The latest on the US economy, and other economics stories to read

Economic growth in the United States hit a 1.6% annualized rate last quarter, its slowest pace in two years, according to data from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Despite cooler gross domestic product (GDP) growth than economists had predicted, domestic demand was strong, Reuters reports. The economy grew at 3.4% in the fourth quarter and continues to expand quicker than the 1.8% rate that US central bank officials regard as the non-inflationary growth rate.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently increased its 2024 forecast for US GDP growth to 2.7% from 2.1% in its January outlook.

The Q1 growth figure accompanies a cooling of US business activity in April, while inflation rates slowed slightly.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has kept interest rates around zero and indicated inflation is on track to reach its 2% target in the coming years, suggesting rate rises are on the agenda.

However, the yen declined due to a lack of clarity over potential future rate hikes, reports Reuters, falling to a 34-year low against the US dollar.

The BoJ maintained its short-term investment rate target at a rate of 0-0.1% - a figure set a month ago.

"Underlying inflation is likely to be at a level that is generally consistent with our price target" around late 2025 through 2026, the bank's quarterly outlook report said.

Leaders of 10 multilateral development banks have committed to action across five critical areas, including additional lending capacity of up to $400 billion over the coming decade.

Singapore's key measure of consumer prices rose 3.1% in March on a yearly basis, slower than economists' predictions.

Inflation in Sri Lanka dropped to 2.5% in March, down from 5.1% in February.

Business sentiment in Germany has reached a one-year high, according to the latest Ifo institute data, Bloomberg reports.

However, a study by the German Economic Institute expects the number of unemployed workers in the country to rise to its highest level in almost a decade.

The South Korean economy grew at its fastest pace in nearly two years in the first quarter of 2024. GDP was 1.3% higher January-through-March than the previous three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Bank of Korea data.

The IMF has warned that incomes in Sub-Saharan Africa are falling behind the rest of the world against a backdrop of a "tepid" economic recovery.

Russia's economy ministry has improved its forecast for 2024 GDP growth from 2.3% to 2.8%. The IMF has also raised its forecast for the country, up to 3.2% from 2.6% in January.

The World Bank and IMF's annual spring meetings were held in Washington last week. Here’s a roundup of all you need to know.

Pedro Conceição, the Director of the Human Development Report Office at the United Nations Development Programme, explores the gap between economic fact and sentiment – and how we can bridge it.

The scale of distrust among global top powers is already very high. Here, Bruce Jones, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and Susana Malcorra, a former Argentinian foreign minister, look at the importance of "middle powers" in geopolitics.