"This is a globalization story, " said Richard Sylla, a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University.

WSJ: Planned Deal Marks NYSE's Decline

Richard Sylla, who teaches economic history at New York University's Leonard N.

NPR: Black Monday: A Bad Day Led to Many Changes

The U.S. last faced a prolonged period of low rates in the 1940s and early 1950s, when the Treasury Department ordered the Fed to keep rates low so it would be easier to repay World War II borrowing, says New York University economic historian Richard Sylla.

WSJ: Itchy Investors Ramp Up the Risk