Margareta Pagano



Profile:


Full name: Margareta Pagano

Area of interest: Business and Finance

Journals: The Independent on Sunday and The Independent

Email: [mailto:m.pagano@independent.co.uk m.pagano@independent.co.uk]

Website: Independent.co / Margareta Pagano

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Biography:
Education:

Career: Sunday Correspondent; City editor, 1989/1990; wrote for The Sunday Times and was a founding editor (in 1996) of the City newspaper and online news service Financial News, leaving in 2004; worked freelance for a range of papers, including The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, The Times; joined The Independent on Sunday, as business editor, beginning of 2008 Current position/role: Business editor


 * also writes/has written for: (regular contributor) The Spectator, the First Post

Other roles: business consultant

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The Independent on Sunday:
Column remit: Business and finance

Section:

Role: Business editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:m.pagano@independent.co.uk m.pagano@independent.co.uk]

Website: Independent.co / Margareta Pagano

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Sunday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format: (usually) one lead item, plus two other

Average length:



Articles: 2011

 * Smith's investors are right to revolt'' - Whenever I venture into a WH Smith shop, my heart sinks as the assistants are so miserable, their service sloppy and finding even the plainest of envelopes is a chore - 30th January
 * will scare Miliband more than the Tories'' -T he 'light touch' adviser now poses a heavy threat - 23rd January
 * reform is the only way to save banking'' - The last time I met Professor Larry Kotlikoff was over dinner at the London School of Economics nearly a year ago, after he gave his first riveting lecture in Britain explaining why he's so convinced the financial system needs drastic reform - 16th January
 * blaming the weather and get your thermals on'' - The winners and losers on the high street - 9th January
 * time to bring in the quotas; 20 years on, it's still a man's world'' - When Kathleen O'Donovan became the first female finance director of a FTSE 100 company nearly 20 years ago, her new job made the front pages - 2nd January



