Importantly, some of the features of the bubble years have disappeared or become less influential.

ECONOMIST: Mergers and acquisitions

Differences in access persist, especially in terms of adults who have high-speed broadband at home, but they have become significantly less prominent over the years -- and have disappeared entirely when other demographic factors (including language proficiency) are controlled for.

CNN: Why one in five U.S. adults doesn't use the Internet

For the largest legacy U.S., European and Asian carriers, avoiding or coping with such weather phenomenon has become routine, and major wind shear-related accidents have largely disappeared.

WSJ: Weather Scrutinized as Possible Cause of Lion Air Crash

Yet as the recession has bitten deeper into corporate profits, Japanese firms have become keen to shed surplus labour, particularly the sort of middle manager who disappeared from foreign competitors' payrolls some time ago.

ECONOMIST: Gang sackings

Since then, the nightmares about the financial health of corporate America have disappeared as the economy has been bathed in sunlight, profits have risen and companies have apparently become sharply less indebted.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood