Asia

· Vietnam's GDP Rises 6% on Brisk Exports, Consumption. Vietnam's real gross domestic product for the January-March quarter grew 6.03% on the year on strong exports and consumption, the biggest first-quarter increase since the global financial crisis broke out. The figure exceeds the 5.06% growth for the year-ago quarter. Vietnam's economy was driven by the manufacturing sector, which logged 9.51% growth. The industrial production index for the January-February period rose 12% on the year, buoyed by robust production of mobile phones by South Korea's Samsung Electronics and other foreign companies. Mobile phones accounted for almost 20% of exports for the January-March quarter, replacing clothing and textile products as the top export. Consumers with more money to spare due to lower prices appear to have bought durable goods and high-priced items. Sales at large stores during the January-February period rose about 13%, while new automobile sales in February surged 69% on the year. Consumer spending makes up more than 60% of Vietnam's GDP. Vietnam's January-March quarter results are for Dec 21 to March 20. (Nikkei)

· China Jan-Feb Industrial Profits Down 4.2%. China's industrial profits fell 4.2% in January-February from a year earlier as the economy slowed and profit margins deteriorated, moderating from an 8% drop in December but still the sharpest decline in the first two months since 2012. Industrial firms made a combined profit of 745.2b yuan ($119.91b) in January- February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. It was the biggest drop in the period since profits fell 5.2% in early 2012. He Ping, an official at the bureau, said that a 5.5% decline in raw materials purchasing prices in the first two months cut firms' costs by 564b yuan. But a 4.6% drop in factory-gate prices cut their revenues by 733b yuan, resulting in a net profit fall of 169b yuan. (Reuters)

· China Is One of the Most Unequal Countries in the World, IMF Paper Says. A widening gap between China’s rich and poor makes it “one of the most unequal countries in the world,” according to a new working paper published by the International Monetary Fund. Authors Serhan Cevik and Carolina Correa-Caro write that the rich are gleaning most of the fruits of the transition from a system of centrally-planned socialism to a market-oriented economy. The top quintile of earners now pull in nearly half of total income while the poorest quintile of earners account for under 5%. “China’s widening income inequality is largely a reflection of faster income growth among the rich, rather than stagnant living standards among the poor,” the two economists said. With an estimated 2.4 million millionaire households, China now has more than any country but the U.S. China’s credit-fueled investment and export-led development model are likely the primary drivers of the sharp increase in income inequality over the last three decades, they said. (The Wall Street Journal)

· Australia Is Set to Join China-Led Investment Bank. Australia is preparing to join China’s development bank, becoming the latest U.S. ally to show support for the Asian nation’s effort to boost its influence in the region. Australia is finalizing the process to sign a memorandum of understanding committing the country as one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Sunday in a joint e-mailed statement with other cabinet members. His government still has issues to address through continuing consultations, according to the statement. By lining up the support of more than 30 nations, and securing a pledge of cooperation from the five-decade-old Asian Development Bank, China is building credibility for the AIIB even without U.S. support, as President Xi Jinping expands his nation’s influence in Asia. (Bloomberg)

Americas

· Fed’s Yellen Says Rate Hikes—but Not Too Many—Are Coming. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Friday channeled her inner Mary Poppins, giving markets a spoonful of sugar while delivering the message that an increase in interest rates is coming soon. “I expect that conditions may warrant an increase in the federal funds rate target sometime this year,” Yellen told a conference sponsored by the San Francisco Fed. Yellen said she was “cautiously optimistic” that growth would top 2.3% this year and that the unemployment rate would fall further. Consumer spending is likely to rise “at a good clip,” she said. But Yellen stressed several times that the Fed would be cautious in its actions and that subsequent rate hikes likely would to be gradual. The first rate hike “should not be overemphasized” because it is the path of rates that matters most to markets, she said. “My FOMC colleagues and I generally anticipate that a rather gradual rise in the federal funds rate will be appropriate over the next few years, conditional on our baseline forecasts for real activity, inflation, and other aspects of the economy’s performance,” Yellen said. Past tightening cycles would provide “highly misleading” guides to what likely will happen during this tightening cycle, the Fed chairwoman said. (MarketWatch)

· Economy in U.S. Expanded at 2.2% Pace in Fourth Quarter (Final). The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.2% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, led by the biggest gain in consumer spending in eight years. The revised increase in gross domestic product matched the Commerce Department’s previous estimate, according to figures issued Friday in Washington. The report also showed corporate profits dropped in the last three months of the year, capping the worst annual performance since the recession. The median forecast of 83 economists surveyed called for growth of 2.4%. An upward revision to consumer spending and exports was mostly offset by smaller gains in inventories, the report showed. Household consumption, which accounts for almost 70% of the economy, was revised up to show a 4.4% gain at an annualized rate in the fourth quarter, the most since the first three months of 2006. For all of 2014, the U.S. economy grew 2.4% from the year before, the most since 2010 and following a 2.2% advance in 2013. (Bloomberg)