Articles: 2010

 * is the only way to reform our tax'' - Something is deeply disturbing about a government which steam-rollers controversial changes to higher education funding through yet shows no inclination to reform regulations which allow British companies to avoid millions in tax - 26th December
 * inconvenient truth about bankers'' - If the coalition is to find a way to waltz out of the bonus row, it needs somehow to execute a high kick clothed in a soft shoe - 19th December
 * fat banker and his HK$1m bet'' - Publish and be damned: The Government should make public the FSA's report into the Royal Bank of Scotland collapse - 12th December
 * Blanchflower needs leashing'' - The TV and radio soundbites are too short to give the proper context to Professor David Blanchflower's inflammatory outpourings against Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England - 5th December
 * Mr Cameron, is a new British Rail'' - Privatisation produced complication not competition. It let commuters down - 28th November
 * for women! Why their time has come'' - France's Finance Minister was set against forcing firms to put more females on their boards, but she has changed her mind – and with good reason - 21st November
 * to boost housing? Ask the boy from Bovis'' - David Ritchie, the chief executive of Bovis Homes, is not sure whether to laugh or cry - 31st October
 * Osborne is clever, he'll spread a little sunshine'' - The Chancellor's cuts have been broadly well-received by business, but now he must prove he is more than just a slasher and help regions most in need - 24th October
 * Osborne: You must heed the danger of division'' - A 1920s Steiff Harlequin teddy bear – being sold by a disgraced hedge fund manager – was bought for £46,850 at Christie's last Wednesday while the whole teddy collection fetched more than £1m - 17th October
 * an art to funding science after the cuts'' - And the Rolls-Royce prize points the way - 10th October
 * has its own good reasons for backing 'Red' Ed'' - If City bankers had been voting for the Labour leadership, Ed Miliband would have beaten his brother with a proper grown-up majority rather than the tiny 1.3 percentage points he managed - 3rd October
 * talks like Robespierre – but he's in danger of turning into Mr Prescott'' - When the historians come to write up their accounts of the Great Recession, it may be that the events of last week prove to be the most momentous since the financial crash two years ago - 26th September
 * Stuart's rosy future will smell as sweet'' - You know people are really famous when they are known by their first names only - 19th September
 * Barclays become the Diamond Bank?'' - Thousands of words have been written about the elevation of Bob Diamond to the top job at Barclays last week, ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous – but I'm not sure any of us are any wiser about its real significance, either to the future of the bank or, indeed, the future of the banking industry - 12th September
 * guilt for dinner – served up by the jilted young'' - There's a new and noisy book just out which you must read to discover why the young and the old are shouting at each other over the supper table in a way I've not heard since those great divides over drugs'n'rock'n'roll or even the Iraq invasion - 5th September
 * even think about banning the right to strike'' - Unions and bosses should work together to keep jobs - 8th August
 * wait till Mervyn gets his cricket bat out'' - Governor is livid at banks' 'heart-breaking' behaviour - 1st August
 * for a credit squeeze on big takeover bids'' - Lend to small businesses, not predators on the prowl - 25th July
 * I right about the Ocado listing? I was – and how'' - When is a float not a float? When it's a rights issue by an outfit whose founding investors are fleeing - 18th July
 * our banking system is in rehab – but will it work?'' Reforming our high-street highwaymen is no easy task - 11th July
 * bosses sip champagne with hope in their hearts – but concern in their minds'' - Industrialists turn out in force for The Spectator's annual bash, but beneath the fun there lurks a more sombre mood - 4th July
 * should be like Martini; anytime, anyplace, anywhere'' - Tricky times mean the precious metal is hard to find - 27th June
 * far do we have to drill to find BP's chairman?'' - Carl-Henric Svanberg is conspicuous by his absence as his company faces disaster - 6th June
 * deal: The Pru can pull it off if the price is right'' - If Thiam strikes a bargain, he could yet get green light - 30th May
 * needs a new back-up plan to save the euro'' - Damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't. You can't help but feel sympathy for Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, as she tries to hold together the euro and her voters - 23rd May
 * need Roubini's brains if we want banking reform'' -The Government should listen to Dr Doom - 16th May
 * hung parliament just might be the best thing all round'' - After all, most of the world's triple-A rated countries are ruled by coalitions - 9th May
 * is caught on the horns of a Greek dilemma'' - Chancellor faces an imminent election – and an unpopular bail-out decision - 2nd May
 * need to grow a spine and sort out the banks'' - Banker-bashing has worked and the exodus has begun - 25th April
 * the Tories' NI plans play at the Dog & Whistle'' - Labour's 1 per cent rise is seen as a tax on jobs - 11th April
 * shocks for the world's big carmakers'' - Two big events last week on opposite sides of the world will shake up the car industry forever, but the way we drive is likely to change most dramatically due to a third, quieter upheaval - 4th April
 * encores for this sourpuss in Boots'' - Television sting shows how proud Patricia Hewitt is of her lobbying skills. It's time MPs minded their own business - 28th March
 * rider should be heavier than his horse, Darling'' - Chancellor's Budget must stimulate jobs as well - 21st March
 * John Lewis's Andy is streets ahead'' - The best moment in the first part of BBC's new fly-on-the-wall series, Inside John Lewis, shown last week, was hearing the managing director, Andy Street, explain why he didn't mind not being paid the millions he could earn if he were working elsewhere on the high street - 14th March
 * mutual paid off at Spain's top football clubs'' - It's not just the brilliance of the footballers at Real Madrid and Barcelona that British clubs should be looking to for inspiration but the way the Spanish teams are run. Both are mutual organisations, owned by their supporters who are responsible for electing management - 7th March
 * the politicians for RBS's bonuses'' - If you haven't bumped into any bankers at dinner parties recently it's not because they daren't go out but because they have invented new jobs. Some call themselves analysts, others whisper they are in financial research - 28th February
 * Bang: The unintended consequences'' - Turning super-rich US lending banks loose in the UK led to catastrophic takeovers – let's return to good old Eighties M&As - 21st February
 * the Big Beast about to oust Bullingdon Boy?'' - Latest Westminster rumour gains currency in the City - 14th February
 * markets declare war on the politicians'' - Optimistic investors force governments to act - 7th February
 * than any Stephen King story'' - Our huckster-driven banking systems will plunge us into a horror of a crisis, warns a US professor – but, he says, he can fix it - 31st January
 * dreams of the future deserve support'' - Volcker's ideas just need a little more beef - 24th January
 * it soft-centred to want Cadbury to stay British?'' - The French would pull up the drawbridge in a flash - 17th January



