FTSE: 5,945.71 (+89.76) Mid-250: 11,934.04 (+134.89) Small Cap: 3,272.86 (+26.65):LLOYDS BANKING topped the FTSE 100 yesterday, after the part-nationalised high street bank outlined plans to save costs, cut jobs and sell assets.

The company said its strategic review would generate annual savings of £1.5 billion by 2014 as it streamlined processes and management structures, including plans to cut 15,000 jobs. It also said it intended to reduce its international presence and dispose of non-core assets.

Lloyds put the cost of the programme at £2.3 billion. Shares in the company rose 9.7 per cent to 49p, the biggest rise on London’s benchmark index by a clear margin.

The Financial Times report said Barclays was poised to announce the sale of a $740 million portfolio of private equity fund investments to Axa Private Equity, adding to a wave of disposals of alternative assets by banks in the light of tighter regulation. Barclays rose 2.9 per cent to 256½p.

There was upbeat news from BG’s Brazilian oil prospects, helping shares in the company rise 4.7 per cent to £14.14.

The company doubled its best estimate of the amount of crude and gas reserves from the field it co-owns with Spain’s Repsol and Brazil’s state-controlled Pertrobas.

Overall, the strong reaction to a busy morning’s corporate newsflow helped the FTSE 100 make further progress. It ended 90 points higher at 5,945.71, a gain of 1.5 per cent adding to the rally of 1.5 per cent made over the previous session.

“Recent losses caused by the Greek crisis happened as a result of investors’ fears creating the very hole they seek to avoid, which did little else than drag both prices and confidence lower,” said David White, a trader at Spreadex.

News of the demise of the the London Stock Exchange’s plans to merge with TMX due to a lack of support for the deal among TMX’s shareholders sent stock in the UK exchange toward the top of the FTSE 250, up 11 per cent to £10.62.

There were hopes the development left the LSE likely to be the target of a bid from Nasdaq OMX .

Back on the top tier, shares in BSkyB were little changed at 847p on reports that the British government was poised to give regulatory clearance to News Corporation’s plans to acquire the 60.9 per cent of the company that it does not already own. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011)