETF has provided a rather nominal return of ~1.3% on an annualized basis for the recent five years. The reason for this is the decline in the market price of the ETF. That decline, however, was not primarily the result of any fundamental issues with the underlying holdings but has largely stemmed from the rise in interest rates leading to the higher required rate of return and compressing the market prices of fixed income asset classes. The underlying REITs and their preferred securities by nature are long-duration assets and therefore exhibit a fair amount of sensitivity to interest rates, particularly with the rising of the interest rates. Last Five year performance on rising interest rate cycle ( YCharts ) At the same time, however, the dynamics are seemingly different now from what they were five years ago. At present, interest rates are at a ten-year historically elevated level. A ~4.36% market rate is different from the ~1.5%-1.75% levels, which happened to be the case around five years prior. The ...