Investors are bearish on almost everything, except the dollar

Record budget deficits, a U.S. national debt piled as high as the Sears Tower in Chicago. And the dollar . . . rises. Go figure.

Actually, it does figure, when you consider risk aversion. And investors, given the pronounced U.S. recession and near-zero global GDP growth, need to consider risk aversion, which means putting some money in U.S. Treasuries or their equivalent, says economist David H. Wang.

"We're in the first, synchronized global recession in decades, with considerable fear regarding the amount of toxic assets in the U.S. and abroad, so that has caused a flight of money to U.S. Treasuries, which benefits the dollar," Wang says. "Investors big and small continue to look for safe places to park their money, and there aren't too many safer places than U.S. government bonds."