Euro zone economy accelerates thanks to German 'thunderbolt'

By Philip Blenkinsop and Alexandra Hudson BRUSSELS/BERLIN (Reuters) - Euro zone economic growth accelerated unexpectedly in the final quarter of 2014 as the bloc's largest member, Germany, expanded at more than twice the expected rate. A preliminary estimate showed the economy of the 18 countries sharing the euro expanded by 0.3 percent between October and December compared with the previous three months, the European Union's statistics office Eurostat said on Friday. Year-on-year, eur