A Five-Body Problem In Geopolitics

Uwe Parpart highlights China's potential role in preventing further geopolitical escalation in the Middle East and shaping the region's future trajectory towards peace after the success of the Beijing Accord of March 2023 which restored ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

China's economy is on track, but the property sector needs help

David P. Goldman writes that Beijing is likely to take steps to help insolvent or cash-short developers complete apartments on which purchasers have already made down payments after China's first-quarter GDP growth rate surpassed expectations at 5.2%.

Moscow ready for peace, but prepared to fight on

James Davis writes that Russia has ramped up efforts to seize strategic positions on Ukraine's front lines, potentially paving the way for further advances even as the Kremlin signals openness to resuming diplomatic talks based on the Istanbul agreements of 2022.

Tesla in a traffic jam

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Scott Foster unpacks reports that Tesla plans to reduce its workforce by over 10% to become lean, innovative, and ready for growth, noting that that the automaker faces increasing competition from the lower-priced EV segment and is perceived as overvalued in the car market.