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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, a lightning rod for anger over Wall Street bailouts, is expected to overcome Senate opposition and win a second term as head of the nation's central bank.

The Senate has scheduled a key vote Thursday that will determine whether Bernanke has at least 60 senators on his side to beat a filibuster aimed at blocking his reappointment. Senate leaders from both parties expressed confidence he would prevail.

On Thursday, President Obama will follow up the State of the Union address with an announcement that his administration is releasing $8 billion in funding for high-speed rail lines. This program, which Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will discuss in a town hall assembly in Tampa, Fla., will provide financing for 13 rail corridors spread over 31 states.

New York City's real estate market will recover ahead of other areas of the country, perhaps by the end of the year, predicts Manhattan real estate mogul Elie Hirschfeld. The president of Hirschfeld Properties, who owns more than 1,000 apartments and in excess of 1 million square feet of commercial space in the metropolitan area, says most of New York's overbuilt office space inventory will finally be absorbed in 2010. What's more, he expects more distressed properties will become available through deals or foreclosure sales. Furthermore, developers will have the opportunity to begin repositioning themselves as land, construction and renovation costs drop to more reasonable levels.

Back in October, I reported that Atlantic Media had hired Michael Kinsley, the Slate founder and all-purpose genius, to develop and launch a business-news site. The site is still coming along, but Kinsley, it turns out, won't be its editor. The search is on for someone to replace him, Kinsley confirms to DailyFinance.

Last weekend, when most sports fans were watching the NFL playoffs, pro bowler Kelly Kulick made history. Kulick is the first woman to win a Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association tournament. If you hadn't heard about her feat, you're not alone. Her obscurity is a testament to the sport's marketing challenges.

After just a year on the job, Borders (BGP) CEO Ron Marshall is leaving the company to become CEO of the supermarket chain A&P, according to The Wall Street Journal. The news comes just one day after the book retailer posted dismal holiday earnings, a few days after fending off reports that it was delaying payments to small publishers, and with up to 15% of Borders' workforce facing layoffs later this week.

Attempting to set a socially-responsible tone, the organizers of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland have announced that participants cannot use limousines, SUVs, or other gas guzzlers at the conference. Unless they happen to be government leaders. Or regular government officials. And, to be completely clear, limos are not actually banned: bankers who show up in them just won't be able to park in the special green-pass security areas. So it looks like the bottom line is this: Prius drivers won't have to walk quite as far as their more wasteful brethren.

Below are some of the best reads for investors from around the Web:

An all too common story: the downfall of a hedge fund wunderkind.
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Why next month's stock market returns could be great.
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What Jeff Matthews learned from writing a book about Warren Buffett.
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It's time to send Fed Chair Ben Bernanke back to Princeton University. Bernanke is an expert in Depression-era economics, and his decision to flood financial markets with cash probably saved the U.S. from the fate the nation suffered in the 1930s. But Bernanke lacks the know-how the U.S. needs now -- how to use Fed policy to create job growth. That's why I'd replace him with an economist who understands something about how to generate employment.

Ben Bernanke, whose term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board expires Jan. 31, should be confirmed by Congress for another term. Bernanke has amply proved that his knowledge of the mistakes made during the Great Depression has helped the U.S. avoid a second one.

Typical Americans might be wondering: Why should I care whether Ben Bernanke is reappointed as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board?

All this discussion about whether or not the Senate will confirm Bernanke for a second term can seem very removed from your everyday life. Supporting yourself (and perhaps a family) is hard enough, never mind whether you should support President Obama's choice of the bearded economist for another term running a board of other economists doing who knows exactly what.

The recession has undermined the pilings supporting many once-stable organizations, ranging from financial institutions to restaurants to newspaper publishers. Now the economy may claim another victim: The Philadelphia Orchestra. The 110-year old cultural mainstay may declare bankruptcy after ticket sales dwindled this season and its endowment failed to meet its goal, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

On Monday, Tishman Speyer Properties announced its decision to give up ownership of Manhattan's massive Peter Cooper Village (PCV) and Stuyvesant Town housing complexes. As this project, the biggest single-property real estate deal in history, imploded, it became a symbol of an overloaded real estate market bloated on a glut of hype, money and boundless optimism.

Eric Butler, a former broker with Credit Suisse, had a lot to be worried about when he walked into the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Friday for sentencing. A jury had found him guilty of misleading his clients into believing they were purchasing low-risk, auction rate securities backed by student loans, with federal guarantees. Instead, the hapless clients were sold high-risk, high-commission auction rate securities backed by home mortgage assets.

You can hardly blame Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google (GOOG) was founded more than ten years ago, and at the current price of $545, the company's shares trade near a two-year high. The world's largest search engine company just announced its revenue rose 17% in the last quarter, to $6.67 billion, the fastest pace of expansion in a year. Google has moved into the world of mobile operating systems and the move has been highly successful in its early stage.