Jay Hancock is a financial and economics columnist for The (Baltimore) Sun. Prior to starting the column in 2001, Hancock was The Sun's chief diplomatic correspondent in Washington. He has also served as the paper's economics correspondent and as business editor for the Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star of Norfolk. This is his third time as a Loeb finalist. Hancock holds a master's in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's in English literature from Colgate University.