A paradigm shift but this time for real?

It use to be that an inverted yield curve would imply that a recession was close at hand, it's predictive power has indeed been close to 100% since the 1950's. The mechanics is straight forward, an inverted yield curve strains the system because banks that borrow short term and lend long term have no incentive to do so if they are losing money on the operation. With less credit available, investment and consumption, two key contributors to growth are adversely impacted, rising the probability of a recession.
So we may wonder how despite high short rates and the inverted environment in the U.S., the economy is still doing rather well, awash with liquidity, healthy earnings, a rise in M&A activities, share buybacks etc. It could have something to do with the fundamental changes in the economic environment of the past decade. The free flow of capital on a truly global scale and the explosion in financial innovations have markedly changed the landscape. Maybe we need to write off the typical yield curve of a particular country or region and instead think of a global composite yield curve comprised of maturity patches from different countries. The short end would have Japan with it's 0.5% yield and the longer end would have a batch of emerging countries with double digit yields. This might partly explain why lending is unhindered and why central banker's might feel more impotent than at any time in the past.