Before the bell: Futures mixed after break, ahead of data Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) has managed to cover yet another area of the globe. TeliaSonera AB, Sweden's largest telephone company, said it will start selling the iPhone later this year in countries in the Nordic and Baltic region: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), which saw its shares reaching 1982 levels Friday, also saw its shares downgraded by Citigroup from Buy to Hold and cut his price target to $21 from $32. The analyst said "the automaker will likely burn through $7 billion in cash through 2009 and may need to raise more capital."
UBS (NYSE: UBS) shares are plunging 14% in premarket trading after on Monday warned it may record further losses on real estate holdings outside the U.S. It seeks nearly $16 billion from shareholders to repair its balance sheet.
Altria Group (NYSE: MO), which holds about 29% of SABMiller, rose in London trade on speculation that if Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) rejects InBev's speculated renewed attempts to buy it, InBev may then go after SABMiller instead. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank analyst downgraded BUD to Hold from Buy, saying the brewer may have to make damaging cost cuts if it is bought by InBev. However, according to many reports, merger talks between InBev and Anheuser Busch could start today.
Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) managing director of OEM embedded devices Asia told Reuters the software company expects global unit sales of its Windows Mobile software for cellphones to grow at least 50% per year in 2008 and 2009 as demand for smartphones rises rapidly.
Bank of America and Bernstein cut forecast for the following banks: BofA forecast a second-quarter loss for Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) and cut its earnings outlook for Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). Banc of America analyst Michael Hecht said said brokers may continue to underperform in the current challenging credit environment.
Five winners of a weak dollar: SBUX, PEP, AAPL
Twitter valuation off by half: NeXt Up Research
Comfort Zone Investing: The unmighty dollar
