Firms raise U.s. growth estimates on stimulus bet

Several major financial firms have upped their forecasts for u.s. economic growth based on expectations that President Joe biden’s proposed us$1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill will come to fruition and bolster the recovery from pandemic-related shutdowns. hsbc holdings, europe’s largest bank, raised its estimated full-year 2021 GDP growth forecast by 1.5 percentage points to five per cent, citing a revival in consumer spending. It increased its 2022 growth call to three per cent from 2.5 per cent. deutsche bank increased its GDP growth forecasts for 2021 and 2022 as well, assuming the final fiscal aid package will be worth us$1.6 trillion to us$1.7 trillion. “Their inflation numbers pushed a bit higher too with risks on the upside,” wrote Jim reid, a strategist at the bank.