AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Barclays will raise its offer for ABN Amro to $93.1 billion, with help from two Asian financial partners, in the face of a rival bid led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the British bank said Monday.

Barclays' new offer, about two-thirds in shares and the rest in cash, comes to 35.73 euros ($49.32) per ABN Amro share — up from its earlier all-share bid worth 33.86 euros ($46.74). The bid still falls below the RBS-led consortium offer of 38.40 euros ($53.01) per share that values ABN at 71.1 billion euros ($97.8 billion).

Either takeover would be the largest in the history of the financial industry.

ABN Amro said in a statement that it had received Barclays' revised offer and "welcomes the opportunity for shareholders to consider two competing proposals on a level playing field."

———

UAW UNWILLING TO MAKE CONCESSIONS

DETROIT — The president of the United Auto Workers said Monday his union is not in the mood to make concessions during contract talks with U.S.-based automakers who say they need cost cuts to stay in business.

The comments came after the traditional handshake between officials from the UAW and General Motors Corp., the nation's No. 1 automaker. The ceremony officially kicked off negotiations between the sides.

At least on the surface, it appears that the union and GM are far apart as they try to ink a new national contract before a Sept. 14 deadline. Ford Motor Co. also will seek concessions. Its talks opened Monday afternoon with a handshake ceremony in Dearborn. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Chief Executive Alan Mulally exchanged handshakes across a conference room table with UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Bob King.

———

OFFSHORE DRILLING CONTRACTOR ACQUIRES COMPANY

HOUSTON — The world's largest offshore drilling contractor got bigger with Monday's announcement by Transocean that it will combine with GlobalSantaFe, creating a company able to drill globally from shallow to ultra-deep waters.

Analysts largely applauded the coupling and said more combinations could be forthcoming. The shares of both companies rose.

The deal, announced jointly by both Houston-based companies, includes a $15 billion cash payout to shareholders of both the world's largest contractor, Transocean Inc., and GlobalSantaFe Corp. Shareholders of both companies will also get shares in the new company, which will retain the Transocean name and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under Transocean's symbol "RIG."

The value of the new company will be about $53 billion, including debt. The $15 billion for the cash payout to shareholders will be funded through a bridge loan due one year after closing.

———

SATELLITE RADIO PRICING PLANS UNVEILED

WASHINGTON — The top executives at the nation's two satellite radio companies detailed pricing plans Monday that they said would let customers choose which channels they want to receive if the two firms are permitted to merge.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio announced the $4.7 billion merger last February. The combination requires approval from antitrust regulators and the Federal Communications Commission.

The pricing plans announced Monday range from $6.99 per month for 50 channels offered by one service to $16.99 per month where customers would keep their existing service, plus "chose from the best" of channels offered by the other service.

That means a customer could subscribe to both the Major League Baseball channel on XM and the National Football League channel offered by Sirius, on the same radio.

———

AMERICAN EXPRESS REPORTS PROFIT JUMP

NEW YORK — American Express Co., the nation's third-largest credit card brand, said Monday that record spending had fueled a 12 percent jump in profit.

The New York-based company also boosted the amount of money it has reserved for loan losses, as have many other financial services companies, to brace for an ongoing deterioration in credit quality.

Net income rose to $1.06 billion in the second quarter, or 88 cents per share, from $945 million, or 76 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

Income from continuing operations also totaled 88 cents per share in the latest period, up from 78 cents per share a year ago.

———

MERCK SEES BOOST IN PROFIT

TRENTON, N.J. — Merck & Co.'s second-quarter profit jumped 12 percent as revenues from six new medicines and strong growth of key older ones offset losses to generic competition.

The drugmaker on Monday raised its profit forecast, boosting its shares, but took another charge for its massive Vioxx litigation.

Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck earned $1.68 billion, or 77 cents per share, compared with net income of $1.5 billion, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding a $172 million restructuring charge, net income would have been 82 cents a share.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $6.11 billion from $5.77 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a profit of 72 cents per share on revenue of $5.77 billion.

———

GAS PRICES DROP BELOW $3 A GALLON

NEW YORK — Gas prices dropped below a national average of $3 a gallon over the weekend, while energy futures had their own decline Monday on suggestions that OPEC may increase its output.

Hasan Qabazard, research director of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, told Dow Jones Newswires he thinks oil is fairly valued at $60 to $65 a barrel, leading some to conclude the cartel may be open to reversing its long-held position that oil supplies are adequate.

The resumption of exports at a key Angolan oil facility also weighed on prices.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery dropped 90 cents to settle at $74.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

———

CUMULUS MEDIA AGREES TO BUYOUT OFFER

ATLANTA — Radio station owner Cumulus Media Inc. has agreed to a $507.7 million cash buyout offer from a group of investors that includes the company's chief executive.

The investor group is being led by Chief Executive Lewis Dickey, who will remain in that role once the deal closes, and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.

Under the deal announced Monday, the buyers would pay $11.75 a share, a 40 percent premium over Friday's closing price, for each of the roughly 43.2 million shares of Cumulus stock outstanding.