Terex (NYSE: TEX) is recently trading at $42.50 in pre-open trading, below its close of $47.32. TEX lowered 2008 EPS view to $6.35-$6.65 from $6.85-$7.15. TEX overall option implied volatility of 50 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Agco (NYSE: AG), global manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, closed at $56.10. AG overall option implied volatility of 49 is near its 26-week average, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Deere (NYSE: DE) closed at $66.53. DE overall option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

CNH Global (NYSE: CNH), an agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer, closed at $35.17. CNH overall option implied volatility of 54 is near its 26-week average, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) closed at $67.73. CAT October option implied volatility of 32 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

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Sunoco, Ryanair and HSBC Holdings were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• JP Morgan downgraded Sunoco (NYSE: SUN) to Underweight from Neutral citing expected margin pressure due to high leverage to sweet crude. Goldman also downgraded shares of Sunoco to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Ryanair (NASDAQ: RYAAY) to Sell from Hold as they believe the European airlines sector will trade well below book value until the companies deal with higher oil prices.
  
• UBS cut HSBC (NYSE: HBC) to Neutral from Buy to reflect the potential for higher losses at the company's household unit and weak performance at its U.S. bank.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Broadpoint lowered MTS Medication (NYSE: MPP) to Neutral from Strong Buy.
  
• HSBC cut Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) to Neutral from Overweight.
  
• Goldman downgraded CNH Global (NYSE: CNH) to Neutral from Buy and PetroChina (PTR) to Sell from Buy.

Goldman Sachs upped Agco (NYSE:AG) to "buy" from "neutral" and downgraded CNH Global (NYSE:CNH) from "buy" to "neutral" according to MarketWatch.

UBS downgraded HSBC (NYSE:HBC) to "neutral" to "buy" according to Briefing.com. The news service also reports that Morgan Stanley downgraded Valero (NYSE:VLO) to "neutral" from "overweight".

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

The earnings crunch continues to roll along, and here are a some highlights of this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) beat expectations and raised its full-year guidance.
• Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) beat estimates by a penny and offered a poor outlook.
• American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) delivered a positive surprise, with profits up 10%.
• Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) beat estimates, but revenue was flat.
• Anheuser-Busch Cos. (NYSE: BUD) beat expectations on strength of international sales and partner brands.
• Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) blew past expectations. See our conference call live blog.
• Avery Dennison Corp.'s (NYSE: AVY) net sales up, EPS down, both due to the Paxar acquisition.
• Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) beat expectations, but wariness about its growth potential lingers.
• Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) beat expectations but lowered its guidance.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) beat expectations on the strength of Plavix sales.
• CNH Global's (NYSE: CNH) profit nearly doubled, beating estimates by 15%.
• Coach Inc. (NYSE: COH) beat estimates by a penny, but offered a conservative outlook for the holidays.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) met EPS expectations but cut its cash flow forecast.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) reported a $1.2 billion loss, but predicts a profit in the next quarter.

Earnings season continues to roll on, and Wednesday morning, before the market opens, I am going to be keeping a close watch on the quarterly results of Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE). Analysts are expecting the company to post earnings of $2.41 per share for its second fiscal quarter

The last time that Deere reported earnings was on February 14, when it easily beat analyst estimates. For its fiscal first quarter, Deere was able to report earnings of $1.04 per share, while analysts had been expecting to see the company come in with $0.74 EPS.

Late last month, a couple of Deere's competitors reported financial results, beating earnings estimates, so hopefully this trend will carry over into Deere's quarterly numbers. On April 20, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) reported earnings of $1.23 per share for its first-quarter earnings, above the $1.09 EPS analysts had been expecting. Then, a couple of days later on April 23, CNH Global N.V. (NYSE: CNH) posted earnings of $0.44 per share, beating estimates of $0.31 EPS for its first quarter.

While investors and pundits debate the impact of ethanol on our long-term energy problems, one thing is clear according to Ivan Martchev -- the popularity of ethanol is having a "huge impact" on agribusinesses.

The editor of Vital Resource Investor explains, "Whether ethanol makes economic sense is less irrelevant. It is having an effect on farming." Indeed, he believes one of the best ways for investors to play the popularity of ethanol is to focus on farming equipment.

Within this market, he notes that the obvious choice for investors is industry leader Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE). However, he cautions that the stock already reflects investor optimism.

In addition, he notes, "The stock recently traded at $114, and many individual investors dislike buying triple-digit stocks." Therefore, he notes, he looked for a "worthy adversary to Deere" and found Case New Holland, whose name was recently shortened to CNH Global NV (NYSE: CNH).

The advisor calls CNH a restructuring story. He notes that the company is majority owned by Fiat, which is itself recovering from a "dire situation" two years ago.

Ever wonder what became of agricultural equipment names like Case, Ford, International Harvester and New Holland? They are all part of the heritage of one of the biggest heavy equipment makers around.

CNH Global NV (NYSE: CNH) is a world class manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, ranking second to Deere (NYSE: DE) in the farm category and third to Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and Komatsu in the building line. Products include wide varieties of tractors, combine harvesters, seeding and planting equipment, sprayers, excavators, graders, bulldozers, backhoe loaders and skid steer loaders. A financial services unit assists clients with the purchase, or lease of equipment. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A. (NYSE: FIA), is supported by about 11,500 dealers in 160 countries.

Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE) opened at $111.86. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $111.86 and a high of $115.65. As of 10:50 this morning, DE is trading at $115.46, up $3.90 (3.5%).

After hitting a one year high of $116.50 in February, the stock has traded within the $105-115 range over the past two months. DE is riding the coattails of competitor CNH Global (NYSE: CNH), which is up nearly 9% after an outstanding earnings release this morning. Recent technical indicators for DE have been bullish and deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a June bull-put credit spread below the $100 range. DE hasn't been below $100 since January and has shown support around $110 recently. This trade could be risky if an economic slowdown hits the US, but even if this happens, this position could be protected by the strong historical support around $103.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock. DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At press time, Brent neither owns nor controls a position in DE.