Before the bell: SNE, WMT, MSFT, YHOO, RIMM

Before the bell: Stocks sluggish as subprime woes continue

Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) said it will launch an ultra-thin flat TV in December, the world's first television based on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) will launch free document-sharing systems mirroring Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) move with its Google Apps. Adobe is also about to acquire Virtual Ubiquity Inc.

It seems that Christmas comes earlier every year. Well, at least the Christmas shopping season. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) jump-started the holiday shopping by cutting prices on toys in its stores yesterday and will be introducing special price cuts on hot toys each week during October. It remains to be seen parents' reaction after all the toy recalls.

Telecommunications company Telefonica SA and Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) announced they entered an agreement making Yahoo's oneSearch the main search service on Telefonica's mobile portals in 15 countries in Europe and Latin America.

European Union antitrust regulators are investigating Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) for possible abusive business practices. Qualcomm may have violated EU competition rules by refusing to share licensing terms for its mobile phone technology, the EU said as its EU investigators had upgraded their probe to "priority status."

Reporting today:

An RBC Capital Markets analyst downgraded Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) to Outperform from Top Picks, mostly on valuation, and lowered price target to $110 from $115. The BlackBerry makers is launching new products and winning a bigger piece of the smartphone market, he said, but the stock, which has already doubled this year, may have trouble getting higher. RIMM shares are down 0.85% in premarket trading.