July 6 (Reuters) - Toronto’s main stock index looked set to open slightly higher after Thursday’s share price fall, while focus remains on U.S. and Canadian jobs figures that are expected to show tepid growth.
* U.S. employers likely quickened the pace of hiring last month but not enough to allay worries that Europe’s debt crisis is shifting the economy into low gear.
* Italy’s cabinet approved spending cuts worth 4.5 billion euros ($5.57 billion) this year, heading off an impending sales tax increase
* The head of the International Monetary Fund expressed concern about a deterioration in the global economy, saying the outlook has become more worrying as developed and big emerging nations show signs of slowing down.
* Soaring sales of the Galaxy smartphone drove record quarterly profit of $5.9 billion at Samsung Electronics, although the South Korean tech giant is sweating over how Europe’s debt crisis is denting demand in its biggest market for televisions and home appliances.
* Canadian oil and gas producer Pengrowth Energy Corp cut its monthly dividend by 43 percent to 4 Canadian cents on weak oil and gas prices, its first cut since November 2009.
* Canada stock futures traded up 0.06 percent
* U.S. stock futures , , were down in the range of -0.05 to -0.015 percent
* European shares, were down
* Thomson Reuters-Jeffries CRB Index : 290.93; fell 0.79 percent
* Gold Futures : $1645; fell -0.87 percent
* US Crude : $85.49; fell 1.98 percent
* Brent Crude : $99.17; fell 1.52 percent
* LME 3-month Copper : $7628; fell 0.87 percent
* Sandvine Corp. : The network equipment maker posted a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as revenue fell 24 percent.
* Research In Motion Ltd. : Investors in the BlackBerry maker should not re-elect one-time lead director John Richardson to the board of the struggling company at Tuesday’s annual meeting, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis said. The advice repeats a long-standing Glass Lewis concern that Richardson failed to properly oversee the provision of stock options to RIM employees, which were erroneously back-dated over an eight-year period.
* Air Canada and WestJet Airlines Ltd. : Air Canada and WestJet flew fuller planes in June, while smaller regional carrier Porter Airlines reported slightly emptier flights than a year earlier.
Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.
* Copper Mountain : Canaccord Genuity cuts target price to C$6.25 from C$6.80 to reflect the brokerage’s cut in its copper price forecast for 2012
* Genivar Inc : Canaccord Genuity cuts price target to C$22 from C$24 after the company bought the UK based design and engineering firm WSP Group
* Richelieu Hardware : NBF raises target price to C$36.50 from C$35 after the company posted solid quarterly results
* Tuscany International : NBF cuts target price to C$1.25 from C$1.35 and removes from Action List on Latin America E&P Cash Flow Review
* Westjet Airlines : CIBC raises target price to C$20.75 from C$18.50, and Canaccord Genuity to C$25 from C$24; says company is still on track to achieve its growth targets
* Major Canadian economic data includes Ivey PMI index
* Major U.S. events and data includes ECRI weekly index
