Stocks in the news: Research in Motion, Apple, Microsoft

The following post rounds up the companies making headlines today:

Research In Motion (RIMM) reported results that beat Wall Street estimates Thursday after the close, but shares declined ahead of the bell as the the BlackBerry maker gave a disappointing outlook. Still, RIMM shares, that at first plunged as much as 5 percent, declined about half a percent by 8:40 AM.

Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) new iPhone launches today. Smaller crowds are gathering outside AT&T and Apple stores, but fans are still there to greet the latest iPhone with new features and faster speeds. AAPL shares gained over 1.5 percent in pre-market trade.