Morgan Stanley raises economic growth forecast, citing Biden infrastructure ‘boom’

Morgan Stanley raised its economic growth forecast up this week, citing a “boom in large-scale infrastructure” driven by President Biden’s Infrastructure bill, according to reports. 

“The economy in the first half of the year is growing much stronger than we had anticipated, putting a more comfortable cushion under our long-held soft landing view,” Morgan Stanley’s Chief U.S. Economist Ellen Zentner said in a note Thursday, MarketWatch reported. 

She added that “manufacturing construction has shown broad strength.” 

Thusly, Morgan Stanley has made a “sizeable upward revision” to its economic forecast, predicting 1.3% GDP growth in the fourth quarter rather that their original prediction of 0.6% and 1.9% growth for the first half of the year, up from 0.5%, according to CNBC. 

INVESTORS STILL BEARISH ON US ECONOMY AMID SLOWDOWN FEARS 

“The narrative behind the numbers tells the story of industrial strength in the U.S.,” she wrote.

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed in late 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act became law last August.

Still, Biden’s poll numbers remain underwater amid a presidency plagued by high inflation following the coronavirus pandemic. 

The president has lately been touting his economic and infrastructure successes, dubbing his polices “Bidenomics,” which was first used derisively by Republicans. 

“While our work isn’t finished, Bidenomics is already delivering for the American people,” the White House said in a statement late last month. “Our economy has added more than 13 million jobs—including nearly 800,000 manufacturing jobs—and we’ve unleashed a manufacturing and clean energy boom.” 

Republicans, however, continue to hammer the president on the economy. 

“Bidenomics is about blind faith in government spending and regulation,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday, according to CNBC. “It’s an economic disaster where government causes decades-high inflation, high gas prices, lower paychecks and crippling uncertainty that leaves America worse off.”

Biden made a visit to Philadelphia on Thursday to talk about his economic wins, but blue collar workers there said it’s still not working for them. 

“We’re still struggling. We could be better,” a man named Donny told Fox News. “Wages could be better.”

Another man named Joe said, “I work as much as I can so this way I can make ends meet. I’m making a little more money, but I’m also paying more for everything. So nothing’s really changed.”

At a Philadelphia shipyard on Thursday, Biden said, “I’m not here to declare victory; we got a long way to go on the economy. But I’m here to say we have more work to do. We have a plan that’s turning things around pretty quickly.”

Fox Business has reached out to Morgan Stanley for comment.