It's the Economy! (Stupid)

"A universally helpful and insightful book. I particularly liked the straightforward charts and summary points. It should be a reference manual for everyone interested in the US economy."

David Gamble
Former Chief Executive
British Airways Pension
Investment Management Ltd

Patric Hale grew up in Connecticut. He pursued his education in Europe, studying 20th century European political science and history with studies in Aix-en-Provence and West Berlin during the height of the Cold War. He received his BA (Hons) from Schiller College Berlin as Valedictorian and his MA in International Relations and Business from Schiller International University with studies in West Berlin, Strasbourg and Paris.

His professional career includes senior positions with prestigious international financial media, including Director of Conferences-Europe for Institutional Investor, Publisher of Corporate Finance, Manager of Business Development for Euromoney, and Managing Director EMEA for Global Finance. He also was a founding partner of a media representation firm in Europe with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt and Geneva. Amongst his clients were Fortune, Asian Finance, Harvard Business Review, Scientific American, Travel & Leisure, and the Financial Post of Canada.

He was also Regional Vice President for Central & Eastern Europe for CNN International. In this function he built out CNN's network throughout the region after the fall of the Berlin Wall, bringing CNN's free press to the former Warsaw Pact including Russia. Promoted to Senior Vice President & Commercial Director for both CNN and Turner Broadcasting for EMEA, he was also responsible for new technology and joint ventures throughout the region.

Mr. Hale has been active in overseas American politics as a Director of American Citizens Abroad, a bi-partisan organization set up to lobby Congress on issues affecting the 4 million Americans living overseas. In this capacity he has lobbied Congress on a regular basis for over 30 years on issues of taxation, nationality, social security, Medicare, voting rights, and other issues facing overseas Americans.

He returned to the USA 10 years ago as Executive Vice President for North America for Euromoney magazine.

Mr. Hale has spent half his life - more than 25 years - living in Europe and traveling around the world including throughout Asia. He's had first-hand experience in witnessing the transformation of Europe, Middle East and Asia since the early 70s, including the fall of the Wall and the change from communism to free markets and democratic institutions in the former Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union. Thus his knowledge of the global economy and financial markets is both academic as well as first-hand. He speaks French, Germany, Italian, and Dutch (his wife is Dutch).

Consequently, "It's the Economy! (Stupid)" is well beyond an academic treatise on the subject and brings a truly unique personal perspective on the development of the new global economy and America's changing competitive position within it.