According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ residential property prices index report, which began in 2003, each capital city witnessed double-digit growth.

“House price growth continues to outpace price growth for attached dwellings. House prices rose 27.5 per cent through the year, while prices of attached dwellings rose 14 per cent,” ABS Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said.

Residential property prices increased by 4.7 per cent in the December 2021 quarter.

Brisbane had the highest quarterly price gain during the three-month period (of 9.6 per cent), followed by Adelaide (up 6.8 per cent), Hobart (6.5 per cent) and Canberra (6.4 per cent).

“Results were consistent with a range of housing market indicators. New lending commitments for housing rose to a record high value in the December quarter,” Ms Marquardt said.

“Days on market fell and sales transaction volumes increased. Record low interest rates and strong demand have continued to support growth in property prices.”

In the December 2021 quarter, the total value of Australia’s 10.8 million residential homes increased by a whopping $512.6 billion to $9.9 trillion.

Since the December 2020 quarter, the value of residential homes has soared by $2,015.1 billion.

In the September 2021 quarter, the average price of a residential residence in Australia was $920,100, up from $876,100.

The company said the first phase of the program, which has been contracted to Mt Magnet Drilling, was designed to test shallow nickel and platinum group metal (PGM) mineralisation encountered in prior drilling.

The drilling program will also probe for down-dip mineralisation continuity in the northern half of the occurrence, as well as a possible repetition of nickel mineralisation in the north-east.

Caeneus said drilling and sampling completion was expected by the end of March.

Last week, the company announced it had received approval from the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) for its program of work to further investigate the historical Pardoo nickel-copper-cobalt deposit on E45/5827.

Shares last traded at 0.8 cents on March 11.

As part of the capital return, one ordinary share was cancelled for every 10 ordinary shares owned by shareholders on March 8, 2022, with fractions rounded up or down to the next full share (0.5 rounded down).

Following the capital return, the total number of shares Tower has on issue is 379,483,987.

Shareholders will receive a cash payment of NZ$0.72 (A$0.66) for each cancelled share.

The funds will be distributed to Australian registered shareholders in Australian dollars at an exchange rate determined by the company on or around the record date.

Payments to shareholders will be made in line with the conditions of the capital return by March 22, 2022.

Tower is undertaking a capital return through a court-approved plan of arrangement.

Shares in TWR finished the day in the grey at 64.2 cents.

The Woolworths-anchored Fernvale Village, located about an hour west of Brisbane, attracted 14 offers and sold for a 5.1 per cent fully-leased yield.

The 2.93ha property was sold on behalf of a private investor by CBRE’s Michael Hedger and Joe Tynan and Colliers’ James Wilson and Stewart Gilchrist.

“The on-market expressions of interest campaign engaged over $450 million in value of offers from institutional and private capital, highlighting the depth of market for Queensland neighbourhood shopping centres,” Mr Gilchrist said.

“There was significant demand due to the asset’s standing as a rare core plus opportunity – an existing shopping centre anchored by a high-performing supermarket, with a turnkey development opportunity providing immediate capital value uplift,” Mr Tynan added.

Over the duration of the campaign, close to 170 inquiries were received, with the Woolworths site backed by The Reject Shop and 13 specialty retailers totalling 5,824sqm of gross leasable area (GLA).

The site’s 1.78ha commercial mall is accompanied by about 1.15ha of unoccupied land, with development approval (DA) clearance for an additional 3,285sqm of retail gross floor area.

“The purchaser’s interest was driven by the growth of the catchment area, which includes a proposal for an estimated 2,000-plus additional lots and significant infrastructure expenditure to service them,” Mr Hedger said.

There was $2.56 billion in value of neighbourhood shopping centres transacted in 2021, the highest level ever recorded for the sector, Mr Wilson added.

“The neighbourhood shopping centre sub-sector recorded 70 basis points of yield compression in 2021, compared to the previous year, driven by growing investor demand for essential service retail investments anchored by Woolworths and Coles,” he said.

While every other state saw an increase in the number of office employees returning to the city, Perth suffered a decrease, with occupancy levels at 55 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Executive Director of the Property Council WA Sandra Brewer said the survey results were a big setback for the business sector, which had been careful in following government guidelines in the assumption that WA’s reopening would be free of constraints.

“For two years, businesses across the state have managed staff shortages, supply constraints, a total pause on tourism, rolling restrictions, vaccination requirements and mask mandates, under an assurance that compliance would mean a quick transition to living with COVID-19,” she said.

