A selloff in global bonds is driving up borrowing costs for governments, businesses and families across the developed world. Wall Street sees no end in sight.

Bond yields are at 19-year highs, and investors are blaming the rout on everything from the continuing U.S.-Iran conflict, which has stoked inflation worries, to the deluge of tech-company bonds vying for debt funds' cash. They are also anxious about budget deficits and a lack of clarity from a new Federal Reserve chairman.

Few see eye to eye on exactly how much weight to put on any one factor, but most agree on one thing: None of those conditions are likely going away soon. What's more, many see something larger driving the selloff: the economy's resilience in the face of interest rates that were once considered high enough to slow growth significantly.

If the 2008-09 financial crisis ushered in an era of ultralow interest rates, then current market conditions might mark a return to the way things were before that downturn, some say. Investors are hesitant to buy longer-term bonds because of the risk that rates could move higher, and possibly much higher, even if the Fed doesn't move immediately.

"Basically, this is a normalization," said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist and head of global bonds at PGIM Credit.

Yields on government bonds, which rise when bond prices fall, have reached multiyear highs in recent days, with the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond topping 5.3% for the first time since 2007. The 10-year yield, the premier benchmark for borrowing costs, has also come close to its highest level since early 2025.

So far, the selloff has been limited to bonds. Stocks are hovering near record highs and corporate earnings are still robust-signs that higher interest payments aren't squeezing economic growth.

Still, a sustained move higher in yields will have consequences well beyond Wall Street. One of the most direct victims is the government itself, which will be forced to pay higher interest rates on its growing pile of debt as older bonds mature and are replaced by new ones.

Even before this year's run-up, interest on the debt was consuming a bigger slice of the federal budget. Now, nearly one in five dollars of revenue goes to interest payments.

Over the past half-century, federal interest costs averaged 2.1% of GDP. That figure is slated to hit 3.3% this year on its way to 4.6% in 2036, according to the Congressional Budget Office. But it could easily be worse than that.

The CBO's forecast earlier this year assumed the yield on the 10-year Treasury note would be 4.1%. That is well below its current level at around 4.7%. If the 10-year remains elevated, the government might factor in higher borrowing costs in future forecasts.

Publicly held U.S. debt is now at about 100% of GDP, nearing records set after World War II. That debt load makes the country more sensitive to rate moves. A mere 0.1 percentage-point rate move above forecasts in all rates would add $379 billion in net interest expenses, according to the CBO.

"The issue is not so much the rising interest rates," said Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute. "The issue is the deficit. If we can only be concerned about one thing, that one thing should be the 10-year deficit outlook."

Higher yields also have political implications. Treasurys play a major role in determining borrowing costs across the economy, including 30-year mortgages.

Elected based in large part on voters' concerns about affordability, President Trump has repeatedly promised to lower mortgage rates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said early in Trump's second term that the administration would try to push down the 10-year yield, in part by reducing the deficit, which would reduce the supply of bonds entering the market.

Those efforts, though, haven't born fruit, and polls suggest that voter dissatisfaction with the economy remains high-hurting Republicans' chances in the midterm elections.

In recent weeks, Bessent has taken steps that some analysts have seen as connected to his effort to at least prevent a further rise in Treasury yields. Those have included intervening in the currency markets to support the Japanese yen, a move that could in turn reduce pressure on Japan's government to sell U.S. Treasurys to buy its own currency.

Yields, though, have continued to march higher, exposing the limits of his maneuvers.

"The fact that action by the Treasury Secretary up to this point has maybe not been as effective as he might have liked is another reason to think that this move higher could be sustained," said Zach Griffiths, head of investment-grade and macro strategy at the research firm CreditSights.

In one encouraging development, Treasury yields edged lower Tuesday, with the 10-year yield slipping to 4.706% from 4.725% Monday, according to Tradeweb.

Stocks fell, with the Nasdaq Composite sliding 1.3%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping 0.2%, or 116 points.

Chip stocks took a hit, with all 30 stocks in the PHLX Semiconductor Index down during intraday trading. The index saw its largest decrease since July 1 and lost about 19% from its June 22 all-time closing high.

Indexes, though, have still logged double-digit gains this year.

"Markets have been able to overlook the increase in yields so far...because we've had this earnings boom," said Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services. "But I think as we move past the earnings season, there'll be more focus on yields."