'New normal' is lower average growth

"Green shoots" are evident across global markets. An increasing number of investors see a strong rebound coming first in China and then in the United States, followed by Europe and the rest of the world.

Even the horrible growth numbers of the last couple of quarters don't seem to discourage this optimistic thinking. The deeper the plunge, the stronger the rebound, some analysts say.

Perhaps these optimists are right. But how strong an expansion can one reasonably expect when the worst is finally over? Is the "new normal" going to be the same as the "old normal" of the boom years from 2002 to 2007?