The U.S. dollar and Treasurys have ceased to be the safe havens that once offered refuge to investors fleeing from crises elsewhere in the world, says Mark Mobius, executive chairman at Templeton Emerging Markets Group.

Debt crises in the United States and Europe have tainted the reputation of those asset classes, making emerging-market alternatives much more attractive.

"The debt crisis in the U.S. and Western Europe puts emerging markets in a very strong position because their debt to GDP ratios are much lower than the developed countries and their foreign reserves are greater than the developed countries," Mobius says, according to CNBC.

Commodities such as oil and gold have been attractive amid such uncertainty and will continue to be so, Mobius adds.

While the debt ceiling debate is roiling markets, the overall global economy will avoid a recession.

"The consumer is alive and well and kicking both in the U.S. and in emerging markets, so I'm not too frightened. The consumer has lots of cash to spend and they want to spend, because they don't want to hold currencies," Mobius says.

The fate of the U.S. economy remains unclear thanks to an impasse in Congress over whether to lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling to avoid an Aug. 2 government default.

Both Democrats and Republicans want to avoid a default, but disagree on the scope spending cuts should play in reducing deficits in exchange for lifting the ceiling.

Investors are beginning to worry.

"The expectation was that there would be an agreement by this week. So now people are beginning to worry," says Glen Buco, a certified financial planner with West Financial Services in McLean, Va., according to the Associated Press.