MONDAY BUSINESS : PREVIEW: Some of the major business and economic events scheduled for this week : Arco Investors to Vote on Merger With BP Amoco

Shareholders of Atlantic Richfield Co. today are expected to approve the proposed merger of the Los Angeles-based oil company with BP Amoco.

The London-based oil giant, the world’s third-largest publicly held oil company, agreed to buy Arco, the eighth-largest U.S. oil company, in April in a stock swap valued at $29.6 billion, or $90.51 cents a share based on Friday’s closing price for BP Amoco’s American depositary receipts of $110.38. Arco’s stock closed Friday at $86.38 a share.

Consumer activists and environmentalists are opposed to the marriage of the two companies, contending that petroleum product prices will increase and environmental hazards, particularly in Alaska, will increase because of the resulting company’s size and economic power.

Regulators in the United States and Europe continue to scrutinize the proposed combination and probably will require that the companies sell off some operations before they can merge. California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer is among those examining how the merger would affect consumers.

Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles said last week that the merger would violate the state’s law limiting how much oil acreage a single company can control. Knowles said the state is negotiating with BP Amoco to sell some of its North Slope oil fields to a competing company to ensure competition after the Arco acquisition.