Articles: 2009

 * got it wrong. Blair and Brown did too. Can Cameron get it right?'' - The problem was Britain's plunge into industrial chaos in the 1970s, which then prime minister Thatcher thought was due to bolshy trade unions and rigid work practices - 20th December
 * they stay or should they go?'' - Chancellor Alistair Darling's punitive PBR has provoked a fightback by the Square Mile and could even lead to a new brain drain - 13th December
 * the brand maketh the sportsman?'' - Shareholders are starting to ask if the superstars they fund so lavishly are really good for business - 6th December
 * one should feel sorry for the Dubai speculators'' - The celebrities broke the first principle of investing - 29th November
 * our shareholder democracy all it's cracked up to be?'' - The Kraft-Cadbury takeover battle raises questions - 22nd November
 * been a long haul for BA and Iberia, but now they must avoid a crash landing at the altar'' - Before the Anglo-Spanish wedding, Walsh faces a £3bn-plus pension deficit, hostile unions and a quandary – what will the new airline be like - 15th November
 * at an Aldi discount, Lloyds is still a gamble'' - It's hard to believe our banks were the envy of Europe - 8th November
 * for a banker's wife's frock? Oh, please'' - WAG-chat in a Kensington café shows what's so wrong with banks and bonuses - 25th October
 * the school age to six to boost British literacy'' - Business chiefs are right to whip up schools debate - 18th October
 * money men have already priced in a Tory victory'' - The City's big hitters are happy with the more mature George Osborne, but to win a big majority his party will have to address small business and manufacturing - 11th October
 * need clean exporters: BAE should do a deal'' - Serious Fraud Office is right to pursue arms company - 4th October
 * 'snub' shows Britain is now Continental'' - One thing is clear – Europe needs to hear the UK - 27th September
 * your loins, Dave – or face a real EU car crash'' - Tory leader should brace up and read Booker contender 'Wolf Hall' for a lesson on how not to deal with Europe - 20th September
 * legacy is not just about money, it's also about character'' - It's taken a TV account to show us that, as the world teetered on the edge, it came down to a bare-knuckle fight between egomaniacs - 13th September
 * spin? Ignore it, the real story is in a small Swiss town'' - It's the FSB in Basel that has the clout on bankers' pay - 6th September
 * nationalise or not – that's a tricky question'' - Banks just won't lend, so what's a Chancellor to do? - 23rd August
 * nod to the new global superpower'' - 'Please be nice to us' was the subtext of the President's words as China begins to challenge the West's domination of the world - 2nd August
 * and sexism in the City? Let's hear what the men, as well as the women, have to say'' - Are women wimps? Are men misogynists? The Treasury hearings will decide, or we could just ask Sweaty Betty, Hosepipe and Anne Boleyn - 26th July
 * century on and Macmillan could inspire a route to bridge the capital gap'' - How about this for Groundhog day: "By the end of World War 1 successive merger waves had produced an oligopolistic, tightly cartelized, English banking system - 26th July
 * Sir David ... the only code our boardrooms need is a code of honour'' - Britain's boardrooms will soon have as many codes to break as GCHQ - 19th July
 * Pi man is no square, and he's livid over EU rules'' - 'Parts of UK financial industry could be decimated' - 12th July
 * Bullingdon Man the perfect City reformer?'' - The other day I had lunch (okay, a sandwich) with someone who was close to Gordon Brown and Tony Blair at the beginning of their reign, and she remembers that even then they would discuss their future after politics - 5th July
 * what does BP's choice of chief say about us Brits?'' - Svanberg highlights a sad dearth of home talent - 28th June
