How Destabilizing Is Israel's War With Iran?

In this week's episode of Everybody's Business, we discuss the conflict's implications for the world at large, including the global economy.
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Iran Won't Close Strait of Hormuz, Schork Says

Steven Schork, Schork Group principal and editor, says he does not think Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz because it would hurt India and China, two of their biggest oil export clients. He is on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)

Bloomberg

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Middle East's Oil Continues to Flow Despite Israel-Iran Attacks

A week since Israel and Iran started to exchange missile barrages, oil tanker transits through the critical Strait of Hormuz have remained largely steady. A seven-day rolling average for oil tankers above 10,000 deadweight tons that sailed through the Strait — the passageway for the Persian Gulf's energy supplies to the world — was approximately 42-to-45, according to vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Fast Company

39 minutes ago

• Fast Company

The AI era is here. Are you ready to lead?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a fringe experiment or a future-facing buzzword. It's a here-and-now force that's rapidly reshaping the modern business landscape. AI is already transforming how organizations operate—from how they close their books to how they engage with customers—and the pace is only accelerating. Are we ready for it? For too many leadership teams, the honest answer remains: not yet. AI's potential to improve back-office efficiency is well documented, particularly in finance functions that are often stretched thin. Intelligent automation can significantly reduce the time spent on tasks like transaction matching, reconciliations, and journal entries, freeing up teams to focus on higher-value activities like forecasting and strategic planning. Companies implementing intelligent process automation are seeing measurable impact in areas such as cash flow forecasting, anomaly detection, and real-time variance analysis. By drawing on clean, well-structured data, AI can surface patterns that eliminate risk and unlock opportunity, turning raw numbers into actionable insights. This evolution comes at a crucial time. Many finance departments are contending with a shrinking workforce and increasing expectations. Nearly 300,000 accountants and auditors have left the profession in the last two years, and the majority of CFOs now say they are responsible for enterprise-wide data and analytics. AI can help fill the gap if implemented thoughtfully. WHY RUSHING CAN LEAD TO FAILURE Obvious benefits aside, AI is not a silver bullet. Organizations that rush implementation without the right foundations risk doing more harm than good. Inaccurate data, poor governance, and a lack of human oversight can lead to flawed outputs, audit issues, and regulatory exposure. AI models trained on inconsistent or incomplete data can replicate human mistakes at scale, producing errors with more speed, not more accuracy. That's why clean, auditable data must be a non-negotiable starting point. Gartner predicted that 30% of generative AI projects will be abandoned after proof of concept by the end of 2025, in large part due to poor quality data. In other words: garbage in, garbage out. GOVERNANCE BEFORE GROWTH Before deploying AI at scale, leaders must build the proper guardrails. That starts with a robust data governance strategy that defines how data is collected, maintained, and used across the organization. Assigning data stewardship responsibilities, establishing quality standards, and ensuring alignment with regulatory frameworks are essential. Just as important is keeping human judgment in the loop. Especially in the Office of Finance, where compliance and auditability are paramount, AI tools should be explainable and traceable. The goal is not to replace decision makers, but to empower them with better information. Cross-functional collaboration between finance, IT, compliance, and legal teams is critical to achieving this balance. AI readiness is about people as much as it is about technology. Implementing AI effectively means helping employees evolve alongside it. That includes upskilling employees to become data-literate advisors, building comfort with new tools, and fostering a culture of experimentation balanced by accountability. Many of the skills teams already possess, such as data analysis, pattern recognition, and variance identification, map directly to AI-adjacent competencies. With the proper training and support, these professionals can become critical players in an AI-enabled function. LEADERS MUST GUIDE AI STRATEGY As AI becomes foundational to business success, it's no longer sufficient for executives to delegate its implementation to IT. CEOs and their leadership teams must play an active role in shaping AI strategy, from identifying high-impact use cases to defining clear KPIs. That includes assessing where AI can truly improve and where human judgment remains irreplaceable. It also means investing in the right tools—not necessarily the most complex or expensive ones, but those that simplify workflows and integrate well with existing systems. Ultimately, responsible AI leadership is about setting direction, removing friction, and creating a culture where teams feel both empowered and accountable. BUILD NOW OR SCRAMBLE LATER There's no doubt that AI will reshape how businesses operate. The only question is whether your organization will lead the way or struggle to catch up. A recent Deloitte survey of the financial services industry, an industry that typically is slow to adopt new technology, found that AI 'pioneers' or early adopters, see significantly more value from their AI deployments than 'followers' or those who are slow to bring the technology into their organization. Companies that act now by improving data quality, establishing governance, investing in their people, and piloting AI in high-impact areas will gain a durable competitive advantage. AI is not just a tool for transformation—it's a test of readiness. And in today's rapidly evolving landscape, readiness isn't optional—it's everything.