International Business with Fexingo: Global Trade, Cross-Border Deals, and Multinational Operations

As the trade-weighted dollar index edges down from its highs, cross-border mergers and acquisitions are seeing a revival. Lucas and Luna examine how the weaker greenback is making US assets cheaper for foreign buyers, with a focus on European and Japanese companies eyeing American targets. They discuss the $190 billion current account deficit, the yen hovering near 160 per dollar, and what a softe...

India's IT services sector is quietly reshaping global trade in 2026. With the Bank of Japan hiking rates to 1% and China's economy weakening, multinational corporations are diversifying their tech supply chains. Lucas and Luna examine how Indian IT firms are capturing a larger share of global services exports, the impact of digital services trade on current account balances, and whether this shif...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is fundamentally rewriting the geography of chip production. With TSMC's new Arizona fab now shipping 4-nanometer chips to Apple and NVIDIA, the hosts examine what this means for global supply chain resilience, the economics of reshoring, and the delicate balance between efficiency and security. They discuss the...

In Episode 53 of International Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore the accelerating shift from globalized supply chains to regional trade blocs. With the trade-weighted US dollar index at 120.1 and the yen at 160.3 per dollar, trade is rewiring around three major poles: North America, Europe, and Asia. The hosts focus on US-Mexico trade, where Mexico's peso has strengthened 12% against t...

As the trade-weighted US dollar index hits 120.1 in June 2026 and geopolitical tensions flare, global trade is quietly shifting from a rules-based multilateral system to a patchwork of regional blocs. Lucas and Luna examine how the US-China tech decoupling, Europe's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, and Southeast Asia's supply chain diversification are creating three distinct trading orbits. The...

Lucas and Luna examine Mexico's emergence as the top nearshoring destination for global manufacturers, with foreign direct investment into the country surging 38% year-over-year to a record $42 billion in 2025. They focus on the specific case of Tesla's massive factory in Nuevo Leon, which ramped production to 500,000 vehicles in Q1 2026, and how this has reshaped supply chains across North Americ...

Episode 50 of International Business with Fexingo examines a subtle but significant shift: the Chinese renminbi is slowly displacing the US dollar in trade invoicing and settlement, especially with resource-exporting nations. Lucas and Luna break down new data showing that renminbi-denominated trade has grown to cover 6.5% of global payments, up from under 2% five years ago. They explore why Russi...

In this episode of International Business with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna dive into the dollar's continued dominance in global payments, despite rising de-dollarization efforts. They discuss the latest SWIFT data showing the dollar's share of international payments holding above 48 percent, while the euro and yuan struggle to gain ground. The hosts explore the structural reasons—deep bond markets, en...

On June 12, 2026, SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq with a market cap exceeding $2 trillion, making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. Lucas and Luna explore how this record-breaking IPO is reshaping global capital flows, from institutional investors rebalancing portfolios to emerging market funds seeing outflows as money chases the space giant. They discuss the implications for cross-border inv...

On June 12, 2026, SpaceX is poised for the biggest IPO in history, with a valuation expected to exceed $300 billion. This episode explores how this event is redrawing the map of global capital flows, drawing foreign investors away from emerging market ETFs—which have seen EEM surge 4.5% in a week and EWY jump 13.6%—and into a new space-based growth story. Lucas and Luna discuss how the IPO could d...

As SpaceX prepares for its historic IPO on June 12, 2026, the implications extend far beyond the space industry. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the company's $1.8 trillion valuation and the retail allocation cut to the low 20% range are reshaping cross-border investment patterns. They discuss the broader trend of private capital bypassing traditional public markets, the role of sovere...

Episode 45 of International Business with Fexingo examines a surprising shift in global capital flows: foreign direct investment (FDI) is increasingly denominated in yuan, euros, and yen rather than dollars. Lucas walks through new data from the IMF and UNCTAD showing that the dollar's share of cross-border M&A and greenfield project finance has slipped below 70 percent for the first time since 20...

This episode of International Business with Fexingo explores how the persistently strong U.S. dollar is reshaping the landscape of cross-border mergers and acquisitions in mid-2026. With the trade-weighted dollar index at 120.1 and the yen at 160.3 per dollar, American acquirers are finding bargains abroad, particularly in Japan and Europe. But the same dynamics are pricing foreign buyers out of U...

