The financial system is like the oil in your car. Without the oil, it no longer matters whether you have a solid engine, good brakes or fancy safety features. The car will not function.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Mr. El-Erian, a former investment manager of the Harvard Endowment, gives an excellent view of the current market situation and how the government and industry is likely to respond in his Financial Times article, "Crisis and Coherence: Finance Remains Vulnerable."