“Instead of benefiting from learnings on the east, we are now experiencing a replication of the economic damage we sought to avoid.”

Mrs Brewer appreciated and praised the state government’s support of employees to continue working from the office. However, the occupancy numbers show that, despite significant encouragement, many were discouraged by other legislative constraints.

According to Property Council WA research, more than 61 per cent of workers who choose to work from home did so because of mask regulations. Only 10 per cent of workers were working from home due to fear of COVID-19 transmission.

“To paraphrase Health Minister Amber Jade Sanderson, we have, in all but name, lockdowns in our CBD … it’s essentially lockdown by policy,” Mrs Brewer said. 

I don’t want to wear a mask         61%

My employer told me to               18%

I normally work from home          11%

Fearful of COVID transmission      10%

* Survey conducted week beginning 14/02/2022

According to CoreLogic’s 2022 Women & Property report for Australia and New Zealand, women continue to have a lower total percentage of property ownership than males, possibly putting them at a disadvantage from recent real estate wealth advances.

The report showed 26.6 per cent of residential property was owned by women, compared to 29.9 per cent by men, in Australia in January 2022.

CoreLogic estimates the entire value of Australia’s home market increased from just over $7 trillion to $9.7 trillion in the year to January, with dwelling values climbing 22.4 per cent, or $130,000 at the median value level, during the same time.

Property price hikes, according to CoreLogic International’s GM Financial Services & Insurance Solutions Milena Malev, may have worsened the gender wealth disparity in property ownership.

“Given there’s a high level of equity held in real estate, if you don’t own property, that’s a big source of household wealth and security you don’t have access to,” she said.

“Property price growth has also vastly outpaced income growth over this time, with the gender pay gap widening in parallel, too.”

According to ABS statistics, the gender pay difference in full-time ordinary earnings increased from 13.4 per cent in November 2020 to 13.8 per cent in November 2021, implying that males can potentially amass the funds for a house deposit faster than women.

“The current discrepancy in incomes between men and women would see men save a 20 per cent deposit for the current median dwelling value around a year faster than women,” Ms Malev said.

“That means men are not only accumulating greater wealth from a higher proportion of existing property ownership, but they’re also able to get into the market sooner than women and start that wealth accumulation in a growth market.”

According to CoreLogic’s 2022 Women & Property Report, males own 28.5 per cent of all houses examined, compared to women’s share of 24 per cent, while women have a greater frequency of unit ownership at 35.2 per cent, compared to men’s 34.7 per cent share.

Men possess 36.4 per cent of the total investment properties examined, while women hold 29.1 per cent. The difference equated to nearly 105,500 more investment properties held by males in Australia than by women.

Co-author of The Female Investor – Creating Wealth, Security, and Freedom through property Nicola McDougall said the research highlighted the increasing disparity between wealth outcomes for men and women. 

“As is mentioned in the report, given that most people’s wealth is tied up in their homes, this means that if you don’t own a property – or have to purchase a unit rather than a house due to affordability reasons – then you will forever be on the back foot financially,” she said.

This includes engineering, subsea, marine, logistics, consultancy and specialist oil and gas services.

It’s headquartered in Melbourne and has offices and operational facilities across regional Victoria and Perth. Its employees number more than 40 across its operations.

We sat down with Alex Biro, recently appointed Managing Director and CEO Tek Ocean to learn more about the company.

Alex welcome to TEK-Ocean, what can you tell us about your background and experience, and your agenda as appointed Managing Director and CEO of the company? 

I’m both pleased and honoured to take on this role as the company is poised for a period of substantial growth and it is shaping up to be both an exciting and a positive experience.

I have over 35 years of local and international experience in the upstream and downstream subsea and offshore construction industry mainly in leadership roles.

Early in my career, I was working for a number of service companies in the Bass Strait, the Timor Sea and the NWS before consulting to energy operators all over Australia, West Africa, the UK North Sea, South East Asia and the USA. Some notable international projects include Xikomba/Kizomba ExxonMobil (Angola), Jubilee Tullow (Ghana), Liwan Husky (China) and most recently, Golfinho (Mozambique) LNG.

As MD and CEO, my goal is to harness the capabilities of this “can-do” company and really push hard into building it into a multi-vessel, multi-faceted operation that the broader energy community know as a trusted partner in delivering key energy infrastructure projects cost-effectively with innovative solutions.

