Outbound shipments declined 8.7% on year in November, compared with a 0.3% year-over-year decline recorded in October, according to the General Administration of Customs. The decline was much steeper than the 2% fall expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.


Accounting Red Flags Are Common Among Public Crypto Companies

Investors bemoan the lack of disclosure in the crypto industry. But many crypto companies disclose a lot of information, and some of it is worrisome, a review of financial statements shows.

The blowups of FTX and Celsius Network LLC exposed hidden risks that might have raised red flags for investors, including related-party transactions, commingled customer funds, sketchy record-keeping and questionable accounting. Some of these problems often appear in disclosures by public crypto companies, including weak systems used to keep numbers accurate.


India's Central Bank Raises Rate to Rein In Inflation

India's central bank increased its policy rate in a bid to contain high inflation.

Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das said Wednesday that the monetary-policy committee decided to raise its policy repo rate by 35 basis points to 6.25%.


Russian Oil-Price Cap Adds to Fiscal Pressure on Moscow

Fresh Western curbs on Russian crude sales might not affect Moscow's public coffers immediately, but they add financial pressure that threatens the country's sanctions-stricken oil industry and long-term ability to fund the war in Ukraine.

Western countries on Monday imposed a price cap on international sales of Russian crude. The measures, aiming to strike at the Kremlin's war chest, include a ban on seaborne shipments of Russian crude by the European Union and the U.K. The Group of Seven nations, meanwhile, imposed a ceiling on other sales by barring Western companies from insuring, financing or shipping Russian crude at above $60 a barrel.


Germany Industrial Production Declined Slightly in October as High Energy Prices Take Toll

Germany industrial production fell in October as high energy prices weighed on manufacturing output, adding to evidence of a slowdown in Europe's industrial powerhouse at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Industrial output--comprising production in manufacturing, energy and construction--fell by a marginal 0.1% in October after increasing by an upwardly revised 1.1% in September, according to data from the German statistics office Destatis published Wednesday.


EU Sues China in WTO Over Trade Retaliation on Lithuania

BRUSSELS-The European Union sued China in the World Trade Organization over punitive trade restrictions that Beijing imposed on Lithuania last year, harming the small Baltic state and the 27-country bloc.

China's near-total curtailment of exports from Lithuania last December followed moves by leaders in Vilnius to support Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.


Georgia Democrat Raphael Warnock Wins Runoff, Re-Elected to Senate

ATLANTA-Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won reelection in a Georgia runoff contest Tuesday, defeating GOP challenger Herschel Walker, who had been backed by former President Donald Trump.

The Associated Press called the race for Mr. Warnock Tuesday night. With 96% of the vote counted, Mr. Warnock had 50.8% to 49.2% for Mr. Walker.


Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Congressional District Maps

WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court considers Wednesday whether the Constitution renders state courts powerless to remedy gerrymandered maps drawn by state legislatures, having ruled in 2019 that federal courts have no authority to do so.

If the court agrees to end state-court efforts to review electoral maps, it will leave but one check on state legislatures: Congress, which under the Constitution gets the last word on the rules for congressional elections.


U.S. Plans Broad Increase of Military Presence in Australia

SYDNEY-The U.S. said it would deploy more military assets in Australia, including air, land and sea forces, as the two countries agreed to deepen defense cooperation amid growing concerns about China's actions in the Indo-Pacific region.

Details remain to be worked out, though the two countries said they would place more munitions and fuel in Australia to support U.S. military activity, jointly develop airfields in northern Australia to support more rotations of U.S. aircraft, expand locations where U.S. troops can conduct exercises and further integrate their defense-industrial bases. They invited Japan, another ally, to participate in three-way military drills.


Germany Dismantles Suspected QAnon-Inspired Terrorist Group

German authorities on Wednesday said they had dismantled a domestic terrorist cell inspired by the QAnon conspiracy on suspicion of planning to overthrow the government.

Of the 25 people arrested in the early hours of the day, 22 are suspected of conspiring to foment a coup, the country's federal prosecutor said. Their plans included an armed storming of the federal parliament. The other three, including a Russian citizen living in Germany, are suspected of supporting the group, the prosecutor said.


Theranos Founder's Former Deputy and Boyfriend to Be Sentenced Today

When Theranos Inc.'s former No. 2 executive is sentenced Wednesday, he may get a longer prison term than his boss, who was at the center of the fraud at the company she founded. Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani will be sentenced in federal court in San Jose, Calif., starting at 1 p.m. ET, after being convicted of 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. He denied all the charges and his lawyers are asking for probation or home confinement.

