During a crisis, never mind what the media or government officials are saying, follow the money.

The Mercantile Exchange (CME) posts open contracts for each currency traded -- both long and short positions. By subtracting them you can get a sense of whether traders are net long or short. In the case of the euro, traders are net short 40,000 contracts or nearly $8 billion.

Meanwhile, officials of struggling countries, Greece, Spain and Portugal are telling the media that they have things under control. Elena Salgado, Spanish finance minister and Jose Manuel Campo, her deputy flew to London to meet with bondholders, the Financial Times reports. They want to reassure promises to cut Spain's budget deficit by 3% of GDP by 2013. But then the treasury wants to raise 116.7 billion euros.

Research in Motion (RIMM) closed $66.67. RIMM is expected to report Q4 EPS on March 30. March option implied volatility is at 40, June is at 43, versus its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Motorola (MOT) closed at $6.57. Barron's said MOT shares look increasingly attractive on a sum-of-the-parts basis. March and April option implied volatility of 48 is below its 26-week average of 52, according to Track Data, suggesting slightly decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

John Thain -- whom you may recall as the man who presided over the spectacular implosion of Merrill Lynch -- is looking to have some new business cards printed up. Over the weekend, CIT Group (CIT) officially announced that its board of directors has elected Thain as chairman and CEO.

Due to his controversial past, the decision to elect Thain wasn't an easy one. After shelling out a small fortune to tart up his office digs at Merrill Lynch -- and doling out lofty bonuses amid the bank's hasty takeover by Bank of America (BAC) -- Thain became something of a poster boy for Wall Street excesses.

Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts (SPY) is recently down 42 cents to $106.24 in pre-open trading. February and March put volatility is at 28; April is at 26; above its 26-week average of 24 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

MSCI Emerging Markets Index (EEM) closed at $37.20. EEM overall option implied volatility of 34 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Corning (GLW - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company said it expects to see modest growth in sales and earnings in 2010, but did not offer specific forecasts. Analysts are expecting the company to earn $1.75 per share in 2010 on revenue of $6.28 billion, up from $1.28 per share and $5.4 billion, respectively. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on GLW.

This morning, GLW opened at $18.10. So far today the stock has hit a high of $18.24 and a low of $16.96. As of 12:10, GLW is trading at $17.65, down 60 cents (-3.3%). The chart for GLW looks bullish and S&P gives GLW a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

iShares Trust FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Fund (FXI) closed at $38.42. FXI is an index fund that seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index. February put option implied volatility is at 37, March puts are at 39, May puts are at 38, versus its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement in March.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) at 26.07; 10-day moving average is 24.05, 50-day is 21.25.

Nikkei 225 recently down 2.89%. DAX 30 recently down 1.51%, according to Bloomberg.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Toyota Motor (TM) is recently trading at $72.90 in pre-open trading, below its close of $73.49. TM reported better than expected Q3 EPS, raised its outlook despite recall. February put option implied volatility is at 47, March and April puts are at 42,versus its 26-week average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price movement.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) at 21.60; 10-day moving average is 23.67, 50-day is 21.17.

NASDAQ 100 (QQQQ) overall implied volatility at 22; 26-week average is 25.

Russell 2000 (IWM) overall implied volatility at 25; 26-week average is 29.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

While the bar is set pretty high, MasterCard has a solid history of topping consensus expectations -- the company has bested Wall Street's earnings predictions in each of the previous four reporting periods. Despite MasterCard's solid history on the earnings front, though, pessimism is heavy as investors await the firm's fourth-quarter results.

Toyota Motor (TM) is recently down $5.43 to $72.72. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said owners of recalled Toyotas should "stop driving" them and bring them to a Toyota dealer for repair, Bloomberg reports.

Toyota is expected to report Q3 EPS after the market close today. Call option volume of 10,509 contracts compares to put volume of 26,337 contracts. February put option implied volatility is at 48, March and April puts are at 42; verses its six-month average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting larger near term price movement.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Cigna (CI) closed at $35.24. CI is expected to report Q4 EPS on February 4. February option implied volatility is at 45, March is at 43, April is at 42, versus its 26-week average of 43, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement,

Monster Worldwide (MWW) closed at $16.04. MWW is expected to report Q4 EPS on February 3. February put option implied volatility is at 54, March and June puts are at 49, versus its 26-week average of 53 according to Track Data suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) is preparing to release its fourth-quarter results, with the company's earnings report scheduled to hit Wall Street before the market opens on Friday, Feb. 5. Analysts are expecting YRCW to swallow a loss of $1.74 per share, wider than the company's year-ago loss of $1.63 per share.

The transportation issue has fallen short of consensus earnings expectations in each of the previous four quarters, which may explain why bearish speculation is on the rise in the days leading up to YRCW's report.