Several major financial firms have upped their forecasts for U.S. economic growth based on expectations that President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill will come to fruition and bolster the recovery from pandemic-related shutdowns. FILE PHOTO: People shop, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, on 5th Avenue in New York, U.S., February 17, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Biden’s package, on top of a nearly $900 billion stimulus bill passed in December, is expected to encourage American consumers, who account for nearly 70% of U.S. economic growth, to loosen their purse strings and release a torrent of pent-up demand as coronavirus vaccines are deployed and restrictions lifted. HSBC Holdings, Europe’s largest bank, raised its estimated full-year 2021 GDP growth forecast by 1.5 percentage points to 5%, citing the expected revival in consumer spending. It increased its 2022 growth call to 3.0% from 2.5%. It also cited the […]