Filed under: Before the bell, Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Intel (INTC), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), XM Satellite Radio (XMSR), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), News Corp’B’ (NWS), Analyst initiations

Before the bell: Awaiting payroll data, futures slightly higher

After making inroads throughout the year, Thursday it became official. Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) overtook in 2007 Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) second place as determined by U.S. sales. Toyota sold 2.62 million cars and trucks in 2007, up 3% for the year. No. one automaker by sales remained (at least for now) General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), selling 3.82 million vehicles in 2007, down 6% from the previous year. December was a tough month for automakers despite holiday discounts, with Toyota’s sales slipping 2% for the month, GM’s down 4% and Ford’s down 9%.

Meanwhile, General Motors might miss its target to have its breakthrough electric-powered car the Chevrolet Volt in production by 2010. CEO Rick Wagoner made these comments during an online forum Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the automaker.

FORTUNE’s Apple 2.0 brings an interesting case where Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has actually lawyers filed a suit on the last day of 2007 against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) for “illegally maintaining a monopoly in the digital music market by failing to support Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Windows Media Audio format.” It is interesting to see Apple, not Microsoft, on that end of the law suit for a change.

Continue reading Before the bell: GM, SIRI, JNJ, INTC, AAPL …

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