1. Following Scott Morrison's announcement yesterday that 600 "isolated and vulnerable Australians" may be flown from Wuhan province in China to quarantine on Christmas Island, Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton told Today that Australia had to "act in our country’s best interests and those of our citizens" and that he "can’t clear a hospital in Sydney or Melbourne to accommodate 600 people".

2. 51% of first home buyers are planning to buy a property in the next 12 months according to the latest ME Bank Property Sentiment Report, compared to 38% in Q2 2019. 55% of respondents to the survey said they are predicting house prices will rise in the next 12 months.

3. The administrator of collapsed retailer Jeanswest, KPMG's James Stewart, has noted that issues like online shopping, rising debt and the popularity of Black Friday will continue to see more retailers close in the future. "If you're doing twice the sales in November at half the margin, I don't think that makes for a good Christmas," he said according to the AFR.

4. The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates on hold as widely predicted. "Some of the uncertainties around trade have diminished recently, and there are some signs that slowing global economic growth is improving," Jerome Powell said following the release of the Fed's policy statement, adding that the coronavirus outbreak is a "very serious issue".

5. Stocks remained relatively flat overnight on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones moving 11.60 points or 0.04% higher to 28,734.45, the S&P 500 falling 2.84 points or 0.09% to 3,273.40 and the Nasdaq rising 5.48 points or 0.06% to 9,275.16.