Before the bell: Investors unsure before the Fed; Stock futures lower

Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) narrowed its third-quarter loss to $120.1 million and recorded a surge of 524,938 in new subscribers ahead of its planned merger with larger rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: XMSR). Sirius reported a loss of 8 cents per share, in line with expectations. Revenue rose 45% to $241.8 million, but fell short of Wall Street's expectation of $244.3 million. SIRI shares are up 2.5% in premarket trading to $3.70.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) - Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal, explained yesterday why he didn't renew his contract with Apple's iTunes, saying last year's revenue from the digital model was just $15 million.
Apple also announced today it sold or delivered over 2 million copies of its Mac OS X Leopard released on Friday, far outpacing the first weekend sales of Mac OS X Tiger.

Boeing (NYSE: BA) shares are up 0.8% this morning in premarket action after the company announced yesterday its board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $7 billion in common stock. The new plan follows a $3 billion buyback approved by the board in August 2006, which is nearing completion.

Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ) shares are tumbling over 13.5% in premarket trading after the company reported third quarter earnings this morning and cut its 2007 outlook. If the company expected $1.9-2.0 earnings per shares for the year, it now expects $1.7-1.8 EPS. The reason - weak performance of several of the brands. As it is, profit in its third quarter dropped 65% due to hefty charges and a drop in sales in the company's partnered brands division. Excluding charges the company earned 63 cents per share, below analysts' estimates of 68 cents per share. Revenue fell 4% to $1.26 billion. Analysts predicted sales of $1.33 billion.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) shares are up 2.2% in premarket trading after the telco reported third-quarter earnings yesterday that were largely in line with expectations, reflecting steady growth in its wireless operations and a slow decline in its wired telephone business. Verizon earned, excluding one-time charges, 63 cents per share compared to 53 cents a year ago period. These were inline with estimates. Revenue came to $23.8 billion, up 5.8%, slightly beating the $23.7 billion expected.

Qwest Communications Inc. (NYSE: Q) shares are down over 4.6% in premarket trading following its earnings report this morning. That's despite third-quarter profit jumpimg. For the period, Qwest earned $2.07 billion, or $1.08 per share, which included a $2.15 billion tax benefit. Operating revenue declined slightly year over year to $3.43 billion from $3.49 billion. Analyst had expected revenue of $3.49 billion.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) shares are up over 1.1% in premarket trading after UBS upgraded the shares from Sell to Buy. UBS also upped the target price from $24 to $48.

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