Down to Business English

For nearly thirty years, extremely low interest rates in Japan have made the yen one of the world’s most important funding currencies. Investors have borrowed cheap yen and invested the money in higher-yielding assets around the world. But as the Bank of Japan raises interest rates, could this huge flow of money begin to reverse?


In this episode, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega explain how the Japanese yen carry trade works, why it has helped support global financial markets, and why changes in Japanese monetary policy could create serious risks for investors around the world.


Skip and Samantha start by explaining the basic idea behind a carry trade. Investors borrow money in a currency with a very low interest rate — the funding currency — and then invest that money in currencies or assets offering a higher yield. For decades, Japan’s rock-bottom interest rates have made the yen an attractive currency to borrow.

They then look at where this borrowed money goes. Carry trade investors can put their capital into higher-yielding currencies, government and corporate bonds, global equities, real estate, and other assets. Large institutional investors can also use leverage and foreign exchange derivatives to amplify relatively small differences in interest rates.

Next, Skip and Samantha discuss why the Bank of Japan is changing the situation. After years of extremely low and sometimes negative interest rates, the BOJ has begun raising rates as Japan moves away from its long period of deflation. Higher Japanese interest rates make borrowing yen more expensive and reduce the potential profit from the carry trade.

They also look at Japan’s enormous retail foreign exchange market and the financial nickname ‘Mrs. Watanabe’.

Finally, they examine what can happen when the carry trade begins to unwind. The market trouble of August 2024 showed how leveraged investors can be forced to sell liquid assets, including US technology stocks, when markets suddenly move against them. With the yen historically weak, interest-rate differences changing, and governments intervening in currency markets, the future of the yen carry trade has become an important issue for global investors.

This episode helps listeners understand how competitive advantage can disappear when technology and markets change. In this episode, you will learn:

What a carry trade is and why the yen is used as a funding currency.
Why Bank of Japan interest-rate increases are changing the carry trade.

What ‘Mrs. Watanabe’ means in financial markets.

What happens during a carry trade unwind.

Why changes in the yen can have consequences far beyond Japan.

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Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

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For decades, Intel was one of the most dominant companies in the global technology industry. Its processors powered the majority of personal computers, and its ability to both design and manufacture its own chips gave the company a major competitive advantage. But a series of strategic and manufacturing problems caused Intel to lose ground to competitors.


In this episode, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan examine Intel’s decline from its position at the top of the semiconductor industry and look at several recent developments that could signal a possible resurgence.


Dez begins by looking back at Intel’s position during the 1990s and early 2000s, when the company controlled an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the PC CPU market.

Skip and Dez then examine one of the company’s biggest strategic mistakes. Intel was highly profitable selling processors for desktop and laptop computers and did not see mobile chips as an attractive business. When the smartphone market began expanding after the launch of the first iPhone in 2007, Intel missed the opportunity, leaving competitors to establish themselves in the mobile chip market.

They next look at Intel’s manufacturing problems. For decades, Intel’s Integrated Device Manufacturer, or IDM, model allowed the company to design and manufacture its own processors. However, Intel ran into serious problems when attempting to move from 14-nanometer to 10-nanometer manufacturing. As a result, Intel’s traditional manufacturing advantage became a weakness.

Skip and Dez then discuss the US government’s decision in August 2025 to purchase a stake in Intel for $8.9 billion. The rationale for the investment was national security and the desire to strengthen domestic semiconductor manufacturing while reducing US dependence on chips produced overseas.

Finally, they examine several developments that may indicate Intel is beginning to recover. The company is competing in the budget laptop market with its Core 5 320 processor and has also created Intel Foundry, a standalone business unit that manufactures chips designed by other companies.

This episode helps listeners understand how competitive advantage can disappear when technology and markets change. In this episode, you will learn:

How Intel became the dominant company in the PC processor market.
Why Intel missed the growth of the smartphone chip market.

How manufacturing delays weakened Intel’s competitive position.

Why the US government invested $8.9 billion in Intel.

How budget processors and Intel Foundry could contribute to a possible resurgence.

Do you like what you hear?

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Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

downtobusinessenglish@gmail.com

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The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is creating enormous demand for advanced memory chips. As chip manufacturers move more of their resources toward High Bandwidth Memory, or HBM, the supply of traditional RAM and flash memory is being squeezed.


In this episode, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega examine the global memory shortage that has been dubbed “RAMageddon” and explain why it is increasing the cost of laptops, smartphones, cars, medical equipment, and many other products.

Skip begins by explaining the three main types of memory involved in the current shortage. RAM allows computers and other devices to operate software, while flash memory stores data after a device has been turned off. High Bandwidth Memory, or HBM, is a faster and more powerful form of memory that is essential for running artificial intelligence systems and large language models.

Skip and Samantha then look at why HBM production is reducing the supply of traditional memory. Producing one wafer of HBM can use the same manufacturing resources as three wafers of standard RAM. As demand for AI infrastructure increases, memory manufacturers are therefore moving more of their production capacity toward HBM.

They also discuss the role of major technology companies such as Amazon Web Services, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle. These companies are investing heavily in data centers, which require large amounts of HBM. This demand has encouraged manufacturers to prioritize the AI market over the consumer electronics market. The episode also examines Micron’s decision to close its Crucial consumer memory brand and redirect resources toward HBM production.

Next, Skip explains how HBM has disrupted the traditional boom-and-bust cycle of the memory chip industry. In the past, higher prices encouraged manufacturers to expand production. Once the new production capacity became available, supply increased and prices fell. However, strong and continuing demand from the AI industry has changed this familiar pattern.

