Zhu Rongji went from being branded a political outcast to becoming one of the most important economic reformers in modern Chinese history. As mayor of Shanghai, vice premier, central bank governor and eventually premier, he helped tackle inflation, restructure China’s huge state-owned sector and push the country toward greater integration with the global economy.

In this episode, Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan look back on Zhu Rongji’s remarkable life and career, from his difficult early years to his role in transforming Shanghai and helping bring China into the World Trade Organization.

Skip and Dez begin with Zhu’s early life in Changsha, Hunan. Orphaned as a child, he went on to study electrical engineering at Tsinghua University before beginning a career in industrial and economic planning. But his career was interrupted after he criticized problems in government economic policy during the 1950s. Zhu was branded a ‘rightist’, expelled from the Communist Party and later sent to the countryside.

His political fortunes changed in 1978, when his rightist designation was overturned and his Party membership restored. Zhu quickly rose through China’s economic bureaucracy before being sent to Shanghai, where he became mayor in 1988 and later the city’s top Party official. There, he promoted foreign investment, infrastructure development and financial reform as Shanghai began its transformation into a major international business center.

Skip and Dez then look at Zhu’s move to Beijing and his role in dealing with China’s overheating economy during the early 1990s. With inflation reaching around 24% in 1994, Zhu helped tighten bank lending and reform taxation, banking and foreign exchange. China eventually achieved a ‘soft landing’, reducing inflation while maintaining economic growth.

They also examine the much more painful restructuring of China’s state-owned enterprises. After becoming premier in 1998, Zhu accelerated the closure and restructuring of loss-making companies, forcing businesses to become more efficient but also contributing to millions of workers losing their jobs.

Finally, Skip and Dez explore what became one of Zhu’s defining economic projects — China’s entry into the World Trade Organization. After almost 15 years of negotiations, China officially became the WTO’s 143rd member on December 11, 2001. The move opened China further to international trade and investment and helped accelerate its integration into global manufacturing and commerce.

This episode gives listeners an introduction to Zhu Rongji and an important period in China’s economic development while building useful Business English and economic vocabulary. In this episode, you will learn:

1. How Zhu Rongji went from political outcast to one of China’s most senior leaders.
3. How his work in Shanghai helped modernize the city’s economy.
4. How China brought inflation under control during the 1990s.
5. Why reforming state-owned enterprises created both economic change and major social costs.
6. Why China’s 2001 entry into the WTO became such an important moment for the Chinese and global economies.

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Contact Skip, Dez, and Samantha at

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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:

1. What a carry trade is and why the yen is used as a funding currency.
3. Why Bank of Japan interest-rate increases are changing the carry trade.
4. What ‘Mrs. Watanabe’ means in financial markets.
5. What happens during a carry trade unwind.
6. Why changes in the yen can have consequences far beyond Japan.

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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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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:

1. How Intel became the dominant company in the PC processor market.
3. Why Intel missed the growth of the smartphone chip market.
4. How manufacturing delays weakened Intel’s competitive position.
5. Why the US government invested $8.9 billion in Intel.
6. How budget processors and Intel Foundry could contribute to a possible resurgence.

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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Skip Montreux on Linkedin

Skip Montreux on Facebook

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