Premarket roundup: American Express, Avon

Among the premarket stories for Monday, May 18, from AP Financial News:

NEW YORK (AP) _ Shares of American Express Co. are likely to jump on the credit card lender's plans to slash 4,000 jobs and reduce expenses by $800 million during the remainder of the year, an analyst said Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Shares of cosmetics company Avon Products Inc. were upgraded to "Market Perform" from "Underperform" by a BMO Capital Markets analyst as the company signed up 1 million new representatives in the first quarter.

NEW YORK (AP) _ An analyst remained optimistic on American Apparel Inc.'s medium to long-term prospects Tuesday despite its first-quarter loss.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ Second-quarter earnings in the steel and metals sector may improve as the industry benefits from better access to capital, higher prices for scrap metals and a possible recovery in China's markets, an analyst said Tuesday.

NEW YORK (AP) _ New York advertising and marketing conglomerate Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. has reached a deal with lenders to help shield a $335 million credit line from the effect of a potential bankruptcy filing at big client General Motors Corp.