Good afternoon,

Australia’s banks have been ordered to keep their lending rules steady , after the prudential regulator capped off a review of the country’s home loans, warning borrowers are being squeezed by debts and inflation.

Meanwhile, London-listed mining giant Anglo American is understood to have picked a winner in the $US2bn-plus contest for its Australian coal mines, say sources.

And James Kirby outlines why property prices in Sydney and Melbourne, already on a slide, will continue to fall into the new year.