Cassell, longtime FT reporter, dies at 71

Michael Cassell, who spent 30 years reporting for the Financial Times, has died at the age of 71.

David Walker of the FT writes, “Then came the business desk of the Daily Express and, in 1971, the industry team of the FT, reuniting him with his old Birmingham boss, Harold Bolter.

“It was about to be a time of great change on the FT as the newspaper gave much more prominence to hard business news, increased its pagination and developed its international reach — just the place for an ambitious young reporter.

“Cassell rose magnificently to the challenge. From industrial reporting, with an emphasis on the West Midlands companies he knew so well, he became a specialist writer on building, construction, and building societies.

“Politics had always been a great interest, and so his move to this beat — becoming the FT’s chief political correspondent — was a natural progression. Cassell’s reporting skills and his understanding of the interface between politics and business, plus his good judgment, meant that he shone — to the great benefit of the FT’s readers.”

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