 * kicks like Le Tissier, but will he score a goal?'' - In the end – and thank goodness – it is the historians, not the professional commentariat, the lobby-fed hacks, the passing-through politicians, the careerist civil servants or some of the clowns masquerading as experts, who will get to decide the heroes and the villains of the 2009 financial crisis - 21st June
 * brilliant City financiers? They're all tarts at heart'' - One of the City's most blue-blooded stockbrokers once told me there is a simple reason why London has been the hub of global finance for more than 300 years – British financiers are brilliant hustlers - 14th June
 * has Sir Alan been hired as 'enterprise tsar'?'' - My list of business people to advise companies would not include Sugar - 8th June
 * balls, please, at the Treasury'' - With the economy in such a shocking state, Labour's only hope is a sharp U-turn on public spending – but does it dare? - 7th June
 * and broken-up – GM may need more than a loan'' - We have coughed up for the banks, so why not for our auto industry? - 1st June
 * Britain is just as bad as Westminster'' - Executives' bonuses, MPs' expenses – same thing - 31st May
 * votes are the only way to make Europe work for us'' - Politicians need to catch up with cross-border firms - 17th May
 * call for more women at the top is bang-on'' - They're talented and represent half the population. Is there a better reason for putting them on the board? - 10th May
 * don't deserve to be hunted to death'' - Once again, the Brussels bureaucrats have got the wrong enemy with their latest attack on the hedge fund and private equity industries - 3rd May
 * the time for Cameron to set the battle lines'' - Tories need to take on Brown the class warrior - 26th April
 * and friends are why I could not stand as an MP'' - The people I talk to aren’t apathetic about politics – they are apoplectic - 13th April
 * over, Darling - here's your Budget'' - With just 10 days to go, and after intensive discussions with my local newsagent and other top industrialists, please accept my advice - 12th April
 * Thiam: Pru's international man of finance'' - It doesn't matter if he's black or white, the insurer's new – and French-educated – boss joins a cosmopolitan club of FTSE 100 chiefs - 22nd March
 * recession made for Sir Alan Sugar'' - Tougher times bring out the pioneer in people - 18th March
 * to Sants - don't unleash a mad-dog regulator'' - FSA should focus on putting principles into practice - 15th March
 * Office probe is the only way to rebuild confidence'' - We can't rely on anyone else to sort out the banks - 1st March
 * Street must wait for the Messiah to speak'' - Markets look for a miracle from Obama's government - 22nd February
 * Brown: Revenge of the whistleblower'' - A former HBOS executive says he has documents that prove the Prime Minister must take responsibility for the mess in the markets - 15th February (with Jane Merrick)
 * new reality and the nuclear option for banks'' - Dabbling in investment and broking has to stop - 15th February
 * time we must listen to the black swan'' - Nassim Nicholas Taleb is making ripples again. The brilliant author of The Black Swan has set up a petition on his Facebook page calling on the US government to force bankers to give back their bonuses - 8th February
 * is the one to lead us out of this mess'' - British leaders should follow the US President's example - 1st February
 * the IMF the only answer for a bankrupt Britain?'' - Was David Cameron being mischievous when he warned that Britain may have to go to the International Monetary Fund to rescue the economy or is it a real possibility? - 25th January
 * will not allow a modern Greek tragedy'' - The richer EU states will bail out their southern peer - 18th January
 * is not just an excuse - it's an M&S excuse'' - Rose is unlikely to be the only boss to use the recession to hide poor management decisions - 11th January



