In Brief Apple is getting serious about succession planning, according to a new report in The Financial Times.The company’s board and senior executives are reportedly preparing for the possibility that Tim Cook could step down as CEO as soon as early next year. This would come after Apple’s earnings report in late January, giving the new leadership team time to settle into their roles before Apple’s big events like the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The 65-year-old Cook has been Apple’s chief exe ...