US government debt crossed $40 trillion while borrowing costs jumped and the dollar slipped — bad news for savers, borrowers, and anyone counting on a stable dollar, good news for gold and silver holders.

• The government now owes $40 trillion, with interest payments alone running over $1 trillion a year.
• Long-term government bond yields hit their highest level since 2007, which pushes up mortgage and business loan rates.
• The Treasury started buying back its own long-term bonds to hold rates down — a sign the normal market can no longer absorb all this debt.
• Gold and silver jumped as the dollar fell, with gold climbing more than 5% in a week and mining stocks running hard.
• European banks are quietly building payment links to Russia, China, and the BRICS group, chipping away at the dollar's role in global trade.

Outlook: The dollar won't collapse overnight, but expect more countries and banks to settle trade outside it, keeping pressure on US borrowing costs and support under gold.