By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): You don’t believe all the hype do you? As we close out another year and another decade, the pundits are busy rehashing the action of the past ten years.

The political types are discussing the rise and fall of the Bush administration, a couple of wars and the nation’s first black president. The Hollywood folks are talking about the end of the sitcom, the death of an icon and the phenomenon that is American Idol.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): We all have a friend like him. For me it’s a guy named Greg. He has some great ideas and his entrepreneurial spirit runs deep, but for some reason, his plans never seem to make it to fruition. Somewhere from the drawing board to the production line, he runs into a debilitating snag.

Most of the time, it’s money.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): Somebody get a bucket because I’m about to puke. I am having an impossible time trying to digest what I’m reading and hearing this week.

How could things have gotten this bad?

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): There’s something about snow – we got two more inches last night – that makes me want to go fly fishing. It’s a great example of the contrarian streak that runs deep within.

If you’ve ever fished any of the Eastern seaboard’s popular trout streams, you know they are popular places almost any time of the year. But from April through September, you had better bring your helmet. It’s combat fishing in most sections.

I love Barron’s “Big Money” poll. Most people read Barron’s looking for investment ideas. So twice a year, Barron’s gives readers what they think they want. The magazine conducts a poll of money managers, asking them about their favorite investments. I look forward to the Big Money poll… but for different reasons than you might think.