I aim to double, triple revenue in the coming years building an enterprise that commands economies of scale to be even more competitive in the market. The key to this is having the right strategy, this means seeking out the available market, having the key people to expertly deliver and mix of assets either owned or available through strategic partnerships to respond to the increasing demand for decommissioning work and development of renewable energy.

What can you tell us about the core focus of TEK-Ocean and what is the company about?

We have three key focus areas; being expanding our decommissioning capabilities; broader involvement in offshore renewable energy projects; and growing our historical business of supporting energy providers through organic growth and M&A activity.

I understand Tek Ocean recently applied upgrades to your flagship ocean vessel TEK-Ocean Spirit, what does this mean for the company and its capacity to handle projects?

Quite simply it means that we can handle a broader range and of offshore projects.  Whereas previously we operated the TEK-Ocean Spirit more as a supply vessel with light lifting capability we now have a very sophisticated piece of equipment on board that can handle a significantly greater range of projects. 

Lifting heavy, sensitive and very expensive equipment to and from the seabed was always a complex operation and with a floating crane moving with the ocean it can be quite a challenge.  Our crane dynamically compensates for vessel movement to ensure the lifting of key infrastructure is safe and reliable.  Not many vessels have this capability in Australia, ours does.

What sort of projects have TEK-Ocean got on the go?

The vessel has a number of projects in the near term and on the horizon.  As we speak the vessel is in Tasmania assisting the Marinus Link project with its geotechnical survey work. This is an essential project linking Tasmania to Victoria’s electricity grid. Once complete in March, the vessel will move on to additional geotechnical work for Beach energy in March/April followed by artificial reef installation work in Port Phillip Bay in April. 

Each of these projects will utilise the 60T AHC crane. Going forward we have a number of leads in the pipeline for additional support to offshore energy producers and given our long history of successful project delivery in the local market we are confident we will have success securing additional charters for the Spirit.

With the company listing in 2021, how has it been tracking as a publicly listed company?

It has been very much a learning experience; both challenging and exciting. Obviously, we are a little disappointed with the current share price but we see this as a longer-term play with the market currently on the front of the expected upswing in offshore renewable energy projects and of course the requirement for many operators to decommission ageing infrastructure. 

Our firm belief is that the current share price grossly undervalued and could be the result of trading thinly because we have only been listed on the ASX for around 6 months and most likely not known by the market well enough. Our achievements as private company were exemplary having realised good profits every year from the outset which reassures the market that the business model works which has a solid foundation.

Being has necessitated a change in mindset, we are no longer a privately held enterprise and are accountable to a wide range of shareholders. We have positioned the Company to embark along a path that will deliver strong growth be it organic or via acquisitions to deliver on our implicit promise to shareholders. 

We know that we need to grow the Company, we know in which areas we wish to target, we are looking also at areas outside our traditional areas of expertise such as the onshore disposal of used subsea equipment.  There is a lot of scope for growth and we will target those areas where we believe we are most competitive and can derive maximum benefit for our shareholders.

What can investors look forward to this year for TEK-Ocean and what is the pipleline ahead look like?

To use a sporting analogy, FY22 will be a tale of two halves. 1H FY22 was marked by two key activities: ASX listing and vessel dry docking and upgrades. These activities were necessary to position the Company for future growth but they come at a cost being the need to take the TEK-Ocean Spirit out of service for an extended period of time. But this is the investment in the future we were needing to make and we already have seen the fruits of this with new contracts for the vessel secured in late calendar year 2021 and early 2022 that would not have been available to the Spirit in its former capacity. 2H FY22 is already looking substantially better than the previous half year period. 

Even the Company’s Q2 results with the vessel back in service late November were notably better than Q1.  We see no reason why the Company will not exceed FY20 and FY21 revenues and even with a stretch exceed FY19’s record revenues.

With increased development projects on the horizon coupled with renewable, decommissioning and environmental rehabilitation projects, we foresee a major uplift in offshore activity that will surely put us in even a better market share servicing this upcoming $70 billion+ estimated value of projects in the next 10-15 years.

With our growth strategy we are well placed to realise our future business goals with our full range of our services and extensive capability – we continue to focus our business strategy providing and enhancing our clients with an integrated offer. This means, delivering a better service and experience for our clients and delivering higher margins and net profitability for the business.

