Years from now, we might well look back at the period from 2008 through 2015 as the Golden Age of Global Connectedness.

When I first moved to California in 1990, I was told by Stanford's campus housing people to keep an earthquake emergency box on hand at all times. Its contents included a radio, flashlights, warm clothes, medical supplies and a few other items. Later in Boston, I stuck with the idea, but added stuff suited to hurricanes, blizzards and extreme cold. After Sept. 11, the kit got still bigger - food, water, fuel, camping supplies, even weapons. It became known as the Anarchy Closet.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. say they'll keep making cars in the U.K. despite Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to leave the European Union's single market, which could make exporting from British factories less lucrative.

The global economy is forecast to grow by 2.7 percent in 2017 after reaching a post-crisis low of 2.3 percent in 2016, according to the World Bank.