Bangkok / Bloomberg Thailand’s economy grew more than analysts estimated in the first quarter as the military government’s spending helped counter weak local demand and exports. Gross domestic product expanded 3.2 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Board said in Bangkok Monday. That compares with the 2.8 percent …

  Tokyo / AFP The yen slipped on Monday on speculation Tokyo will postpone a sales tax rise to avoid denting Japan’s already fragile economy, while a lacklustre string of Chinese data took a bite out of emerging currencies. Japan’s leading Nikkei business daily said at the weekend that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had told officials he wants to delay …

  Beijing / Bloomberg China’s record daily output in April bodes ill for an embattled global steel industry already reeling from a deluge of exports from the world’s top producer. Crude steel output over the month rose 0.5 percent to 69.42 million metric tons from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The gains came after mills ramped …