393 - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Bonus D2V (Members only)
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Release Date: 12/06/2025
422: The Yen Carry Trade
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: 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....
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420: The fall and resurgence of Intel … maybe
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: 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. Overview: Dez begins by...
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418 - RAMageddon
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: 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. Overview: Skip begins by explaining the three main types of memory involved in the current shortage....
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416 - Calculating Inflation
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: 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. Overview: 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...
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414 - Tokenmaxxing and the Corporate AI Pullback
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: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. Overview:They start by explaining what tokens are and why they are important. AI companies charge businesses based on the number of tokens their employees use. When employees use too many tokens, AI costs can increase...
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412 - Guyana’s Oil Boom
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief:Guyana has become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies after major offshore oil discoveries transformed its economic outlook. In this episode, we look at how this small South American country is managing a sudden oil boom — and the opportunities and risks that come with it. Overview:In this episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega get Down to Business with Guyana’s offshore oil boom. They begin by discussing how rising oil prices and global supply concerns show how sensitive the world economy is to energy markets and Middle East tensions. Then...
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410 - Sneakernomics Revisited
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: The global sportswear market has changed a lot since Down to Business English first covered ‘Sneakernomics’ back in 2019 Nike and Adidas are still major players, but they are facing new pressure from challenger brands, changing consumer behavior in China, and the rise of domestic competitors like Anta Sports. Overview: In this episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan get Down to Business with the changing landscape of the global sportswear industry. They begin by looking at the major players in the market, including Nike, Adidas, Anta Sports, Lululemon, and...
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408 - The Great Kiwi Exodus
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: New Zealand is losing workers at a record pace, with tens of thousands of citizens leaving the country and many heading to Australia. In this episode, we look at why so many New Zealanders are leaving, what is pulling them overseas, and how this growing labor exodus is affecting the country’s economy and public services. Overview: In this episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega get Down to Business with New Zealand’s growing labor exodus. They begin by looking at the scale of the departure, including the number of New Zealand citizens who left in 2025...
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406 - Anthropic v. The United States
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: Oil prices are rising, flights are being canceled, and businesses around the world are feeling the pressure. But another major conflict is also affecting business: a legal fight between AI company Anthropic and the US government. In this episode, we look at how this case raises important questions about business ethics, government power, and the future of AI. Overview: In this episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Samantha Vega get Down to Business with a major legal dispute between Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, and the US government. They begin by talking...
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404 - Hallyu and the K-Beauty industry
Down to Business English: Business News to Improve your Business English
Brief: South Korea’s cosmetics industry has become a major global force. In 2024, South Korea ranked as the world’s second-largest exporter of beauty products, ahead of the United States and behind only France. In this episode, we look at how K-beauty has grown alongside the global rise of Korean popular culture — a phenomenon known as Overview: In this episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan get Down to Business with the rise of South Korea’s K-beauty industry. They begin by explaining the meaning of ‘Hallyu’ and how the worldwide popularity of Korean...
info_outlineIn this Members-only Bonus Vocabulary episode of Down to Business English, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan provide bonus vocabulary explanations and examples for words and phrases used in D2B 392 - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
After explaining the words and expressions in the context of how they were used in ‘D2B 392 - The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’, Skip and Dez demonstrate how these words and phrases can be used through a business conversation role-play.
The words they explain are:
- To be under the weather (idiom)
- To carry weight (verb phrase)
- To do something unilaterally ‘(adjective)
- To denounce (verb)
- To settle (verb)