Economy & Business

With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the Panama Canal is busier than ever. It should use this windfall wisely.

By María Fernanda Bozmoski, Ignacio Albe

Panama must use its revenues smartly by reinvesting in upkeep and in solutions that efficiently use the limited water resources.

Carole House testifies to House Financial Services Committee on modernizing illicit finance frameworks for the twenty-first century

By Carole House

Carole House testified to the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions at a hearing titled, “Modernizing the BSA for Financial Crime in the 21st Century."

Dispatch from Greece: Geopolitical crises are accelerating collaboration between Europe and the Gulf

By Jonathan Panikoff, Jörn Fleck, and John Cookson

A look behind the scenes at the recent Europe Gulf Forum, hosted by the Antenna Group in partnership with the Atlantic Council.

Europe must address the ‘digital sovereignty triad’

By Trevor H. Rudolph

As part of its Tech Sovereignty Package, the EU is developing its own definition of digital sovereignty. But a fundamental question will likely remain: how can the bloc balance control over data, legal authority, and vendor independence while maintaining openness to global technology partners and preserving digital resilience?

Energy Sanctions Dashboard: October 2025

The October 2025 edition of the Energy Sanctions Dashboard analyzed China’s central role in the market for sanctioned oil and the techniques Russia, Iran, and Venezuela use to evade sanctions on oil.

The global push for local-currency cross-border payments is intensifying

By Hung Tran

More than one hundred countries now operate instant payment systems, and growing efforts to link them are reshaping how cross-border transactions get settled in local currencies.

‘Numbers are getting worse’: The head of the IMF on the Iran war shock, inflation, AI risks, and more

By Frederick Kempe

Watch IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva talk with Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe from the Europe Gulf Forum in Greece.

After the Iran war, the Gulf’s next economic phase awaits

By Khalid Azim

The region is no longer defined by a single economic model based on energy extraction, but by a set of diverging strategies shaped by common constraints.

Where’s the beef? Trump’s underwhelming meeting with Xi.

By Melanie Hart

Trump appears to have sidestepped the biggest trap—Beijing’s attempt to box Washington in on Taiwan—but underperformed on everything else.

What did Trump and Xi accomplish?

By Atlantic Council

On Friday, the US president concluded talks with his counterpart from China, soaring away in Air Force One after two days of meetings and ceremonies. Our experts shed light on the outcomes.