The AGL Energy board believes the revised unsolicited proposal remains “well below” both the company’s fair value on a change of control basis and the projected value of the proposed demerger, and is thus not in the best interests of AGL Energy shareholders.

“The Revised Unsolicited Proposal continues to ignore the opportunity that AGL Energy shareholders have through our proposed demerger to realise potential future value,” AGL Energy Chairman Peter Botten said.

“It also ignores the momentum we have recently seen in the business through our solid half year result, strong progress on the demerger, strong interest in our Energy Transition Investment Partnership and the improvements we are seeing in forward wholesale prices.”

Mr Botten said the proposed demerger to split the company into a bulk power generator and an energy retailer will be a catalyst for the potential realisation of shareholder value.

“It will create two industry leading companies with distinct value propositions. It will allow each business to be valued separately and more positively by the market on the basis of their own specific business fundamentals,” he said.

“We have defined distinct dividend policies and capital structures for each company that will support both future growth and appropriate returns to shareholders, as both organisations pursue their commitment to responsibly decarbonise without impacting energy reliability and affordability.”

The revised offer represented a 15.2 per cent premium to the closing price of AGL Energy of $7.16 on February 18 2022. Before the market opens this morning, company shares were sitting at $7.43

The new deal was an increase from the original offer of $7.50 per share and was worth about $8.5 billion, including the company’s debt.

Both Mr Cannon-Brookes and Brookfield, which was to contribute 80 per cent of the proposal, intend to withdraw from subsequent bids, as said by the tech billionaire of social media last night.

The Brookfield-Grok consortium looking to take private & transform AGL is putting our pens down – with great sadness.This weekend, the board rejected our raised offer of $8.25. 46% more than the price of $5.55 about 90 days ago 🧵 (1/3) pic.twitter.com/c5KYwGozDo

The bidders committed to hastening AGL’s withdrawal from coal, closing all three of the company’s coal facilities by 2030 and making Australia’s largest single glasshouse gas emitter carbon neutral by 2035.

The original bold proposal was challenged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other members of federal parliament, with Mr Morrison declaring if the takeover was successful, he would veto it.

Shares are sitting at $7.43 before the market opened.

Devwest, in collaboration with builders EMCO and architects MJA Studio, is offering potential homeowners and business owners the option to purchase an apartment or commercial space in the iconic riverside suburb.

It is the next step in a saga that goes back to 2013 when the development firm first received the green light to build the office and apartment complex.

Construction started in 2014 but was halted six months later due to market conditions.

In 2018 the group settled a dispute with funding partner Sincap Group.

Now construction has recommenced at the site courtesy of new funding from Primewest-backed Centuria Bass.

One Richardson is a residential building on Richardson Street with unobstructed views of Richardson Park, the Royal Perth Golf Course and the Swan River. Buyers may select between one- and two-bedroom floor designs, as well as two- and four-bedroom double-storey lifestyle apartments on the top floors.

The Richardson Centre, located on the corner of Melville Parade and Richardson Street, offers an opportunity for investors and business owners to own space in a brand new dedicated commercial office building, complete with an exclusive lobby.

The commercial facility will have a 145-square-metre cafe on the ground floor and end-of-trip amenities on each level.

Chad Ferguson, Executive Director of Devwest, said the building gave an incredible chance for firms to own their own space.

“The ability to own office space in a landmark building with panoramic water views, in a blue-ribbon CBD fringe suburb, is very rare. Office space of this quality is usually only available to lease.” he said.

Devwest collaborated with Development Finance Partners (DFP) to arrange the Centuria Bass building credit.

DPF Director Matthew Royal said the financing was an example of developers collaborating with lenders to bring projects to fruition in a difficult climate.

“Rapidly escalating construction costs and labour shortages are putting pressure on developers, however, working with the right financiers can be the difference between projects proceeding and not proceeding,” he said.

According to the most recent Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, global dividends recovered significantly in 2021, making up for the reduction during the early days of the pandemic in 2020.

Nine out of every 10 Australian companies raised dividends in 2021. 

On an underlying basis, global dividends increased by 14.7 per cent, hitting a new high of $2.02 trillion.

Growth was quickest in countries that had the greatest decreases in 2020 the report noted, assisting Australia in setting a new dividend payout record of $87.1 billion in 2021.

Banks’ dividends increased by 40 per cent, or $69.5 billion globally, pushed by returning payouts to more typical levels when dividend distribution limits were lifted in 2020.

