Source: The Canadian Press

North American stock markets appear headed for a higher open Monday on the back of a merger planned by two of the biggest U.S. airlines in an all-stock deal valued at US$3 billion.

The merger of United and Continental, if completed, will create the largest airline in the world, and offers another sign that the U.S. economy is on the upswing.

Meanwhile, Canadian mining stocks could feel some extra pressure from proposed new regulations from the Australian government that could put a 40% tax on the profits of resource companies.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced Sunday that the tax would be introduced in 2012 and raise an additional nine billion Australian dollars (US$8.3 billion) per year.

On Friday, the S&P/TSX composite index added 10.38 points to close at 12,210.70.

Before the market opened, the June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down nine cents to US$86.06 a barrel.

The June gold contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.10 to US$1,181.80 an ounce.

And the Canadian dollar edged up 0.21 of a cent to 98.65 cents US.

In other Canadian corporate developments, Canwest Global says a piece of the company that’s currently owned by Goldman Sachs will be purchased by Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX:SJR.B) for $700 million.

That will clear the way for the Canwest television operations to become a subsidiary of Shaw, a Calgary-based company with major cable, internet and satellite TV holdings.

Canwest’s newspapers are being sold under a separate process. Torstar Corp. (TSX:TS) says it has submitted a bid but the Toronto-based media company, which owns the Toronto Star, is expected to have competition.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 37, or 0.3%, to 10,997. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 5.50, or 0.5%, to 1,188.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 8.75, or 0.4%, to 2,007.25.

A U.S. Commerce Department report showed that personal spending rose 0.6% in March, the biggest jump in five months and another sign of economic recovery. The report also showed, however, that personal income rose just 0.3%, renewing concerns that growth in spending could slow if wages growth doesn’t pick up further. Both the income and spending figures matched forecasts from economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Investors will also pay close attention to the Institute for Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing survey due later Monday morning.

And Iamgold Corp. (TSX:IMG) says its Essakane mine in West Africa will begin processing ore in June, ahead of schedule and within the $443-million budget. The Toronto-based company owns 90% of Essakane.

Overseas, Asian markets fell as China forced banks to increase their reserves in the country’s ongoing effort to curb inflation and avoid speculative real estate bubbles. European markets and the euro dropped after the European Union and the International Monetary Fund agreed to provide Greece with $145 billion over the next three years to help it with its ongoing debt problems.

Germany, the EU’s biggest member, still has not approved its share of the bailout for Greece. Germany is expected to provide Greece with $11.14 billion in the first year of the three-year bailout package.

Investors are still clearly skittish about Greece’s ability to get its debt problems under control and the potential for other European nations to face similar issues. The euro is again falling sharply against the dollar, hovering near its lowest levels of the past year.

Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 1.15%, Germany’s DAX index dropped 0.05%, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.39%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock average was closed for a holiday.