After this summer’s turmoil, markets have entered a tentative healing phase helped by significant injection of central bank liquidity and a cut in US interest rates. The inter-bank market is normalising, credit costs are falling and share prices have resumed the march to record levels.

Q&A - Credit squeeze: what next?

Post your questions to Mohamed El-Erian in Friday’s Q&A

It is thus tempting to view the summer’s disruptions as a “flesh wound” and to return to business as usual. But such a reaction would be inadvisable, as the uncertainty about the future relates to more than just economic and financial issues: it also has an important political dimension.