Budget 2013: good for builders and banks; bad news for the rest of us

There were both good and not-so-good ideas in this year's Budget. Phil Oakley looks at the pros and cons, and what it all means for the economy - and for your money.

Britain's economy is still in deep trouble.

Chancellor George Osborne threw out a few eye-catching initiatives, which we'll cover in more detail shortly. Some were good ideas: the drop in small companies' national insurance bills is good news, as is the scrapping of stamp duty on Aim shares - my colleague Tom Bulford will be pleased about that one, I reckon.

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2012-13119.5114
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Phil spent 13 years as an investment analyst for both stockbroking and fund management companies.

 

After graduating with a MSc in International Banking, Economics & Finance from Liverpool Business School in 1996, Phil went to work for BWD Rensburg, a Liverpool based investment manager. In 2001, he joined ABN AMRO as a transport analyst. After a brief spell as a food retail analyst, he spent five years with ABN's very successful UK Smaller Companies team where he covered engineering, transport and support services stocks.

 

In 2007, Phil joined Halbis Capital Management as a European equities analyst. He began writing for MoneyWeek in 2010.