The dollar is headed higher – here’s how it will affect you

Quantitative easing (QE – money printing) is the main influence on markets right now. Don’t believe me? Then just look at what happened yesterday. Investors forgot about the drama of the eurozone, and spent most of their time holding their breath ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision. Vague hopes that Fed chief Ben Bernanke would hint at a third batch of QE saw the dollar dip, stocks rise and gold surge. Then, when ‘helicopter Ben’ stayed firmly on the launch pad, stocks ended the day down, with the Dow Jones sliding 80 points or so. So if hopes and fears for QE3 are what’s driving markets right now, when – if ever – can we expect it to arrive?