By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): It’s not an award I would want. First Putin, then Obama, now Bernanke. Big Ben is not joining the best of company with his “Person of the year” award. If history is an indication, the Fed boss’ approval rating will be significantly lower in the next twelve months.

As if being the master of the secret domain known as the Federal Reserve isn’t a hard enough job to handle, Time goes and slaps Bernanke on the cover and tells us the award is due not because of where Bernanke got us today, but because of where we have not ventured.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): I spent most of my weekend in the attic of my century-old house. I wasn’t hiding from a hormonal, pregnant wife. She’s been fairly tame lately. And it wasn’t to escape a surprise in-law attack.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): Want to know when a specific trend has no legs? Simple, when the government backs it, you know its DOA.

Just ask the folks that dumped millions into the biofuels industry. I have never seen an industry fall off the map as quickly as ethanol, except maybe clean coal, but that’s a whole different story.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore – (TFN): Get ready for Stimulus Version 2.0. With unemployment in double-digit territory, credit still tight and consumers refusing to part with their cash, it’s obvious Washington’s first bailout did nothing but put the nation even further in debt and give China an even larger stake of the country’s financial future.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): As we get older, the list of regrets grows. It’s natural. The more days we put in, the more mistakes we make. Hopefully, the list of successes grows even faster, but today’s about the mistakes.

We’ll say it’s in honor of Tiger Woods, the last celeb to bit nibble the forbidden fruit.

We all have regrets. The house we should have bought. The car we shouldn’t have sold. The girl we should have taken to prom. Or the pilot we shouldn’t have trusted.

Baltimore — (TFN): Do you think Rupert Murdoch and his multi-billion-dollar buggy whip factory is getting nervous? Unless the prince of print media single-handedly transforms an industry, his empire will come crashing down.

This story goes well beyond Murdoch’s decision to start charging for his company’s online news content.

Baltimore — (TFN): With a sick, pregnant wife, it is tough to get a good night’s sleep. Between the coughing, the sneezing, the nose blowing and the five-times-a-night bathroom visits, there’s not a lot of time for rapid eye movement.

That’s okay. It gives me plenty of time to stare at the ceiling and think.

Last night, on the heels of Obama’s speech, I had a lot on my mind. While talking about the military struggles in Afghanistan, the 11-month president looked very “Bushish.” Whether you find that a good quality or not, is up to you.

Baltimore — (TFN): Another drop in the dollar and another big day for the equities markets. And yes, gold is on the rise as well, precariously perched at the psychologically pertinent $1,200 an ounce mark.

Enough alliteration. Let’s talk business.

Baltimore — (TFN): One good thing about kids is they are predictable. Give them five bucks and say they’ve got just one hour to spend it or it goes into their savings account and can bet another five bucks the cash will be spent by minute 59.

It’s the same way for politicians. Give them some cash and they’ll have it spent in no time flat, even if they can’t find anything worth buying.

Baltimore — (TFN): It looks like we found out what President Obama was actually doing in China last week. When he wasn’t bowing to foreign leaders or taking tours of historic China, our leader was giving the Chinese some financial advice.

Isn’t that a scary thought?

Just a couple of days after Obama touched down in Washington, China makes a very American decree. It’s telling its banks it had better shore up their capital situations or face strong sanctions from the government.