It wasn't long ago that U.S. Treasuries were considered a "risk-free" investment. But the financial crisis, hulking budget deficits, political gridlock, and the Standard & Poor's debt downgrade have changed that perception - forever . Now there's only one safe -haven investment: gold. Since surging to a record high $1,917.90 an ounce earlier this month, the price of gold has slipped on profit taking. But don't let that minor correction fool you into thinking gold's bull run is over. The yellow metal's best days are still ahead. How do I know? Because, unlike U.S. debt, gold can't be downgraded. It has inherent value that's more reliable than the word of even the most powerful country on earth. Gold was used as currency for centuries. In fact, it's still being used for transactions in places such as China, India, and much of the Middle East - regions that are eager to diversify away from the beleaguered U.S. dollar. But now gold's also usurping the role U.S. Treasuries have played for the better part of a century - that of the ultimate investment safe haven. Just take a look. The World's Real Risk-Free Investment From July 21, 2009 to mid-July of this year, the correlation between Treasuries (as represented by the iShares 20-Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: TLT )) and gold (as represented by the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (NYSE: GLD )) was 0.5 - meaning that only half the movement of one coincided with the other. However, in the period ranging from July 21, 2011 to Aug. 16, 2011, the correlation jumped by 78% to 0.89. That means gold and 20-year Treasuries are moving in near- perfect lock step. To continue reading, please click here...