IMF warns higher borrowing costs are straining public finances worldwide

Rising sovereign debt and borrowing costs have prompted a fresh warning from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about risks to the fiscal health of member countries, with 24-year highs in US Treasury yields expected to become one of the focal topics for central bankers and finance ministers gathering in Bangkok this week.

The average yield on 10-year government bonds across the Group of Seven economies increased by more than 1 percentage point between February and September this year,...