EL-ERIAN: Here Are 8 Major Unanswered Questions Facing The World Today

August has been a relatively quiet month for major market-moving news.

However, the relative calm belies the mountain of uncertainty that the global economy continues to face.

PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian has repeatedly warned investors not to get too comfortable.

In an email to Business Insider this morning, El-Erian forwarded his list of 8 major questions facing markets and the economy today.

From El-Erian:

• Will the Fed taper in September, by how much and why?
• Who will succeed Ben Bernanke at the Fed?
• Will Congress flirt with a government shutdown?
• How will lawmakers handle the debt ceiling?
• Where will Chancellor Merkel take European policy after her expected victory in upcoming German parliamentary elections?
• How will official creditors respond to requests additional peripheral funding and the need for further debt reduction?
• Will Prime Minister Abe come through on Japan’s “third policy arrow”?
• How will the regional implications of Syria and Egypt play out?

Stocks are down this month, but the S&P 500 is up 14% since the beginning of the year. Will markets continue to climb this wall of worry?