The impact was noticeable in Australia, where banks restored dividends to investors after APRA lifted dividend rules in 2021, accounting for one-third of the country’s headline growth in payouts last year.

APRA dumped the COVID-19 restriction for banks to cap shareholder payouts at 50 per cent of profits in late 2020.

Reflecting the rising commodity prices, Australian miners maintained their strong pace, releasing record sums of cash in a combination of normal and special dividends.

BHP led the way, paying the world’s highest ever mining payout of $17.2 billion, while competitor Fortescue Metals trailed closely behind, releasing $15.9 billion to shareholders.

The global asset management group, Janus Henderson, has raised its full-year projection because of the strength of Q4 payment data and stronger expectations for 2022.

Janus Henderson forecasts global dividends to reach a new high of $2.09 trillion in 2022, an increase of 3.1 per cent on a headline basis and 5.7 per cent in fundamental terms.

WBHO said in a Johannesburg Stock Exchange filing that it had withdrawn financial support for Australian unit Probuild and placed it under external administration because “project delivery capability … has been negatively affected by unforeseen and severe COVID-19 restrictions” and risk outweighed the reward.

WBHO stated that it expects to lose money from July to December due to trading losses, an impairment charge, and unrecoverable “tax assets” in Australia. Its stock dropped 27 per cent as a result of the announcement, the greatest drop since 1998.

“The Australian businesses have not being able to complete projects on time and not been able to recover variation and delay claims, resulting in material losses in the financial period to date and the requirement for further funding and balance sheet support from WBHOC,” the company added.

In a separate statement, the builder stated that the government’s “hardline” COVID-19 reaction of border closures, lockdowns, and enforced work-from-home had “a considerable impact on property markets as well as other industries such as the leisure industry”.

WBHO Australia (WBHOA) has engaged Deloitte as administrators. WBHOA employs around 750 employees directly and has thousands more contractors working on its projects.

On national security concerns, the government vetoed a $300 million purchase of Probuild by China State Construction Engineering Corp a year ago.

According to a report released today by the residential building industry association Housing Industry Association, Victorian homebuyers paid an average of $40,370 in stamp duty on the State’s median property price of $755,000 in November 2021.

This is compared to New South Wales homebuyers who paid $34,807 (four per cent of the State’s median property price) and Queensland homebuyers who paid only $11,005 (two per cent of the State’s median property price).

“The tax impost – the highest in the nation – is shattering the home ownership dreams of many Victorians and potentially driving much needed skilled labour out of the State,” HIA Executive Director Fiona Nield said.

“On average, every time a home is sold in Victoria, the State Government pockets more than $40,000 – and that doesn’t take into account other punitive property taxes, which will soon be compounded by the new social housing tax announced last week.”

Ms Nield said the government appears set on layering “tax upon tax” on homebuyers, which is putting pressure on housing mobility and affordability.

“The implications of high stamp duty and high property taxes are being felt across the State, and right across the State’s economy including hampering our ability to retain and attract skilled workers, who are increasingly being lured to other states because of more affordable housing.”

“Queensland has been the biggest beneficiary of this exodus from Melbourne as families moved north, where they’re paying almost $30,000 less in Stamp Duty, while also paying substantially less for a home.”

Ms Nield said to make home ownership an attenable goal, “we must reduce the amount of money they’re paying into the government coffers and increase the amount they’re able to pay towards the cost of a home”.

It follows news from the Victorian government that it plans to introduce a tax on newly built developments to fund the creation of 1700 social housing homes, a move that was slammed by industry bodies and is now reportedly in doubt.

Under the levy, from July 2024, all newly built developments with three or more units or lot subdivisions would be required to contribute 1.75 per cent of the projected project value to a social housing growth fund.

The Property Council of Australia voiced its frustration at the tax, claiming it is “another wrong tax at the wrong time”.

While saying the property industry shares the desire to get more social and affordable housing in Victoria, Property Council of Australia’s Victorian Executive Director Danni Hunter said the levy would increase prices for new homebuyers.

“This new tax sends yet another signal to Australian and international investors that Victoria is a high taxing jurisdiction with an over reliance on Victorian homeowners to fund their announcements,” she said.

“We know there is a problem with access to affordable and social housing in Victoria, but it is not a problem that can be solved and paid for by new homebuyers.”

If the full cost is passed on to the consumer from developers, the median Melbourne property would be $19,600 more costly.

The large-scale, 880 Cooper Street asset, in Melbourne’s outer north, formerly housed the Mazda Spare Parts Distribution Centre.

