Trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, May 21, 2014.

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

Apple—The company hired a senior executive from Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, ahead of an anticipated fall launch of an "iWatch."

IBM–Big Blue's deal to sell its low-end server business to Lenovo Group for $2.3 billion has received the approval of the Chinese government, and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. U.S. regulatory approval is still required to complete the transaction.

American Apparel–The company is said to be in talks with hedge fund Standard General about funding that would let the retailer pay off a loan, as well as replace most of its board, according to the Wall Street Journal. Standard General owns 43 percent of the company's stock.