Finally, Skip and Samantha examine the consequences for businesses and consumers. Contract prices for RAM increased by between 90 and 95 percent, while flash memory prices rose by 75 percent. Delivery lead times have also extended beyond 58 weeks, and some manufacturers must pay for their orders in advance. These pressures are raising the cost of any product that requires computer memory.

This episode helps listeners understand the global memory chip market while building practical Business English skills. In this episode, you will learn:

What RAM, flash memory, and High Bandwidth Memory are.
Why HBM is essential for artificial intelligence and data centers.

How producing HBM reduces the manufacturing capacity available for standard RAM.

How AI demand has disrupted the traditional boom-and-bust cycle of the memory industry.

Why RAM and flash memory prices are increasing.

How longer delivery times and advance-payment requirements affect manufacturers.

Do you like what you hear?

Become a D2B Member today for to access to our -- NEW!!!-- interactive audio scripts, PDF Audio Script Library, Bonus Vocabulary episodes, and D2B Member-only episodes.

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Follow Down to Business English on Apple podcasts, rate the show, and leave a comment.

Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

downtobusinessenglish@gmail.com

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Inflation affects almost every part of the economy — from food prices and wages to pensions, mortgages, and central bank policy. But how is inflation actually calculated?


In this episode, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan look at the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, and explain how governments measure changes in the cost of goods and services over time.

They start by explaining CPI, one of the main figures used to measure inflation. Dez explains how the Office for National Statistics in the UK tracks the price of a representative basket of goods and services. This basket includes many things people commonly buy, such as groceries, clothes, transport, household items, and services.

Skip and Dez then discuss how this basket changes over time. The items are updated every year to reflect changes in consumer habits and lifestyles. This year, items such as hummus, alcohol-free beer, pet grooming services, and motorhomes were added to the UK basket, while premium lager bought in a pub was removed.

Next, they look at why accurate inflation data is so important. CPI can influence pension increases, wage negotiations, and central bank decisions. If inflation is above a target level, a central bank may raise interest rates, which can affect mortgages, credit cards, and economic growth.

Finally, Skip and Dez discuss some of the more complicated methods used in inflation calculations. These include substitution, Chained CPI, Owner’s Equivalent Rent, and hedonic adjustments. These methods can be controversial because they raise an important question: should inflation measure only what people spend, or should it also consider changes in product quality?

This episode helps listeners understand how inflation is calculated while building practical Business English skills. In this episode, you will learn:

How CPI is used to measure inflation.
What a representative basket of goods and services means.

Why the CPI basket changes as consumer habits change.

How CPI can affect pensions, wages, interest rates, and central bank policy.

What substitution, Chained CPI, Owner’s Equivalent Rent, and hedonic adjustments mean.

Why some people are skeptical of how inflation is measured.

Do you like what you hear?

Become a D2B Member today for to access to our -- NEW!!!-- interactive audio scripts, PDF Audio Script Library, Bonus Vocabulary episodes, and D2B Member-only episodes.

Visit d2benglish.com/membership for more information.

Follow Down to Business English on Apple podcasts, rate the show, and leave a comment.

Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

downtobusinessenglish@gmail.com

Follow Skip & Dez

Skip Montreux on Linkedin

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Skip Montreux on Twitter

Skip Montreux on Facebook

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AI tools were expected to help companies work faster, spend less money, and become more productive. But what happens when employees use so much AI that costs become too high?


In this episode, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan look at tokenmaxxing — a new business problem where AI costs grow much more than expected and why some companies are reducing their AI use. They start by explaining what tokens are and why they are important. Many AI companies charge businesses based on the number of tokens their employees use. When employees use too many tokens, AI costs can increase very quickly.

Skip then explains how agentic AI is different from normal AI prompts. Instead of doing one task, agentic AI can work more independently. It can search for information, make decisions, check results, and repeat tasks many times. This can be very useful, but it can also use a lot of computing power and become expensive.

Next, they discuss several large companies. Uber reportedly spent its yearly AI budget in only four months, which led to strict monthly token limits for developers. Amazon stopped an internal AI leaderboard, and Microsoft canceled many internal Claude Code licenses after AI costs increased too quickly.

Finally, Skip and Dez talk about the bigger business impact. Companies are no longer focusing only on how much AI employees use. Instead, they want to measure how much useful work AI produces. This idea is called Inference Yield. This change could have a big effect on AI companies, especially companies like Anthropic and OpenAI as they prepare for possible future IPOs.

This episode helps listeners understand the business costs of using AI while building practical Business English skills. In this episode, you will learn:

How token-based AI pricing can lead to unexpected costs for companies.
Why agentic AI can use many more tokens than normal AI prompts.

How companies like Uber, Amazon, and Microsoft are dealing with high AI usage.

Why businesses are focusing more on useful AI results than on AI activity.

How limits on AI spending could affect the future value of major AI companies.

Do you like what you hear?

Become a D2B Member today for to access to our -- NEW!!!-- interactive audio scripts, PDF Audio Script Library, Bonus Vocabulary episodes, and D2B Member-only episodes.

Visit d2benglish.com/membership for more information.

Follow Down to Business English on Apple podcasts, rate the show, and leave a comment.

Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

downtobusinessenglish@gmail.com

Follow Skip & Dez

Skip Montreux on Linkedin

Skip Montreux on Instagram

Skip Montreux on Twitter

Skip Montreux on Facebook

Dez Morgan on Twitter

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