Baltimore: If today’s action from the markets is any indication of what investors think about Uncle Sam and his Washington minions, the upcoming mid-term election is going to get interesting.

Nothing talks in Washington any louder than money.

By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com

Baltimore — (TFN): Well, look at that. There are consequences for our actions. Even in this day and age when it is virtually illegal to step on your neighbor’s toes or wish the corner beggar a Merry Christmas, we are still held responsible for our wrongdoings.

Just ask Balloon Boy’s old man. The trickster just got sentenced to ninety days in jail, with two thirds of the time allocated to a work release program. But even better than his time defending himself from shivs and bathroom sneak attacks is the four-year time span in which it is illegal for him to profit from his eye-popping stunt.

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): Sometimes you just know it is going to be a rough couple of days. As you read this, my soft-hearted, pregnant wife is recovering from a fairly significant surgery. That alone is enough to raise the blood pressure.

But at the same time my better half is asking for a stronger morphine drip, the weatherman is calling for a foot of snow. And worse yet, the phone is ringing off the hook with long-time friends wanting to take advantage of perfect waterfowl hunting conditions.

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): 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): 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): 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.

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.