From 2% to 3.3% Growth in Real GDP

Economists are upgrading their forecasts for the U.S. economy after a series of surprisingly strong reports suggesting the so-called "soft landing" may be over and growth is accelerating.

Lehman Brothers chief economist Ethan Harris on Friday boosted his forecast for fourth quarter 2006 growth to an annualized rate of 3.3%, a leap from the firm's prior call for just 2% growth:

"With the last of the major data in, we are now revising fourth quarter GDP to an above-trend 3.3 percent. A wide range of indicators have been stronger than expected. Most important have been the strong consumption data and the surprising improvement in the trade balance."