“Most folks expect the next-generation iPhone Apple is launching this week to provide a big boost to the company’s bottom line. The economics team at JPMorgan Chase thinks the iPhone 5 will have a much broader impact,” Steve Schaefer reports for Forbes.

“Chief U.S. economist Michael Feroli says sales of the latest version of Apple’s smartphone could add a quarter to half a percentage point to fourth-quarter annualized growth in the U.S.,” Schaefer reports. “Feroli acknowledges that the figure seems eye-popping ‘and for that reason should be treated skeptically.’”

Schaefer reports, “That does not dissuade JPMorgan’s economics team from believing the evidence supports its view. The note cites the launch of the iPhone 4S in October 2011, and the significant outperformance of retail sales expectations that quarter. If the iPhone 5 proves to be a much larger launch – and expectations are for more significant changes than the iPhone 4 to 4S transition – it should add more than the 0.1%- to 0.2%-point lift JPMorgan figures Apple provided in Q4 2011.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Behold the power of the Cupertino Colossus!

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Ellis D." for the heads up.]