Before the bell: Markets to open higher before Bernanke's speech

ImClone Systems (NASDAQ: IMCL) shares are up nearly 30% in premarket trading. ImClone Systems and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) said that a Phase III study of Erbitux combined with platinum-based chemotherapy improved overall advanced non-small-cell lung cancer patient survival compared with chemotherapy alone. BMY shares are up 3% in premarket trading. German drugs group Merck KGaA (not MRK) conducted the study and its shares also jumped 6% in Frankfurt.

Countrywide Financial Corp (NYSE: CFC) troubles aren't over as yesterday it found out from regulatory filings that its largest shareholder, AllianceBernstein LP, has cut its stakes in the mortgage lender. Another shareholder, Barclays Global Investors, did the same. Meanwhile, according to the New York Post, Countrywide is working to structure another strategic investment similar to the $2 billion deal with Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) last month.

Expect some action in PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) as it was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Goldman Sachs, citing valuation. Goldman upgraded the beverage sector from Neutral to Attractive due to its defensive nature along with improving fundamentals and reasonable valuation.

After GE's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal pulled its television shows from sale on Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes store, many expected News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) to follow. Well, today News Corp said it will not pull its television shows from iTunes.

Auto industry executives have been speaking that past day:
Ford Motor Co's (NYSE: F) John Fleming, the president and chief executive officer of Ford of Europe, said he isn't expecting to make big market share gains in Europe in the near future.
General Motors Corp (NYSE: GM) Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner blamed the softness in the housing market for weakness in vehicle sales.

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