CBRE’s Daniel Eramo and Joe Brzezek negotiated the lease, with the facility being a logical match for AMA Group, a leader in the collision repair and adjacent automotive components sectors.

The organisation has agreed to a seven-year lease with a starting cost of $85 per square metre.

“We are extremely excited about the increased capacity in such a fit-for-purpose facility, which will help ensure increased parts availability to fulfil the needs of our customers nationwide,” AMA Group General Manager – Supply Adam O’Sullivan said.

It is a big commitment for Charter Hall, and it demonstrates the continued high demand for existing warehouse space in Melbourne’s north.

“We are pleased to welcome AMA Group to our Somerton Logistics Centre, a high-profile, versatile warehouse and office facility which boasts an unmatched location and substantial capacity for growth,” Nick Lidonnici, Regional Portfolio Manager – Industrial and Logistics at Charter Hall said.

Somerton Logistics Estate consists of nine standalone buildings centred by major businesses such as Saint-Gobain, Technika and Cosentino.

The estate is conveniently positioned near major arterials and critical infrastructure, such as the Hume Highway, and is only 17km north of Tullamarine Airport.

“The current vacancy rate in Melbourne’s north is just 1.08 per cent and this has begun to drive rental growth as well as a stabilisation in market incentives,” Mr Eramo said.

The EVA factory is said to be Europe’s first Li-ion battery anode plant.

Following plant commissioning, Talnode-C, the group’s battery anode product will be supplied to battery cell manufacturers for further commercial testing. Talga has received orders for Talnode-C manufactured at the EVA factory from 23 battery manufacturers and significant car original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Commercial testing on a large scale is an important stage in the EV customer procurement process for active anode material, allowing qualification and long-term purchase contracts to be negotiated.

The EVA facility is critical to the expansion of Talga’s vertically integrated mine-to-anode business and gives the company a distinct edge in the rapidly expanding European Li-ion battery supply chain.

The EVA factory will use the company’s patented manufacturing method, which includes Talga’s own coating technology established via earlier validation procedures with automotive OEM customers, to create Talnode-C in greater numbers as required by battery cell makers.

As part of specialised customer testing programs that are already in place, large-scale samples are being committed at prices higher than DFS pricing predictions. At this point, receipts from the sale of large-scale samples under these customer testing programs are not expected to be substantial.

The EVA plant’s commissioning is proceeding on time and within budget, with full commissioning expected for late March and the plant’s formal opening in early April 2022.

“It is significant to be the first to produce Li-ion battery anode in Europe, and to have done it using our inhouse graphite mining, processing, and coating technologies is a testimony to the hard work of our team, Swerim, and the support of our shareholders and stakeholders,” Talga Managing Director Mark Thompson said.

“With Talnode®-C demonstrated to be the lowest emission anode in the world, I strongly believe it holds the best promise for local, greener batteries to be produced for the major shift to electrification now underway.”

Shares in Talga were unchanged at $1.36 at 9:38am AEDT.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine heightened overnight, with numerous nations, including Australia, imposing sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s decision to recognise two separatist territories in eastern Ukraine.

Despite a weak lead from Wall Street overnight the share market ended the day in the green as investors reassessed the impact of the conflict.

The ASX and Asian stocks steadied today while commodity prices remained elevated.

Overnight, oil hit a seven-year high, while the S&P 500 index entered correction territory, having fallen more than 10 per cent from its record high in January.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.5 per cent in early Asia trading after US President Joe Biden announced penalties against two Russian banks and certain oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin.

On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced its third straight rate rise, raising its benchmark cash rate by 25 basis points to one per cent, as predicted.

Closer to home, according to statistics issued today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the seasonally adjusted Wage Price Index (WPI) increased 0.7 per cent in the December quarter 2021, with an annual growth rate of 2.3 per cent.

The quarterly estimate was right on the money with the consensus, with the rise amounting to the highest quarterly increase in the WPI since March 2014.

“The Q1 22 WPI, due 18 May, should show a further and more significant acceleration in wages growth,” CBA Head of Australian Economics Gareth Aird said.

“We retain our call for the RBA to commence raising the cash rate in June 22. Whilst today’s data wasn’t as strong as we forecast, we expect a red hot Q1 22 CPI that will take the underlying rate of inflation to ~3.4% (4.5% on a six month annualised basis).”

Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of 2021, total construction work completed was down slightly (-0.4 per cent). The main drag was construction, which fell by 1.7 per cent in the quarter, while engineering work increased by 0.7 per cent.

The majority of sectors in the ASX saw growth on the market today.

Woolworths gained 0.82 per cent despite a dividend cut as earnings failed to keep pace with sales.

WiseTech gained 3.97 per cent after announcing a 74 per cent increase in half-year nett earnings to $77.4 million. Revenues climbed by 18% to $281 million.

Stockland rose 3.61 per cent after revising its full-year outlook to the lower end of the range.

The biggest winner of the market today was Castle Minerals which enjoyed a 38.1 per cent bump after it identified several discrete lithium anomalies at its Woodcutters lithium project in the Norseman region of Western Australia.

Fellow mining stock Alliance Resources enjoyed a 37 per cent jump to its share price, while Tigers Realm Coal and Taruga Minerals ended the day in the green, up 13.3 per cent and 20 per cent respectivly.

Domino’s Pizza slumped 13.5 per cent to an 11-month low on news profits declined 5.3 per cent last half to $91.3 million. Earnings dropped 5.7 per cent as a Japanese growth spurt petered out and the fast food franchisor invested in New Zealand.

Leading the losses today were CPT Global and National Tyre & Wheel, falling 19.3 per cent and 15.6 per cent respectively.

Also ending the day in the red was Titanium Sands (15.4 per cent), Hitiq (14.8 per cent) and Desert Metals (14.3 per cent).

US futures extended overnight gains during the day. S&P 500 futures were up 21.75 points or 0.51 per cent. Dow futures grew 137 points or 0.41 per cent. Nasdaq futures grew 0.66 per cent

Oil maintained its push towards the US$100 level. Brent crude prices grew US$0.30 or 0.31 per cent to US$97.14 a barrel.

Gold moved further above US$1,901 an ounce.

The dollar advanced to 72 US cents.

The well is currently drilling in the Carynginia Formation at a depth of 4,535 metres measured depth, where hydrocarbons are present, according to the company.

South Erregulla is located in Strike’s 100 per cent owned EP503, which adjoins EP469.

At EP469, Strike as operator discovered a “large, high-quality conventional gas” occurrence at West Erregulla.

The company said South Erregulla offers resource potential in the Kingia Sandstones, with a high possibility of success due to the region’s good data control (wells and seismic), consistent geological results in the Kingia, and recent detection of up-dip linkage to the West Erregulla gas field.

Strike will drill down to the primary aim, the Kingia Sandstone, and then take the drilling equipment out of the hole to run in and begin coring operations.

It comes after the company announced it had made a conventional gas discovery at one of the reservoirs at the South Erregulla target.

STX shares last traded at 25.6 cents on February 21.

The oil and gas production assets, known collectively as Project Longhorn, are located in the Permian Basin and include 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBOE) of estimated net 2P reserves.

The transaction cost US$9.7 million (A$13.5 million), consisting of US$7.2 million (A$10 million) in cash and US$2.5 million (A$3.4 million) in 88 Energy shares.

With current gross production from Project Longhorn of about 300 BOE per day, the acquisition generates immediate cash flows for the company, 88 Energy said.

Seven planned work-overs, which are set to begin in March 2022, provide near-term capital-efficient output upside, according to the company. The programs aim to double current output rates by late 2022.

88 Energy said the deal marks 88 Energy’s first step into producing oil and gas assets involving the purchase of a non-operated working interest with a single basin emphasis.

“While our core focus remains exploration of our world-class Alaskan North Slope acreage, the acquisition of Project Longhorn provides 88 Energy with immediate cash flow and direct exposure to any further strengthening in energy prices,” Managing Director and CEO Ashley Gilbert said.

“It also delivers optionality for incremental, low-capital, rapid payback reinvestment in the region.”

88 Energy shares last traded at 3.9 cents.

TGM has changed its off-market offer consideration from 2 new TGM shares for every 1 Focus share to 5 new TGM shares for every 2 Focus shares.

This equates to 2.5 new TGM shares for each Focus share. TGM certifies that this enhanced offer consideration is now the best and last offer and will not be raised until a competing proposal is received.

The increased TGM offer implies a value for each Focus share of $0.40, which is a 40.4 per cent premium to the closing price of Focus shares on February 11, 2022.

TGM has also extended the offer period for its takeover bid so that its offer will remain open for acceptance until 7:00 pm (AEDT) on March 2, 2022, unless further extended or withdrawn.

