Government borrowing costs are climbing in the US and abroad, which is bad news for anyone with a mortgage, a credit card, or a car loan.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to hold down long-term rates by shifting government borrowing to short-term debt, and it did not work.
• Investors are selling US government bonds because they doubt the US can handle $40 trillion in debt with no plan to close the gap.
• Government bond yields set the price of almost every other loan, so mortgages, car loans, and credit card rates all get more expensive.
• The selling is global — Japan, Britain, and Germany all hit yields not seen in decades, partly because the Iran war is dragging on the world economy.
• Oil has jumped by a third since the fighting started, and threats to cut Russia and China off from the dollar could push more countries away from it.

Outlook: If the war widens and the debt keeps growing, borrowing costs look set to keep rising and hit household bills directly.