"...how the Fed's latest announcement on target overnight rates through 2014 will have anywhere near the same lasting effect."

I think that the "lasting effect" comes from the fact that 5.7 TRILLION in $US treasury bond roll-overs (this is the number I've read - don't have a reference), which are supposed to happen in 2012, get monetized...that is, the current bond holders don't renew the bonds, but either take the cash, buy GOLD or SILVER, or shares, because the interest rate is simply too LOW! The REAL interest rates are obviously NEGATIVE.

So, the FED has to create more money to buy those bonds, and as the successive waves of bonds roll over, U get constant money creation, and constant waves of old money changing into GOLD, etc...ie hyper-inflation.

$5.7 trillion in new "money" in a pool of (what?) $15 trillion in current "money", equals roughly 38 percent monetary inflation.!!

Now if 10% of that $5.7 T gets used to buy GOLD....what kind of inflation will that cause?

lotus petals,

gildage