New ventures offer ray of hope in slow economy

How do you cope with a prolonged period of low growth, which economists call secular stagnation or economic immobilism?

How should businesses define their niche? How should college graduates plan their career? How should older workers plan their retirement? No one, from government to top-level economists to college students' parents, seems able to offer a clear answer. And again, just like China's slowdown in growth, it may not be a bad thing.

Of course, in China as well as in other parts of the world, stagnation or immobilization can only be applied in relative terms. But it is certain that many parts of the world are going to go through a long period of slower economic growth. We've already seen that in China, with the fall of its GDP growth rate from 7.5 percent in 2013, to last year's 7.4 percent, then probably to 7 percent this year. And no one is quite certain how long the slower-growth cycle will last.