No longer could people understand history as a reliable flow of improvement upon improvement.

WSJ: Goodbye to All That

The second is to look for industry leaders with a solid franchise, good cash flow, and a strong dividend history.

FORBES: Searching for safety

The currents of history may ebb and flow, but over time they move -- decidedly, decisively -- in a single direction.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks to the Australian Parliament

Then the investor uses financial analytics to identify the businesses and management teams that demonstrate an awareness of their cost of capital and have a history of deploying their free cash flow in a shareholder value creating fashion.

FORBES: The P/E Problem

Meanwhile, they lost sight of improving balance sheets and excess cash flow, a first for this industry in its 35-year jet history.

FORBES: If it aint controversial, dont buy it

This can't be ignored: History tells us that in periods of dollar weakness money tends to flow away from the innovative economy and into non-productive, hard assets.

FORBES: Political Economy

That flow - one of the biggest influxes of people in the nation's history - has now reduced to nothing much, while the American jobs market is so weak.

BBC: The human traffic jam

The flow of Chinese investment overseas and investment in China by foreign multinationals will, if history is a guide, spur still more trade between China and others.

WSJ: China Trade Rise Prompts Shifts Around the Globe