RadioShack is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection as soon as next month, according to people familiar with the matter, following a sputtering turnaround effort that left the electronics chain short on cash.

Tesla Motors shares were down 6.5% to $190.89 in morning trading after hitting $186 earlier in the session following comments Tuesday by Elon Musk that the company wouldn’t be profitable until 2020.

Bottom line: China’s smartphone market is likely to contract another 10 percent this year, forcing some newer domestic manufacturers out of business, while Huawei’s bid to go upscale in the space is likely to face difficulty.

Sell it for more or make it for less?

At a January 8 press conference, German chancellor Angela Merkel dangled a carrot in front of Russian president Vladimir Putin: the possibility of a summit in Kazakhstan aimed at easing the Ukraine crisis, to be attended by her and the leaders of France and Ukraine. That carrot, however, was dangling from a significant string. For the meetings to occur, Merkel said, Russia would first have to make “visible progress” on all 12 points of the Minsk accord, the agreement that brought a shaky cease-fire to eastern Ukraine this past September, as reported in the New York Times.