Apple's (AAPL.US) board of directors and senior management are accelerating succession plans in preparation for CEO Tim Cook's potential departure as early as next year, reported the Financial Times, John Ternus, Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, is considered a front-runner for the next CEO, sources divulged. However, Apple is unlikely to announce the appointment before the release of the new quarterly results at the end of January.(Real-time Streaming US Stocks Quote; Except All OTC quotes are at least 15 minutes delayed.)Related NewsAPI Crude Oil Stock Change for Nov/07 in United States is 1.300M, lower than the previous value of 6.500M. The forecast was 1.7M.