Market Talk

- Populist outrage has turned Ben Bernanke’s confirmation as Fed chairman into anything but a slam dunk, Tom Petruno writes at LA Times’ Money & Co blog, as everything changed after Scott Brown’s Senate victory. “Suddenly, populism is raging — and Bernanke is a convenient target for Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike,” he says.

- Lots of speculation on when Apple (AAPL) will end its iPhone exclusivity deal with AT&T (T). But Apple was pretty vocal in its defense of the carrier on yesterday’s conference call, Digital Daily blogger John Paczkowski says.

- Stop blaming Glass-Steagall’s repeal for the crisis. “I am all for better regulation of the financial services sector, but many of the ideas floating around do not really address the core issues the industry faces,” says Chad Brand, founder and president of Peridot Capital.

- Similar to the strong earnings beat rate this quarter, the percentage of companies boosting guidance as opposed to cutting their long-term views is also strong, Bespoke reports. But the question remains: is good news already baked into stock prices?

- Expect strong spring buying season for the housing market followed by a weaker middle and end of 2010 as “weak seasonal trends and the lack of government stimulus are likely to show housing’s true colors,” the Pragmatic Capitalist says.

- Don’t expect a Facebook IPO in 2010, according to two major investors in the social networking site. PaidContent has the details.

- Put FusionIQ CEO Barry Ritholtz on the growing list of folks who think Tim Geithner’s days as Treasury Secretary may be numbered. NPR also publishes a column saying Geithner must go. But Mark Thoma would still be surprised if the administration actually removed Turbo Tim.

- Control of Stuyvesant taking center stage, WSJ reports. Creditors and potential buyers are scrambling for control after Tishman relinquished control to creditors.

- For all the recent volatility, the S&P 500 still hasn’t closed below 1091. The index has found support their four times since November. S&P 500 closed down 5 at 1092.

- Blogosphere’s buzzing about “Fear the Boom and Bust: a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem.” (Hat Tip Abnormal Returns)

- Obama unveiling the “Volcker Rule” last week was encouraging, but there are still reasons to be skeptical, Simon Johnson says. “There are very real indications that the conversation is either superficial (on the economic side of the White House) or entirely a marketing ploy (on the political side),” he says.

- A tablet may not be Apple’s (AAPL) only major announcement at Wednesday’s event. Reports are circulating that Apple could announce the end of its AT&T (T) iPhone exclusivity deal later this week.

- Speaking of Apple, the buzz surrounding Wednesday’s event and expected unveiling of the tablet is reaching epic proportions. WSJ’s Digits blog looks at some of the bizarre tablet rumors. NYT’s David Carr is amazed at how Apple can drum up so much buzz without saying anything. And David Pogue says “The only thing we know for sure about the Apple tablet is that we don’t know anything for sure.”

- Are stocks ignoring earnings? Or has the market already priced in a strong earnings season? Bespoke weighs in.

- Disappointing existing home sales data this morning, but new home sales is what really matters for the economy, Calculated Risk says.

- Journalists, economists, bloggers and others weigh in on the troubles facing Ben Bernanke’s confirmation as Fed chairman. WSJ’s Real Time Economics has the details.

- Insider buying falls to a new low for week ending Jan. 20, while insider selling remains high. Not surprising corporate insiders are expressing little faith in their own shares. “As of now, signs of a sustained rebound in earnings and revenues remain mixed,” the Pragmatic Capitalist blog says.

- Sun Micro (JAVA) CEO Jonathan Schwartz is set to resign, leaving JAVA in hands of new owner Oracle (ORCL), Digital Daily blogger John Paczkowski reports, citing sources close to Sun.

- Tishman gives up Stuyvesant Project to its creditors in the collapse of one of the most high-profile deals of the real-estate boom, WSJ reports.

- StockTwits acquires the financial news aggregator Abnormal Returns, which is great all-around for the econoblogosphere and one-man blogs in particular, Felix Salmon says.