The single major element of impact was that quantitative easing wasn't what alot people touted.
It wasn't creating and spending fiat. It was just creating electronic fiat on balances at the central banks.
It wasn't spent, because the sole goal that central banks had with it, was to provide new dollars ONLY to selected. NOT to the mass.
Before, they did that by changing their interest rates (differences) while keeping the total money balance.
After they approached the zero interest rates pivot , and people that previously received would have to pay instead (on their own savings) they changed that to keeping the interest rates pivot, and instead changing the total money balance.
The sole end-to-end difference being that with the interest rates pivot, alot is affected (wages, pensions, insurances,...), while the excess reserves component of the total money balance, is something in a sterilized environment, with as (inflationary) 'leak' the interest rate that the central bank pays its member banks (Federal Reserve changed it to a negative rate, after US law changes were made to allow that) its member banks on their excess reserves).
Or in other words, all those newly created dollars, not their total amount was spent and thus inflationary, but only an interest rate on them was.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/INTEXC1.txt
2008-10-15 0.75
2008-10-22 0.75
2008-10-29 0.65
2008-11-05 0.65
2008-11-12 1.00
2008-11-19 1.00
2008-11-26 1.00
2008-12-03 1.00
2008-12-10 1.00
2008-12-17 0.25
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/INTEXC2.txt
2008-10-22 0.75
2008-11-05 0.65
2008-11-19 1.00
2008-12-03 1.00
2008-12-17 0.25
These 'rates on excess reserves' only started to exist in october 2008, when they started to blow up the excess reserves balance from a few dozens billions, to trillions.
Notice how during the crisis highdays, the rates were higher. For the obvious reason: to avoid banks having to tell their customers "no money sir".
But they quickly (matter of a few months) dropped to 0.25% (being a quarter of the highest) and stayed there upto present day.
This illustrates aboves change of central planning method to control inflation/general price increasing. Instead of changing interest rate, they change the balance total.
1% on a 100 billion balance is a 'donation' of 1 billion.
1% on a 1 trillion balance is a 'donation' of 10 billion.
Same interest rate, yet 'donation' is 10 times bigger.
A central bank can create 99999999999 trillion dollars, if the spending of these dollars is blocked (by increasing reserve requirements and by paying more than market rate) then they don't cause general price risings, only some temporary, due to people that didn't know this, assumed all spent, and high general price risings / serious inflation next.
And that's why some were willing to pay upto 5-folded prices for silver, and why we see now only a 2-fold. Byebye a
3-fold. That's the amount dollars that was chewed out from our market. It's very likely that these sit now on excess reserves balances at central banks, ready to be destroyed again. Goal achieved: getting rid of some of peoples bank savings, after which they can again raise interest rates. But if people get smarter, and don't just pay any price, it will make that alot harder for them, and finally result in the (general instead of selected) price risings degrees that affect them as well.
So, not paying prices that were driven up, and not selling at prices that were driven down, is the key to defeat Fed and Buddies. We try to live in a box we know and trust. They try to lure us out of it. Don't follow the price movements they bring. Just buy when they're out. Let them eat up eachother. Reward will be a more stable price trend, and more moments to buy/sell. No need to wait for peaks/bottoms. Just anytime, like money should be.
