Market Talk

Listen, our social network's just fine the way it is.

Yahoo (YHOO) and Twitter announce an expanded partnership in which the microblogging site will have a broader presence throughout many of Yahoo’s properties.

Deal seems to make sense for both parties. For Twitter, the deal represents another growth opportunity. “Our open approach helps us get closer to providing universal connectivity to a global network of immediate information,” Twitter co-founder Biz Stone says.

And for Yahoo, the pact comes on the heels of its broader integration with Facebook Connect, announced in December. Critics say another outsourcing deal in the social networking space exemplifies Yahoo’s failure to innovate and create its own network that could aptly compete with Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

But Google’s (GOOG) also faced the same critics regarding its failure to make any headway in social media. Google Buzz was supposed to eliminate that stigma, but considering all the negative feedback surrounding the new service, maybe outsourcing isn’t such a bad idea, Kara Swisher opines at All Things D.

That’s why what the Silicon Valley icon is doing might be the best solution for it at this point–if you can’t innovate, aggregate!

“We want to integrate across all social networks to give consumers a better experience,” said Cody Simms, senior director of product management for Yahoo’s open strategy, in an interview yesterday. “Yahoo then becomes a network of social networks, making it easier for users.”

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- All the recent chatter concerning the Fed’s exit strategy is puzzling, Tim Iacono says. Maybe it’s “simply a way for policymakers to generate confidence that might not otherwise be there.”

- Keep an eye on cumulative breadth, number of stocks moving up and down on a given day, for clues about future market performance, Bespoke Investment Group says.

- Despite the aughts being a lost decade for the stock market, 401(k) savers did ok, at least according to Fidelity Investments. “But unless market performance picks up in this decade even dedicated 401(k) savers could come up short in their retirement savings,” LA Times’ Walter Hamilton says.

- Google’s (GOOG) $2 million donation to Wikipedia “cements a kind of symbiotic relationship” between the two companies, Mathew Ingram writes at GigaOm. “For better or worse, it sounds like Wikipedia and Google will be joined at the hip for some time to come — not just because of the money, but because the relationship benefits both sides equally.”

- Obama administration’s tolerance of AIG is just astounding, Yves Smith says.

- Backlash against Google Buzz has reached a new level. A class action law suit has been filed in San Jose (CA) federal court alleging Google (GOOG) acted illegally when its new social networking tool shared personal data without consent, according to SF Chronicle blog.

- Greece should approach the IMF, former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson says. “Our baseline view is still that the IMF’s role will be only ‘technical,’ but behind the scenes the prospect of greater IMF engagement (and even a standby loan) is a powerful card that Greece should threaten to play.”

- Wall Street’s bailout hustle – Taibbi’s latest missive.

- Chris Dodd plans to introduce a new bill next week to overhaul financial regulation.

- The pilot that crashed a small plane in Austin posted an anti-government manifesto and may have targeted IRS offices after a tax dispute.

- Europe’s announced support for Greece was “badly bungled,” former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson says. And if the euro continues to depreciate, he believes the G7 will need to weigh in on the situation.

- Palm not exactly lighting it up in Verizon stores, but should benefit long-term. “Palm will be well-served with Verizon as a partner, but its challenge – as always – is one of awareness,” John Paczkowski says. “Once it overcomes that, increasing carrier momentum should follow.”

- Apple’s (AAPL) iPad is more than just a fancy gadget. “When I look at the iPad, I see a clean slate to reinvent pretty much how we think of media, information and in fact the whole user experience,” Om Malik says.

- Google wastes no time announcing privacy improvements for Buzz. “It’s still early, and we have a long list of improvements on the way,” Google’s Tom Jackson writes in a blog post.

- Unfortunately, Toyota has a thing or two in common with the banks. The good news, Barry Ritholtz notes, is the auto maker doesn’t need a bailout, and “they didn’t cripple the world’s economy.”

- All the jostling surrounding the financial-reform bill in the Senate is getting a bit confusing, Reuters blogger Felix Salmon says. “I’ve been pessimistic throughout this process,” he writes. “After decades of getting exactly what they want, I just can’t believe that the banking lobby is now going to end up getting exactly what they don’t want.”

- Let Greece go to the IMF, Harvard economist Jeff Frankel suggests.

- Do e-readers cause eye strain? “It turns out the answer isn’t as black-and-white as we might assume,” NYT’s Bits blog says.

- FT Alphaville wonders where all the bonus rage has gone.

- Olympic luger dies after training crash, just hours before the opening ceremony.

- Good timing for jobless claims to post biggest weekly decline since last summer, James Picerno writes at The Capital Spectator. Drop comes on the heels of two consecutive weekly increases, which prompted fears that the declining trend since March may’ve run its course.

- Even amid the good jobless claims data, keep in mind the pace of firings has diminished, but hiring still seems to be on hold, Miller Tabak’s Peter Boockvar says.

- Financial reform chatter is getting tougher. Larry Summers is the latest to chime in. “We’re certainly emphasizing regulating the bankers now, not supporting the kind of irresponsible growth that we saw historically,” he says. Simon Johnson weighs in.