· U.S. Consumer Sentiment Falls in March but Above Forecasts. Consumer sentiment fell month-over-month in March, a survey released on Friday showed, though the reading was better than expected. The University of Michigan's final March reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 93, topping both the preliminary read of 91.2 as well as the median forecast of analysts polled by Reuters, which was for a reading of 92. However, it was below the final February reading of 95.4. (Reuters)

· Brazil’s Economy Expanded 0.1% in 2014. Brazil’s economy posted in 2014 its worst performance by far under President Dilma Rousseff’s administration, a blow to her prestige as her government works to regain credibility with markets and pass an austerity program through Congress. The country’s gross domestic product grew just 0.1% in 2014 from 2013, and expanded 0.3% in the fourth quarter from the third, Brazil’s statistics agency said Friday. GDP shrank 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2014 from the same period a year earlier. Many economists had expected worse figures for 2014, and methodology changes might have made some of the GDP numbers look a bit better. The report still shows that Brazil’s economy is in bad shape and in need of reforms, economists said. (The Wall Street Journal)

Europe · UK House Price Growth Slows Again in March. British house prices rose in March by the smallest annual amount since September 2013, figures from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Friday, adding to signs the country's housing market is cooling. Nationwide said the annual rate of increase dropped to 5.1% from 5.7% in February, the seventh month in a row that the pace of price growth has slowed. Prices in March alone rose by 0.1%. Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner, said the recovery in Britain's economy, including lower unemployment and record low interest rates, were supporting the housing market. "Nevertheless, the pace of housing market activity has remained subdued, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase in January around 20% below the level prevailing one year ago," he said. (Reuters)

· Spain Meets Deficit Target for First Time since 2008. Spain’s budget deficit narrowed significantly last year, the government said Friday, meeting the target agreed with the European Commission for the first time since the start of a property bust in 2008. Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy posted last year a deficit equivalent to 5.7% of gross domestic product, slightly below the commission’s target of 5.8%-of- GDP deficit. Ms. Sáenz de Santamaría said budget cuts and economic growth both helped Spain bring the deficit in line with government commitments. The economy grew 1.4% in 2014, the first year in which it expanded since 2008, slightly above the commission’s and the government’s projections. (The Wall Street Journal)

· Fitch Downgrades Greece amid Bailout Uncertainty. The ratings agency Fitch has downgraded Greece's sovereign rating amid growing uncertainty over the new government's pledge to overhaul reforms needed to restart bailout loan payments and avoid default. The agency late Friday said it had lowered the country's rating deeper into non-investment grade status from B to CCC. "Lack of market access, uncertain prospects of timely disbursement from official institutions, and tight liquidity conditions in the domestic banking sector have put extreme pressure on Greek government funding," Fitch said. "We expect that the government will survive the current liquidity squeeze without running arrears on debt obligations, but ... the damage to investor, consumer, and depositor confidence has almost certainly derailed Greece's incipient economic recovery. " (AP)

Currencies

· Dollar Ends Week Lower after Yellen Comments Have Muted Impact. The U.S. dollar edged lower against a basket of major currencies on Friday after traders were reluctant to buy the greenback ahead of U.S. jobs data next week, and after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, posted its second straight weekly loss. Analysts said the long-term uptrend in the dollar remained in place given the likelihood that the Fed will still hike rates this year, but that traders were awaiting key data, including next week's U.S. employment report for March. The euro was last up slightly against the dollar at $1.08910. The dollar was last down slightly against the yen at 119.150 yen. The dollar was last down 0.12% against the franc at 0.96180 franc. The dollar index was last down 0.06% at 97.374. (Reuters)

 Commodities

· Oil Dives 5 Pct As Worries About Iran Talks Trump Yemen. Oil tumbled 5% on Friday, erasing the previous session's gains, as Yemen's conflict looked less likely to disrupt Middle East crude shipments and investors turned their focus to talks for a potential Iran nuclear deal that could put more supply on the market. Brent settled down $2.78 at $56.41 a barrel. U.S. crude settled $2.56 lower at $48.87. Both fell further after the market settled. (Reuters) · Gold Snaps 7-Day Rally Ahead of Yellen Speech. Gold fell on Friday, snapping a seven-day rally as investors remained cautious ahead of comments from U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, but the metal still looked set to post its second straight weekly gain. Despite Friday's losses, gold was on track to finish the week up around 1.5% after its longest winning stretch since August 2012. Spot gold eased 0.4% to $1,203.98 an ounce by 1836 GMT. The metal jumped 2% on Thursday to its highest since March 2 at $1,219.40 in reaction to tensions in the Middle East. Palladium lost 3% to a 5-1/2- month low of $736.80 an ounce. Platinum was down 1.6% at $1,153.40 an ounce and silver fell 0.3% to $17.07 an ounce. (Reuters)