Some people question whether funds of funds will be able to keep taking this extra slice unless hedge funds make higher returns soon.

ECONOMIST: For the fortunate few

So in later years mortgage payments will absorb a bigger slice of a borrower's income than when inflation was higher.

ECONOMIST: The higher they climb, the further they will fall

Merchant cash advances can be higher: They charge annual rates up to 70%, collecting a slice of credit-card receipts in return for a lump sum.

FORBES: Need A Business Loan? Impress The Algorithm, Not The Loan Officer

Moreover, compared with 1999, a bigger slice of those capital gains has, in effect, been turned into cash by households borrowing against the higher value of their homes.

ECONOMIST: The American economy

As for the popular belief that Asian producers are grabbing an ever-larger slice of exports, the region's 31% share of world exports last year was not much higher than in 1995 (28%) and remains smaller than western Europe's.

ECONOMIST: The balance of economic power