Before the bell: RIMM, WFMI, AAPL, GSK, MSFT

Before the bell: Futures lower after last week's rally, ahead of earnings season

Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) has had a phenomenal year with another 12.83% gain Friday. Its two leaders, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, plan to increase the amount they will pay to settle with an institutional shareholder, Ironworkers Ontario Pension Fund, over the company's former option-granting policies by $2.5 million each.

Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) finished its internal investigation into CEO John Mackey's anonymous online postings about the company and has affirmed its support on Friday.

Some analysts think the time has come for an Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock split. Another analyst, Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, has calculated the impact of the new OS X Leopard -- Apple's newly upgraded operating system to be released in three weeks -- on the company's revenue stream and expects it to add approximately $240 million to the Dec. 2007 quarter.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (NYSE: GSK) has picked insider Andrew Witty, president of its European pharmaceuticals business, to replace Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier after a long-standing succession issue at the drugmaker.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has launched the new Zune music player last week. The company is counting on the added social networking elements integrated into the broader service, especially the Zune Social element, to get a better response for the device. Microsoft has also named a new executive Friday to oversee its Zune media player.