American Express, which in recent years has been reining in costs to counter sluggish revenue growth, said expenses rose 3.5 percent to $3.60 billion in the fourth quarter, driven mainly by marketing costs and salaries. Another credit card issuer, Discover Financial Services Inc, reported a 33 percent drop in quarterly profit as it set aside more money to cover bad loans. The job cuts announced by American Express will take place in the United States and abroad.