This is bad news for the US government and dollar-based investors, and good for gold holders and anyone betting on a shift away from US bonds.

• US national debt is about to hit $40 trillion, with interest payments now eating over 22 cents of every dollar the government collects.
• To prop up Japan's falling yen, the US quietly sold euros in the open market, blindsiding Europe and pushing it to build its own dollar alternative.
• The European Central Bank is rolling out a new lending window that lets central banks pledge euro bonds for cash, making the euro a direct rival to the dollar.
• Europe holds over $3.6 trillion in US debt; if it stops buying or labels US bonds risky, US borrowing costs jump and demand collapses.
• China keeps dumping dollars and stacking gold — buying more each month and moving bullion to Hong Kong to back its own trade system.

Outlook: Expect Europe and China to keep pulling money out of US bonds and into gold and their own currencies, driving US interest costs higher.