Facts about Mohamed El-Erian

"Investors have few spare tires left. Think of the image of a car on a bumpy road to an uncertain destination that has already used up its spare tire. The cash reserves of people have been eaten up by the recent market volatility"

"The once-unthinkable loss of the AAA rating will constitute a further hit to already fragile business and consumer confidence"

"Investors should be cautiously positioned as the global economy and markets face major uncertainties. The downgrade will be a further headwind to growth and job creation in the U.S"

"Because in the New Normal you are more worried about the return of your capital, not return on your capital"

"America's downgrade may serve as a wakeup call for its policymakers. It is an unambiguous and loud signal of the country's eroding economic strength and global standing. It renders urgent the need to regain the initiative through better economic policymaking and more coherent governance"

"It is hard to imagine that, having downgraded the US, S & P will not follow suit on at least one of the other members of the dwindling club of sovereign AAAs. If this were to materialise and involve a country like France, for example, it could complicate the already fragile efforts by Europe to rescue countries in its periphery"

"For the next three years, we're going to see different economies work out different problems. For European economies, especially Greece, it would be through default"

"The world is on a bumpy journey to a new destination and the New Normal"

"Most people are under exposed to global assets, including foreign stocks, bonds and currencies"

"Investors have to ask themselves two questions. How much can we grow our investments? And, can we afford our mistakes?"

"Investors should invest on what they know. The biggest mistake is to invest on what they don't know"

"As a whole, investors should welcome attempts to safeguard the integrity of markets. You need very clear rules applied to markets"