- Is Google stalling on its “new approach” to China? It’s been a month and Google still censors its search results. “Is the moral high ground the company claimed a month ago proving just a bit too high?” Digital Daily blogger John Paczkowski ponders.

- S&P 500, which firmly traded in overbought territory for months, not finds itself in oversold territory, where it’s been since mid-January, Bespoke Investment Group says.

- If treasury yields break to the upside alongside corporate bond yields, “there is a distinct possibility…that there may be no places to hide in 2010 other than perhaps the much despised US dollar,” says Mike Shedlock, an investment advisor for Sitka Pacific. “Risk is very high, and rising.”

- Dell’s latest deal, acquiring Kace Networks, looks like a “savvy” move.

- Blogs rip Google for privacy concerns surrounding Buzz.

- Furloughs, wage freezes continue at USA Today. “We will evaluate business conditions on a quarterly basis and institute a fair and equitable compensation increase plan as soon as conditions permit,” Gannett Blogger Jim Hopkins reports.

- About a quarter of the 8.4M jobs eliminated since recession began won’t be coming back, according to economists polled in WSJ’s latest survey.

- If Greece gets fixed, who’s next in line? “The hazard here is that countries, seeing the Greek precedent, refuse to take tough fiscal steps unless the path is sweetened by Germany and France,” Reuters blogger Felix Salmon says. “This isn’t the end of the euro crisis: it’s only the beginning.”

- New York Times posts decent quarterly results, at least by newspaper standards. MediaMemo blogger Peter Kafka gathers commentary from the earnings call about ad sales and pay walls.

- US trade gap widens more than expected. “Overall trade continues to increase, although both imports and exports are still below the pre-financial crisis levels,” Calculated Risk says.

- California’s debt problems makes PIIGs look miniature. “Perhaps the solution to California’s woes is for Arnold Schwarzenegger (who is from Austria) to join the EU,” Barry Ritholtz writes. “Then, they might qualify for a bailout from Germany.”

- Google says it’ll begin selling ultra-fast Internet access to consumers, a test that could threaten telecom companies’ grip and demonstrate new uses of the Web, WSJ says.

- Looking for robust growth in consumer spending? Last Friday’s report on consumer credit should give you pause, Atlanta Fed’s Macroblog says.

- Google Buzz proves exactly why Google originally wanted Yelp so badly, according to The Big Money.

- Footnoted plans to expand post-Morningstar deal.

- Populist outrage “will persist until economic conditions improve, labor markets in particular, and there is some sense that justice has prevailed,” Mark Thoma says.

- Coupons are back in fashion, which certainly says a lot about this economic recovery.

- Northeast was pounded by a blizzard that halted transportation, knocked out power, collapsed roofs and brought the federal government to a virtual standstill, WSJ reports.

- Germany’s considering a plan with its EU partners to offer Greece and other troubled euro zone members loan guarantees.

- Debt problems in Europe seem to be growing by the day. But Greece is tiny compared to the rest of Europe. So are Portugal and Ireland. Paul Krugman argues the problem is contained. But isn’t that the same thing they said about subprime in 2007?

- Barnes & Noble’s (BKS) Nook e-reader will finally be available in stores tomorrow, only about four months after original unveiling. “Better late than never. But not a lot better,” Peter Kafka says, as iPad has essentially redefined e-reader market. “It’s now Amazon’s Kindle vs Apple’s iPad.”

- Google’s (GOOG) new foray into social networking, dubbed Google Buzz, has pros and cons. Seems like a clean design, but “lacks any imagination,” Dan Frommer notes.

- Apple’s repudiation of Flash follows its same pattern with floppy drives in the first iMacs, John Paczkowski writes. “It’s a move that inevitably generates great controversy and criticism, but ultimately proves to be ahead of its time.”

- “If you want to understand Obamanomics one year out, look at the demand-side hole we’re still in, the gargantuan boomer deficit we’re heading for, and the mad-as-hell party these bad times have spawned,” former labor secretary Robert Reich says. “How Obama deals with all three will be the real economic test of his presidency.”

- EBay looks to users for help enhancing search. “It’s imperative that we have a deeper conversation with customers and buyers,” Christopher Payne, eBay VP of search, tells NYT’s Bits blog. “It’s fair to say it’s a cultural change at eBay.”

- Hiring won’t ramp up without demand. “No responsible business owner would incur additional debt to hire more workers – unless the company anticipates a major demand increase,” The Atlantic’s Daniel Indiviglio says. “I doubt that’s happening at many smaller firms right now.”

- Average length of time unemployed workers have been out of jobs is at an all-time high, NYT’s Economix blog notes.

- Morningstar buys financial blog Footnoted. Deal’s terms weren’t disclosed. “While I negotiated mightily for the keys to the Gulfstream, the corporate apartment in Paris, the company yacht, the lifetime consulting contract and, of course, a tax gross up — all crazy perks we’ve written about in various M&A deals — I came up empty handed,” Michelle Leder says. “That’s because Morningstar doesn’t believe in those sorts of things. Nor do I.”