Morning Money Links: Bernanke a step closer to a job in 2010; Citigroup makes a mess of TARP exit; SEC meets CDOs; if only you'd bought gramps' Iowa farm

--- The Senate Banking Committee votes to give Ben S. Bernanke a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, but Bernie Sanders has another idea: early retirement.

--- For shareholders, Citigroup's attempt to exit TARP has been a bust.

--- Delayed reaction: The SEC is just now looking into the debacle of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

--- The great bull market of the decade, and it may have included actual bulls: Iowa farmland.

--- Year-end list of the day: Richard Bernstein's 10 predictions for 2010. Big time for small bank stocks?

-- Tom Petruno

Photo: Senators Christopher Dodd, left, and Richard Shelby during a Senate Banking Committee vote on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.  Brendan Hoffman / Bloomberg News