FTSE back near highs following UK budget

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, delivered a confident pre-election budget that contained almost as many politically swipes at the opposition as it did policy changes.  This was never going to be a giveaway budget so close to the election but there were some key changes targeted at savers and investors.  The lifetime pension limit was lowered from £1.25 million to £1 million but with the new lower limit being inflation linked. Annuity holders will be allowed to sell their income to a third party and draw down the proceeds over time.  A new help-to-buy ISA will subsidise savers with 25p for every £1 for those saving up to £200 per month up to a total of £3,000.  Normal ISA savers will be able to withdraw and replace money from their ISAs within the same tax year. The biggest change was the growth and spending assumptions in 2019/20.  Citing low interest rates and lower inflation, Osborne, a scaling back of cuts to public services. The FTSE rose 1.6% to 6945.20