Articles: 2008

 * super-rich still rule our economy'' - In this season of grand and gloomy forecasts, retail experts are unusually united in predicting carnage on the high street but they are slower to agree about the future of shopping for the super rich - 29th December 2008
 * rollercoaster to helter-skelter'' - Stock markets set to tumble again, sterling braced for a battering, but it's not – quite – all doom and gloom - 28th December 2008
 * age of greed embodied by Madoff's victims'' - 21st December 2008 (Summary of Bernard Madoff news articles here)
 * King Coal deserves a new coronation'' - Arthur Scargill may have been a dinosaur when it came to restructuring his industry but he was a trailblazer in recognising the importance of coal to the economy - 14th December 2008
 * Gordon Brown will eat his wife's hat'' - Essex and HSBC show alternative microcredit ideas - 7th December 2008
 * need equity to become equitable'' - People who buy shares are taxed more than if they go to the dogs - 1st December 2008
 * egos, move over, women are retail's best hope'' - Female chiefs show they're in touch with shoppers - 30th November 2008
 * small firms. Tax cuts won't even be a short-term fix'' - The Government must boost the real economy - 23rd November 2008
 * could come out of this crisis in much better shape'' - 16th November 2008
 * ifs or butts: Obama has to stick to his guns'' - 9th November 2008
 * Bank can do its job. What about the rest of them?'' - We should focus on lending and the national debt - 26th October 2008
 * beef up the Old Lady. The FSA is a lightweight'' - Tory proposals for a renewed Bank of England role in City regulation are a good starting point for change - 19th October 2008
 * bankers don't deserve to keep their jobs'' - 12th October 2008
 * China tip the US 'balance of financial terror'?'' - Ultimately, it is the Chinese and Middle Eastern governments – and their taxpayers, which will decide the fate of the biggest financial rescue plan in history - 5th October 2008
 * hero to zero as Paulson's own stock takes a dive'' - Critics let rip over Treasury Secretary's handling of money meltdown as Congress mulls $700bn rescue - 28th September 2008 (see also Paulson and Bernanke savaged over bailout plan)
 * Sir Victor's deal of a lifetime given the markets a lifeline?'' - Now the Lloyds chairman must make the HBOS takeover work - 21st September 2008
 * last thing our housing market needs is to be propped up'' - Mervyn King should be congratulated for refusing to bail out lenders - 14th September 2008
 * not 'super rich' on £100,000, but the TUC has a point on tax'' - 7th September 2008
 * battering taken by BAA is enough to give any chairman air rage'' - The Competition Commission's report is ill timed and ill conceived, blaming the airports authority for a situation beyond its control - 24th August 2008
 * His holiday's cancelled. But Zapatero has more important things to do'' - Spanish PM hopes tax breaks and housing loans will prevent recession - 17th August 2008
 * If Jobs is a genius, why isn't he talking about Apple's succession? - The group's shares are too vulnerable to fears for the founder's health - 27th July 2008
 * Hank the Hammer - the superhero who saved the US from meltdown - It's Paulson to the rescue again, averting the Freddie and Fannie crisis - 20th July 2008
 * A capital crunch is coming if cash calls aren't speeded up - The Treasury must grasp the nettle if the City is to keep its reputation - 13th July 2008
 * Financial experts are eating humble pie – as well as cheap risotto - 6th July 2008
 * Qatar is the new Venice and London has missed the boat - After losing out on a partnership deal, the LSE could fall prey to the ambitious emirate - 29th June 2008
 * Swap the Deutschmark for the euro and it feels like 1987 all over again - A rate rise in Europe could soon trigger the next Black Monday - 22nd June 2008
 * Yes, it’s a crisis – but liquid gold will also oil the wheels of invention - Whatever the price of a barrel, the car industry is set to change for ever - 15th June 2008
 * The English gentlemen failed at B&B. But can the Texans succeed? - It beggars belief that management didn't realise how bad things were - 8th June 2008
 * Eco-warriors couldn't do it, but the black stuff might consign the car to history - The combustion engine won't be economic if people can't afford petrol - 25th May 2008
 * It's musical chairs on the exchanges and Clara Furse must be the conductor - 18th May 2008
 * Carphone Warehouse's US connections ring all the right bells for Dunstone - Best Buy deal to 'revolutionise' European electronics retailing - 11th May 2008
 * New Beowulf takesa swipe at the City'sover-paid dragons - Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, is in danger of becoming a hero, a Beowulf for our times - 4th May 2008
 * All that glisters in the deep gloom of the global markets is gold - 27th April 2008
 * Arrogance got Sir Fred into this mess. The herd instinct could get him out - The RBS boss's decision to raise the final dividend to shareholders beggars belief. But he still might be able to salvage his reputation - 20th April 2008
 * The runners in the race for the White House should stop and listen to Soros - The financier's proposals for sorting out the credit crisis and staving off meltdown in the housing market need to be taken seriously - 13th April 2008
 * Besmirched by sub-prime, UBS is in no position to ignore Luqman's letter - As a former chief executive of the Swiss bank, the Olivant financier is well qualified to put together a rescue plan – and his timing is perfect - 6th April 2008
 * Can the Nicky Clarke of Threadneedle Street snip his way out of this credit crisis? - It's gridlock in the lending market and Mervyn King wants to get things moving. One option is for the Bank of England to do some 'haircutting' - 30th March 2008
 * A long weekend off is just what the markets need - 23rd March 2008
 * Like an angst-filled arthouse movie. But the banks could give us a happy ending - Maybe shocks to the system are needed to get confidence going again - 16th March 2008
 * Let them eat scallops - the Tories find they're guests of honour in the City - Square Mile warms to Conservatives as Darling courts cold shoulder - 9th March 2008
 * Would Gordon Brown have taxed Einstein too? - 24th February 2008
 * There's no gain, just pain – you can bank on it - 3rd Febuary 2008
 * Savage for SocGen and a slap in the Fed's face - 27th January 2008
 * For Labour's sake, it must try to sell the Rock - 20th January 2008
 * Osborne's chance to scrap our Soviet rules - 13th January 2008



Business & City Editors:

 • Damian Reece (The Daily Telegraph) • Mark Kleinman (The Sunday Telegraph) • David Wighton (The Times) • John Waples (The Sunday Times) • John Willman (Financial Times) • Deborah Hargreaves (The Guardian) • Ruth Sunderland (The Observer) • Jeremy Warner (The Independent) • Margareta Pagano (The Independent on Sunday) • Michael Williams (Wall Street Journal Europe) • Alex Brummer (Daily Mail) • Stephen Kahn (Daily Express)'''

