As stress ripples through smaller banks in the U.S., the tightening in lending standards among those institutions is expected to reduce economic growth this year, according to Goldman Sachs Research. While the macroeconomic impact of a pullback in lending is highly uncertain until the extent of the stress on the banking system becomes clear, economists in Goldman Sachs Research lowered their forecast for U.S. fourth-quarter GDP growth (year-over-year) by 0.3 percentage point to 1.2%. The new estimate incorporates expectations for tighter lending and reflect in part a larger downgrade to investment spending. Small- ... (full story)