"In order for central banks to achieve their ultimate economic objective - which is growth and jobs - they have to push investors into taking more risk than is justified," is the somewhat chilling warning that PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian gives in this excellent interview with the WSJ. "Central banks are operating through the wealth effect and animal spirits," El-Erian says peeling back the truth onion, as they prop up asset prices to "artificial levels, in virtually every market." Worries over the central bankers of the world withdrawing easy money policies too early are "unwarranted," he notes, adding that he suspects, "they will most likely stay too long and they will consciously make that mistake." Critically, though, he sends a message that appears to fit with many of our recent discussions (most recently here) that "if these levels aren’t validated by the fundamentals, then investors will get hurt."