8.8.11 -- Gold tops $1,700, investors flee stocks

Gold prices shot up to fresh highs over $1,700/oz. Monday on U.S. credit downgrade, stocks tank on global recession/debt fears. Gold last traded at $1,720 an ounce, silver at $39.38 an ounce
Dow plunges 635 points, sixth biggest drop in history, extending last week's smackdown, with Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. credit exacting a heavy toll on already troubled investor sentiment.
In the last thirty days gold sales worldwide surpassed the previous six months combined. Savvy investors understand gold is the ultimate currency and store of value in a world awash in debt, led by the U.S. government, Federal Reserve several EU countries.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told CNBC Sunday, "there is no chance of a U.S. default" because the Fed can print unlimited amounts of money to prevent it - in essence, to attempt inflating the debt crisis away.