Thursday newspaper round-up: Lloyds, House prices, Bank of England

Plans for a multibillion-pound sale of shares in Lloyds Banking Group to the general public have been dropped for this year and probably until after the general election next May. George Osborne and Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, have ruled out a "Tell Sid" style privatisation because of volatile share markets and the difficulty of finding a window of opportunity amid a string of autumn events that could disrupt or derail any offer. - The Daily TelegraphHouse price growth in London is set to collapse with property professionals expecting values to merely creep up by 1.9% over the next 12 months. The capital has become accustomed to soaring house prices over the last year as pent up demand following the recession, a lack of supply and influx of cash buyers have boosted values. However, expectations of future growth have come crashing down according to the latest data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). - The Daily TelegraphThe Bank of England is making emergency plans in case a yes vote in Scotland's independence referendum threatens the stability of sterling, bank governor Mark Carney has disclosed. Carney refused to set out what the Bank's contingency planning involved, but admitted that the disputes between the Scottish and UK governments over the future of the pound "could raise financial stability issues" which were already being addressed. - The GuardianThe highest court in New York has ruled that Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM), the UK taxpayer-owned institution salvaged from the ashes of the collapsed bank, should be allowed to take legal action against SocGen for mis-selling $34m of mortgage products in the run-up to the financial crisis, in a case which is expected to pave the way for a flurry of similar lawsuits. - The Daily TelegraphA mass emergency evacuation of Mount Sinjar is unlikely to be necessary for the Yazidi community after US special forces said there was far fewer than expected. Those refugees, who had fled their homes to escape maurading Islamic extremists, still on the mountain are said to be in a better condition than initial reports had suggested. The assessment means that British special forces in northern Iraq, who had been expected to assist in any rescue operation, are now unlikely to be needed. - The Times HSBC has given 15 of its top bankers "fixed pay allowance arrangements" worth £7.1m under a controversial new pay scheme designed to dodge tough new European Union rules on bankers' bonuses. Britain's biggest bank awarded Samir Assaf, the head of its investment bank, £1.5m worth of shares, and chief executive Stewart Gulliver was given shares worth £850,000. Peter Wong, deputy chairman and head of the Asia-Pacific region, was given £760,000 worth. Iain Mackay, finance director, and Marc Moses, chief risk officer, got £470,000 worth. - The GuardianAB