• Eurozone economic growth was revised up to 0.3% for Q3-2022 from a preliminary estimate of 0.2% and following a 0.8% expansion in the previous quarter. In annual terms, the single currency bloc’s economic output expanded at a rate of 2.3% in the July-September period, beating a market expectation and initial estimate of 2.1%.

• Germany’s industrial output weakened by 0.1% month-on-month in October while remaining flat compared to the same period last year, according to adjusted figures from the Federal Statistics Office revealed on Wednesday. The monthly decline was less than market expectations of a 0.5% fall. The energy output was down 7.6% while production in the energy-intensive industrial branches dropped by 3.6%.

^Destatis

• A step back: The industrial production of Europe’s largest economy in September was revised to show an expansion of 1.1% month-on-month and 3.1% on a yearly basis.

• House prices in the UK plunged by 2.3% in November, the biggest monthly fall since 2008, according to Halifax, while the annual rate of house price growth slowed to 4.7%, from 8.2% in October. Mortgage rates jumped following the mini-Budget by former PM Liz Truss and finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng in September, amid rising borrowing costs and surging inflation.

• China’s trade volume fell more than expected in November amid pressure from weakening global demand and anti-Covid restrictions at home. China’s dollar-denominated exports dropped 8.7% year-on-year, versus expectations of a 3.5% decline; while imports slumped 10.6% compared to a year ago, versus expectations of a 6% fall. The trade surplus came in at $69.84 billion, lower than the forecast for $78.1 billion.

• Hungary’s government canceled a state-imposed cap on fuel prices late Tuesday after a recent wave of panic-buying among car owners led to fuel shortages and long lines at filling stations across the country. A minister blamed the end of the price cap, which from November 2021 limited fuel prices to 480 forints (€1.17) per liter, on EU sanctions placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

• Volkswagen is retooling its main factory in Germany to make two additional electric models as Europe’s biggest automaker tries to turn around its EV push that has been plagued by internal discord and software fumbles. VW will assemble a revamped version of the ID.3 hatchback at its Wolfsburg site starting next year and a new electric SUV sometime after late 2025.

^{via Bloomberg}

• Istanbul-based MNG Airlines, a logistics and transport company, is going public through a merger with a blank-check company led by European dealmakers Makram Azar and Scott Freidheim. The deal with Golden Falcon Acquisition has an expected enterprise value of $676 million, according to a statement on Wednesday.

• CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple will buy semiconductors made at TSMC's upcoming factory in Phoenix, Arizona, with the chips expected to be used in next-generation iPhones, Macs, and other key products. Apple is currently TSMC's largest customer.

• Zoom out: The Phoenix facility is expected to start production in 2024 with a follow-up plant expected in 2026 due to increased demand. TSMC is spending $40 billion on the factories, which will be partly subsidized by the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act.

• Germany arrested 25 people from a far-right extremist group who were preparing to overthrow the government in an armed coup, the prosecutor's office said. Around 3,000 officers conducted raids at 130 sites in Germany's 11 states, with investigators suspecting that members had concrete plans to storm the parliament with a small armed group, with one active soldier and several reservists among those under investigation.

^{via Bloomberg}

• Who are they: Members of the Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich) do not recognize post-WWII Germany as a legitimate state, with some members devoted to the German empire under a monarchy, some devoted to Nazi ideas, and some believe Germany is still under Allied military occupation.
• Man in the picture: The plot envisaged a former member of a German royal family who led the group's "council" and styled himself a Prince, identified as Heinrich XIII of the House of Reuss, to take over the government after a coup. 
• The plot thickens: Prosecutors said Heinrich had reached out to representatives of Russia, whom the group saw as its central contact for establishing its new order and beginning negotiations with the victorious World War II governments.

• The damage caused by Russian strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure amounts to more than $70 billion, including $30 billion in the transportation sector and $39 billion in housing losses, deputy infrastructure minister Uriy Vaskoy said. He added that they have already started the restoration of roads, bridges and railways, and also built 12 module towns for those who lost their houses.

^{via Bloomberg}

• What NATO said: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the conditions for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine "are not there now," urging members to keep providing weapons to Kyiv throughout winter with a warning that Russia was preparing for a spring offensive, the Financial Times reported.

• The EU said it will carry two unresolved cases with China to the World Trade Organization (WTO) after talks to solve the issues with the bloc's largest trading partner failed to yield results. The cases are on China's restrictions on exports from Lithuania and the limitations for EU companies to protect their high-tech patents before a court.

• Britain and the US announced an energy partnership to sustain a higher level of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to the UK and to collaborate on ways to increase energy efficiency. PM Rishi Sunak said that the "UK-US Energy Security and Affordability Partnership" will bring down prices for British consumers and help end Europe's dependence on Russian energy.

• Two commuter trains collided in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region, leaving 155 passengers lightly injured, local emergency services said.

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• France's consumer fraud watchdog ordered Amazon to pay €3.3 million in penalties for failing to change contractual provisions connected to third-party sellers by the agreed deadline. The watchdog (DGCCRF) said Amazon was ordered to make the modifications aimed at fixing imbalances in contractual terms between the company's online marketplace and third-party sellers by March 22.

• Microsoft said they will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo, with the CEO Phil Spencer confirming a 10-year commitment if their Activision Blizzard acquisition pushes through. He added that Microsoft will continue to offer CoD on Steam, along with Xbox, after they close the deal.

^{Activision Blizzard}

• FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried was holding talks to get a sponsorship with Taylor Swift as his company's financials were suffering from a crypto selloff earlier this year, the Financial Times reported. If agreed, the partnership would have cost the bankrupt crypto exchange more than $100 million over three years.

• NASA released high-resolution images of the Moon as Orion made its final lunar flyby, some of the best photos from the spacecraft so far. Taken by a solar array-mounted GoPro, the photos taken by Orion show the spacecraft rounding the Moon and then getting a closeup shot of the far side.

^NASA

🪖 Military briefing: Ukraine drone strikes show Russia it has ‘no safe zones’

🛫 Flypast: Airbus is coming for Boeing’s 737

🇳🇬 Reuters investigation: Nigeria's military ran secret mass abortion program in war against Boko Haram