However, Shandong Gold has reaffirmed its previously stated intention that it intends to reject the TGM offer in its current form.

As a result, based on the existing structure of the TGM offer, Shandong Gold will continue to be the largest shareholder of Focus, with a stake of 63.18 per cent in Focus, and TGM will be unable to gain control of Focus.

The Focus board of directors recommends that Focus shareholders take no action in relation to the revised TGM offer, the fourth supplementary bidder’s statement or any other documents shareholders may receive from TGM.

In its recent bidder’s statement, TGM said despite the intention to reject by Shandong, Focus shareholders should accept its offer.

“However, whether or not Shandong Gold accepts (or states that it does not intend to accept), TGM encourages acceptance by all other Focus Shareholders as (amongst other things) a way of aggregating the minority voice in Focus and enhancing TGM’s ability to (potentially) share with Focus its opinions and considerable experience with regards to mining operations,” the company said.

Meanwhile, Theta has urged Focus shareholders to accept the offer “without delay”.

Focus Minerals currently operates exploration and development projects in two of Australia’s largest goldfields: the Laverton Gold Project and Coolgardie Gold Project.

The projects include a combined Mineral Resource of 50.1Mt at 2.4g/t for 3.8Moz of gold, with current underground and open pit developments, mills on care and maintenance key to both operations, and a mix of brownfields and greenfields exploration possibilities spread across a wide tenement holding.

Theta Gold Mines is a gold mining development company that holds a range of prospective gold assets in a world-renowned South African gold mining region.

Shares in Theta ended the day at 16 cents while Focus rounded off the day at 30 cents.

Myer, Coles, Woolworths, Target, Big W and a variety of mini-majors and speciality tenants dominate Caneland Central, a prominent 65,964 sqm regional shopping mall.

It is the region’s largest shopping centre, serving over 175,000 people, and the only regional shopping centre that can accommodate Myer within 320 kilometres.

The centre underwent a major renovation in 2011 and has plans approved for a 5,500 sqm expansion and development of a new cinema and food and beverage precinct.

Senior Directors Nick Willis and Sam Hatcher of JLL Retail Investments (Australia) have been engaged on behalf of Lendlease to put APPF Retail’s 100 per cent stake in Caneland Central to market via an expressions of interest campaign.

The centre, which has been owned and managed by Lendlease’s APPF Retail fund since 2001, presents an opportunity to own a 100 per cent stake in a dominant regional shopping centre.

According to JLL Research, overall retail investment activity in 2021 will be over $13.3 billion, up from $4.7 billion in 2020, with a considerable rise in the number of shopping centres trading for more than $200 million. In 2021, JLL Research observed 13 sales of more than $200 million, compared to only three in 2020.

“Assets in these markets have very high barriers to entry, and they are typically the focal point of the community,” Mr Willis said.

“At Caneland Central, over 130 tenants are unique to the trade area, servicing over 175,000 people, underpinning the dominance and long-term performance of the asset.”

Link will own a 49.9 per cent stake, while Oxford will hold a 50.1 per cent stake in the venture that consists of five prime office assets in Australia’s core markets of Sydney and Melbourne. The portfolio will continue to be managed by Investa.

The purchase price of the 49.9 per cent interest in the joint venture is $596 million, for a headline price of $1.131 billion.

Link CEO George Hongchoy said IGO is one of the highest quality Australian office real estate portfolios to be offered to the market in recent years.

“We are delighted to partner with two firms that have deep conviction and connections in the Australian market and further strengthen Link’s presence in the country,” he said.

“The Australian economy has been highly resilient and the investment in one of its highest quality prime office portfolios provides immediate scale, positions us strongly for the next cycle and aligns with our Vision 2025 growth strategy of diversifying and improving our portfolio mix in the region.”

The transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2022 with the deal brokered by CBRE’s Greg Hyland, Stuart McCann and Flint Davidson.

Oxford Head of Australia Alec Harper said the venture has created “significant value and achieved a high performing de-risked portfolio”.

“Following on from the recent investment by Mitsubishi Estate into our Parkline Place project, today’s transaction further demonstrates the continued global institutional demand for prime and highly sustainable office product,” he said.

“Oxford will redeploy capital from the transaction into our prime office develop-to-core pipeline and build-to-rent develop-to-core investment strategy in Australia, where we continue to have a favourable long-term outlook.”