Mr. Balwani's former business partner and ex-girlfriend, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, was sentenced last month to 11 1/4 years for four counts of criminal fraud tied to her now defunct blood-testing startup.


Mexico's Congress Defeats President's Bill to Overhaul Election Agency

MEXICO CITY-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador suffered a major legislative defeat on Tuesday as Congress rejected a flagship constitutional bill to overhaul the electoral system that opponents said undermined Mexico's democracy.

The lower house of Congress voted 269-225 on the president's bill, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to make constitutional changes. The bill was supported by Mr. López Obrador's Morena party and two smaller allies, while all four opposition parties voted against the proposal.


Write to paul.larkins@dowjones.com TODAY IN CANADA

Earnings:

None scheduled

Economic Indicators (ET):

1000 Bank of Canada interest rate announcement

Stocks to Watch:

Brookfield Expected to Pay Quarterly Dividend of 7c/Class A Limited Voting Share; Expected to Pay Quarterly Dividend of 32c/Class A Limited Voting Share


Expected Major Events for Wednesday

05:00/JPN: Oct Indexes of Business Conditions - Preliminary Release

07:00/GER: Oct Industrial Production Index

07:00/UK: Nov Halifax House Price Index

07:45/FRA: Oct Foreign trade

07:45/FRA: Oct Balance of Payments

09:00/ITA: Oct Retail Sales

09:30/UK: Nov Narrow money (Notes & Coin) and reserve balances

12:00/US: 12/02 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

13:30/US: 3Q Revised Productivity & Costs

15:00/US: 3Q Quarterly Financial Report - Industry

15:00/US: 3Q Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade

15:00/CAN: Bank of Canada interest rate announcement

15:00/US: Nov Online Help Wanted Index

15:30/US: 12/02 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report

20:00/US: Oct Consumer Credit

23:50/JPN: Nov Bank Lending

23:50/JPN: 3Q 2nd Preliminary Quarterly GDP Estimates

23:50/JPN: Oct Balance of Payments

23:50/JPN: Nov International Transactions in Securities

23:50/JPN: 3Q Quarterly External Debt & International Investment Position

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.


Expected Earnings for Wednesday

ADF Group is expected to report for 3Q.

Academy Sports & Outdoors Inc (ASO) is expected to report for 3Q.

Allena Pharmaceuticals Inc (ALNAQ) is expected to report $-0.48 for 3Q.

Amrep Corp (AXR) is expected to report for 2Q.

Argan Inc (AGX) is expected to report $0.74 for 3Q.

AstroNova Inc (ALOT) is expected to report for 3Q.

Brown-Forman Corp - B Share (BFA,BFB) is expected to report $0.55 for 2Q.

C3.ai Inc (AI) is expected to report for 2Q.

Campbell Soup (CPB) is expected to report $0.87 for 1Q.

Culp Inc (CULP) is expected to report $-0.79 for 2Q.

Daktronics (DAKT) is expected to report $0.10 for 2Q.

Descartes Systems Group Inc (DSG.T,DSGX) is expected to report $0.36 for 3Q.

Dollarama (DLMAF,DOL.T) is expected to report $0.69 for 3Q.

Duckhorn Portfolio Inc (NAPA) is expected to report for 1Q.

GameStop Corp (GME,GMEB) is expected to report $-0.29 for 3Q.

Great Panther Mining Ltd (GPL,GPR-T) is expected to report for 3Q.

Greif Inc - A Share (GEF,GEFB) is expected to report $1.94 for 4Q.

HashiCorp Inc (HCP) is expected to report for 3Q.

Hennessy Advisors Inc (HNNA) is expected to report for 4Q.

Innovative Solutions & Support Inc (ISSC) is expected to report for 4Q.

John Wiley & Sons Inc (WLY) is expected to report $0.76 for 2Q.

Lovesac Co (LOVE) is expected to report $-0.76 for 3Q.

North West Co Inc (NWC.T) is expected to report for 3Q.

Ollieâ tms Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (OLLI) is expected to report $0.41 for 3Q.

Oxford Industries (OXM) is expected to report $1.17 for 3Q.

Rent the Runway Inc (RENT) is expected to report for 3Q.

Schmitt Industries (SMIT) is expected to report for 1Q.

Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings Inc (SPWH) is expected to report $0.28 for 3Q.

Star Group LP (SGU) is expected to report for 4Q.

Streamline Health (STRM) is expected to report $-0.07 for 3Q.

TerraVest Industries is expected to report for 4Q.

Thor Industries (THO) is expected to report $1.88 for 1Q.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

12-07-22 0619ET