Episode 43 of International Business with Fexingo examines how persistent dollar strength is reshaping commodity trade flows for emerging market exporters. Lucas and Luna discuss the recent 5.5 percent drop in the EEM emerging markets ETF, the yen crossing 160 per dollar, and how countries from Brazil to India are rethinking pricing and hedging strategies. The conversation highlights concrete exam...

China's May wholesale inflation hit a near 4-year high, driven by Iran war-related input costs and the AI boom. How does this feed into global trade dynamics? Lucas and Luna break down the implications: Chinese export prices, the pass-through to consumers, and the ripple effects on emerging market supply chains. With the trade-weighted dollar at 120.1 and the yuan stable at 6.77 per dollar, the ep...

The US dollar hit a 20-year high in June 2026, and emerging markets are feeling the pain. In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down how the trade-weighted dollar index at 120 is squeezing exporters from Brazil to South Korea. They look at specific data: Korea's KOSPI down 14 percent in a week, the EEM ETF losing 6.5 percent, and the widening US trade deficit despite record exports. They explore w...

China's exports to the U.S. jumped 35% in May 2026, the fastest growth in five years. Lucas and Luna unpack what's driving the surge: a tech export boom in semiconductors and solar, front-loading ahead of potential tariff hikes, and the weak yuan. They discuss how this reshapes supply chains, pressures emerging markets, and raises questions about the future of trade flows. Plus, a look at the data...

As of June 8, 2026, emerging market ETFs are experiencing dramatic outflows. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) is down 6.8% in five days, while the Korea ETF (EWY) plunged 13%. Lucas and Luna explore why capital is fleeing these markets, examining the strength of the US dollar, rising US Treasury yields, and geopolitical concerns. They discuss how the strong dollar is tightening financia...

South Korea's Kospi index plunged 7% on June 8, 2026, as foreign investors continued a massive selloff that has seen billions of dollars exit Korean equities this year. Lucas and Luna unpack the paradox: a record-breaking rally in Korean stocks coexisting with relentless foreign divestment. They trace the story to three structural shifts—the yen carry trade unwind, China's economic slowdown, and K...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine how the recent 19.2% drop in South Korean won-denominated assets (EWY) and broader emerging market currency weakness are reshaping commodity purchase agreements. They focus on the shift from dollar-denominated contracts to local-currency pricing in copper and soy markets, and how Brazilian and Indonesian exporters are now negotiating payment in yuan and rupe...

Episode 36 of International Business with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna examine how South Korean companies are bypassing the US dollar in trade finance, using won-denominated contracts and direct swaps with trading partners. With Korea's EWZ ETF down 19.2% in a week amid Iran war fears, the hosts drill into a specific shift: the Korea Exchange's new dollar-won futures market launched in April 2026, whic...

The US dollar index hovers near 119 and emerging market currencies are reeling — South Korea's won has plunged 19 percent in a week, and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF is down nearly 8 percent. Lucas and Luna explore how dollar-denominated trade credit is becoming prohibitively expensive for importers in Asia and Latin America, squeezing working capital and forcing companies to rethink supp...

Global trade finance runs on paper. A single cross-border transaction can generate 36 physical documents, from bills of lading to letters of credit, taking weeks to courier between banks, customs brokers, and freight forwarders. But a quiet regulatory shift in 2025 — the UK's Electronic Trade Documents Act and its adoption by Singapore, Japan, and now the UAE — is finally making digital documents...

Lucas and Luna unpack the European Union's new carbon levy on maritime shipping, set to take effect in 2026, and how it's already reconfiguring global trade routes and costs. They examine a specific case: how Maersk is rerouting vessels through non-EU hubs to avoid the tax, and why this shifts the competitive landscape for Asian exporters, especially in electronics and apparel. The hosts break dow...

Episode 32 of International Business with Fexingo examines India's push for rupee-denominated trade settlements. Lucas and Luna break down the Reserve Bank of India's mechanism, why it matters for importers of Russian oil and exporters of pharmaceuticals, and how the numbers stack up—India's trade deficit with China, the rupee's stability versus the yuan, and the real-world traction so far. They a...