SEB’s economists in a forecast update estimate that U.S. real GDP grew at a 3.5 per cent annualised rate in the fourth quarter; a tad higher than the bank’s forecast in the latest Nordic Outlook. Moreover, the economy clearly has momentum and the fiscal headwind is actually less severe than previously forecasted, at least in the very short term. But while the U.S. economy gives off the allure of a country that has decoupled, the economists are concerned about the tightening in financial conditions as well as the lagged effects from the recession in Europe. The U.S. economy is winning the beauty price in the ugly contest and SEB forecast 2.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent GDP growth in 2012 and 2013, respectively.