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Ben WilmotCommercial Property Editor

Ben Wilmot has been The Australian’s commercial property editor since 2013. He was previously a property journalist with the Australian Financial Review.

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Trading DayTrading Day

Woodside Petroleum Limited had big plans for Myanmar.

ASX clocks best close since February

The ASX eked out a modest gain on Tuesday but hit its highest close since late February, as the energy sector surged on a higher oil price.

Samantha Bailey and Melissa Yeo

PropertyProperty

Large jet aircraft on landing approach over suburban housing.

ANZ turns upbeat on housing market recovery in 2021

The bank has joined the forecasters with a less gloomy take on the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Ben Wilmot

TAKEOVER BIDCompanies

Sea World's New Atlantis precinct under construction. Picture: Village Roadshow Theme Parks

Investors urged to back Village bid

Two powerful proxy advisers have recommended Village Roadshow shareholders vote for a takeover proposal from private equity house BGH Capital.

Ben Wilmot

SOHN CONFERENCEMarkets

Stock market digital graph chart on LED display concept. A large display of daily stock market price and quotation. Indicator financial forex trade education background.

The stock that returned 500%

Top picks of 2019’s SOHN Investment Conference have put the broader market to shame, with one hot stock returning more than 500 per cent.

Ben Wilmot

PROPERTYCompanies

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 28: Customers are temperature tested before entering Seed at Chadstone Shopping Centre on October 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Lockdown restrictions in Melbourne lifted as of midnight with people able to leave their home for any reason. Cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars can reopen subject to patron limits while beauty services, tattoo parlours and any other service where you can wear a mask will be able to resume. Up to 10 people from any number of households will be able to gather outdoors, however, Victorians are still required to wear a face mask in public. Metropolitan Melbourne has been subject to Stage 4 restrictions since 2 August 2020 with residents under stay at home orders following a second wave of COVID-19 cases in the community. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Vicinity director survives

Shopping mall giant Vicinity has been hit by a hefty vote against the re-election of a key director with a long history at billionaire John Gandel’s private group.

Ben Wilmot

COMMERCIAL PROPERTYProperty

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 28: Customers queue up outside H&M at Chadstone Shopping Centre on October 28, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. Lockdown restrictions in Melbourne lifted as of midnight with people able to leave their home for any reason. Cafes, restaurants, pubs and bars can reopen subject to patron limits while beauty services, tattoo parlours and any other service where you can wear a mask will be able to resume. Up to 10 people from any number of households will be able to gather outdoors, however, Victorians are still required to wear a face mask in public. Metropolitan Melbourne has been subject to Stage 4 restrictions since 2 August 2020 with residents under stay at home orders following a second wave of COVID-19 cases in the community. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Confidence on way back for mall owners

Commercial property developers and landlords are stepping up activity as confidence flows into the sector in the wake of coronavirus vaccine advances.

Ben Wilmot

Trading DayTrading Day

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 09: An electronic billboard in Times Square announces "stocks soar on vaccine hopes" on November 9, 2020 in New York City. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced positive early results on its COVID-19 vaccine trial and has proven to be 90% effective in preventing infection of the virus. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

ASX surges 1.7pc, hits 8-mth high

ASX closed at an 8-month high as Pfizer’s vaccine trial continued to cheer global investors, and as Nasdaq futures turned up after taking a hit from an EU antitrust probe of Amazon.

Samantha Bailey and David Rogers

Financial servicesFinancial Services