Ron Paul asked him if he shopped for his own groceries. After a telling pause a bemused Bernanke said that he did. In that case, "Why do you continue to lie about the rate of inflation?", asked the inimitable representative for Texas's 14th district. I didn't take in the less than credible response; my attention having been diverted to the contemplation of what Ben might have in his supermarket trolley.

David Fuller's view Unfortunately, there are very few other politicians who can speak with Ron Paul's authority and honesty on the subject of sound money, or are willing to do so.

Mr Bernanke's answer to Ron Paul's next question, reported by Clive Hale, is important for investors.

He says they should be invested in the stock market, and not for the first time. Mr Bernanke is targeting the stock market and I agree with Clive Hale that he would resume QE if share prices swooned. Meanwhile, the most likely cause of that event would be another surge in the prices for crude oil (Brent & WTI) which are at uncomfortably high levels.

So there we have it. Gold and its proxies have been such a good investment over the last decade, until last year's peaks, because the money creation printing presses are running. Couple this with the superior economic performance of growth economies, and we have commodity price inflation led by gold and silver.

However, Mr Bernanke will never intentionally target gold and silver. Therefore, for diversification and performance in this environment of monetary excesses, investors also need quality equities, not least Autonomies with reasonable yields and the earnings to increase those payouts.