national debt

IMF chief says global debt at record, urges urgent action

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva urged governments on Sunday to take immediate action to narrow budget deficits, warning that global public debt has reached a record high and is on track to surpass 100% of global GDP by…

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European investors pull back from U.S. Treasuries as yields hit 5%

The U.S. national debt has crossed $40 trillion, a milestone that arrived as Treasury yields hover near their highest levels since 2007 and the Federal Reserve delivers its first interest rate hike in more than three years — reshaping the…

Global investors grow wary of US as gold overtakes Treasurys in reserves

As the United States grapples with a national debt that surpassed $40 trillion in August, the global financial order is undergoing a quiet but consequential realignment. Central banks are accumulating gold at record rates, foreign governments are repatriating reserves from…

Investors eye Chinese bonds as U.S. debt tops $40T

As the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note hovers near 4.8% and the national debt has surpassed $40 trillion, a growing number of investors are looking to an unlikely haven: Chinese government bonds. Speaking at the Fortune Leaders Forum…

OECD debt-servicing costs top $2 trillion a year

The cost of servicing government debt across the world's advanced economies has crossed $2 trillion a year, a threshold that is now redirecting public funds away from defense, infrastructure, and social services in some of the largest economies on the…

Gold and Bitcoin retreat as dollar reasserts dominance

Gold and Bitcoin moved in rare lockstep through August as investors grew alarmed over the US national debt surpassing $40 trillion, reviving the so-called "debasement trade" — though a resurgent dollar has since pushed both assets into retreat.

Dollar’s reserve share ticks up, but central banks plan further cuts

The U.S. dollar's share of global foreign exchange reserves rose to 57.13% in the first quarter of 2026, up from 56.42% in the prior quarter, according to the IMF's Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves data released in late…

Gold futures buying hits decade high amid US debt fears

Speculative investors have poured into gold futures at the fastest pace in more than a decade, driven by mounting concerns over U.S. government debt sustainability and a surprise Treasury buyback announcement that jolted markets last week.

US debt hits $40T, driving borrowing costs to multiyear highs worldwide

The U.S. national debt breaching $40 trillion this week sent borrowing costs surging across the world's largest economies, raising fears of a broader credit crisis as governments from Washington to London compete for an increasingly scarce pool of global savings.

Dollar slides to 3-month low as Treasury buyback plan fails to ease fiscal fears

The US dollar slumped to a three-month low on Friday, heading for a weekly decline of nearly 1%, as investors dismissed the Treasury Department's decision to double bond buybacks as a band-aid solution that fails to address America's deteriorating fiscal…

Global bond yields hit 20-year highs amid ‘fiscal train wreck,’ analyst warns

Long-term government bond yields are climbing across developed economies as the accumulated weight of pandemic-era borrowing, persistent budget deficits, and rising defense expenditures reshapes the global fixed-income landscape, according to a new analysis from Brookings Institution senior fellow Robin Brooks.

Most G7 nations spend more on debt than defense

Five of the seven largest advanced economies now devote more of their budgets to servicing public debt than to national defence, according to a Bloomberg report published on Tuesday citing calculations by Scope Ratings.

Fitch says developed world debt to hit record $75.8T

Government debt across developed economies is on track to reach a record $75.8 trillion by the end of 2026 as countries grapple with persistent budget deficits, geopolitical tensions, and rising spending demands, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday in its latest…