Companies continue to increase the number of suppliers in their supply chain, consistent with the trend of product companies moving towards becoming brand owners and shedding captive manufacturing capacity.

FORBES: Manufacturing Forecast - Growth Expected in 2013

This trend towards democracy and federalism began with the glasnost and perestroika of Mikhail Gorbachev and extended through the administration of Boris Yeltsin.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: A Tsar is Born: The Consolidation of Power in Putin��s Russia

Mr O'Reilly is something of a technology guru himself and is widely credited with coining the term Web 2.0 to capture the trend towards greater creativity, information sharing and collaboration among internet users.

ECONOMIST: Innovation

There is also a general trend towards earlier retirement throughout the GP workforce in common with trends throughout society.

BBC: GP Consultation

In recent years the trend has been towards some form of universal banking, with the same bank providing both retail and investment services.

ECONOMIST: Retail banks

What makes this ship notable in the world of really expensive toys is that it reflects a new trend, according to Burgess, towards owners who build with the charter market in mind.

FORBES: What Kind Of Boat Costs Half A Million Dollars -- A Week?

Now, depending upon your economic persuasion, this is either good news for Apple since stock isn't rotting on the shelves or bad news as they trend towards a replenishment issue with an inability to post profits in line with consumer demand.

ENGADGET: Can Apple meet iPhone demand?

If IPPR is right and there is a trend towards people in England describing themselves primarily as English, then the UK and its relationship with the wider world may be up for grabs.

BBC: Is brand Britain losing its lustre?

The international trend towards greater renewable-energy deployment points to a sustained period of wind turbine investment, with equipment purchases expected to more than double by 2025.

FORBES: World's Wind Turbine Markets Keep Trucking, Mostly