State of Business: What Ever Happened To the Business Cycle?

Now that the economy is entering the 40th month of expansion, many people are wondering whether U.S. business has repealed its own law of gravity. One of the hard facts of economic life has been that what goes up eventually comes down, sometimes with a thud. In the classic business "cycle" of ups and downs (see chart), even the post-World War II boom has been interrupted by four disturbing recessions, though they have been growing briefer and shallower. But the current recovery has shown unprecedented staying power, having survived the steel price showdown, a stock market slump, the Cuban...