BUZZ-Barclays: To accelerate cost-cutting and asset sales
** Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) ' shares up 2.2 pct, among top FTSE 100 gainers after its executive chairman John McFarlane said it would speed up cost cuts, asset sales
** Co, which also reported a 12 pct rise in Q2 profit, is in the midst of a 3-year plan to cut 19,000 jobs
** McFarlane said he plans to cut "non-core" assets to 20 bln stg by the end of 2017, vs 57 bln stg at the end of June
** He also said he plans to cut costs as a percentage of income to "mid 50s" percent, from 70 percent in H1
** Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) at their highest since January 2014, top performers on Stoxx 600 Banks Index, in decent volumes (venkateshasoumithri.mamidipudi.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)