Exerpt from Clive Maund (sorry, no link).

"Creating vast quantities of money out of nothing to make available to big banks and the financial sector free of charge must of course have a price, since real wealth cannot be created out of nothing, and that price is monetary debasement, the consequences of which are neatly passed along to the lowest tiers of society via inflation. So the big banks and favored entities and institutions are the direct beneficiaries of the munificence of the money printers, while the bill for it all is passed along to the man in the street via robust inflation.

The need to save the world by clamping interest rates at zero also provides another convenient mechanism for transferring the wealth of the middle and lower classes to the elites. The big banks, as we know, can borrow newly created money for nothing or almost nothing, but when the little guy wants to borrow money for whatever reason he has to pay the banks 4 or 5% interest, so the banks pocket an instant 4 to 5% profit for a little paperwork– not bad work if you can get it. On the other hand, if the little guy actually succeeds in saving some money, and makes the mistake of letting it accumulate in a bank account, what will the banks pay him in interest? – nothing, or next to nothing. This is why the little guy, frustrated at getting no return on his savings in the bank, is encouraged to venture into more risky areas like the stockmarket – which is then cyclically flushed to strip him of his holdings at low prices. To add insult to injury the little guy is then advised that “for the greater good” he should tighten his belt and endure austerity measures. As if all this isn’t enough the size of bars of chocolate is being slyly reduced. The trick for the elites is squeeze the little guy as much as possible so that he is simmering with anger and frustration, but not so much that his anger boils over and he goes on the rampage, which could result in unfortunate consequences, such as bank windows being smashed and bonuses being reduced. Now and then a “trial balloon” such as Cyprus is floated to see what the little guy’s limits are, so that they know what they can get away with later in places like Italy and Spain.

Now, as you know, we are quite above ranting on this site – the point of the above discussion was to make clear that the global elites have charted a course for robust global inflation. Deflation could lead to things quickly getting out of control and a descent into a state of anarchy, which could lead to them losing power and possibly even their lives. Inflation on the other hand, means that they can keep things limping along, maintain the status quo, which benefits them hugely, and engage in the steady transfer of wealth from the poorest sections of society to the richest. This for them is the perfect outcome, and – now we are getting to the point – it means that hard assets with intrinsic value can be expected to remain in uptrends as far as the eye can see – as investors struggle to maintain the value of their assets in the face of the relentless ravages of inflation."