The US national debt has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time, while the Treasury has doubled the size of some government bond buybacks in an attempt to calm a market unsettled by rising borrowing costs.

Treasury data showed that total federal debt reached a record $40 trillion on Tuesday. About $32.27 trillion is held by the public, while $7.78 trillion is owed through government accounts.

The milestone came much sooner than previously expected. The Congressional Budget Office had projected in 2023 that US debt would not reach $40 trillion until 2028. The total reached $39 trillion in March and $38 trillion in October last year.

The Treasury has borrowed about $1.8 trillion during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, already exceeding the amount borrowed during the entire previous fiscal year. Spending on Social Security, Medicare, defence and interest payments continues to exceed government revenues.

Against that backdrop, the Treasury announced plans to increase the size of selected debt buyback operations. Beginning September 9, the maximum size of each operation in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sections of the bond market will rise from $2 billion to at least $4 billion.

Treasury said the increase reflected strong demand from market participants for buybacks in those maturity ranges.

The announcement followed a sharp rise in long-term borrowing costs. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond reached its highest level since 2007 on Tuesday as investors became more cautious about buying long-dated US government debt.

The increase in yields has also been linked to a growing supply of corporate bonds, including debt raised to finance artificial intelligence data centres.

Treasury bond yields fell after the buyback announcement, with the 30-year yield dropping about nine basis points and the 10-year yield falling roughly six basis points. US stocks also moved higher.

Treasury buybacks involve the government purchasing older securities from investors with existing cash. The transactions can improve trading liquidity but do not directly reduce the overall amount of federal debt.

Some economists questioned whether the move was large enough to address the underlying problem. The Treasury market is worth about $32 trillion, making the increased buyback amount relatively small compared with the size of the market.

The growing debt burden creates a difficult cycle for policymakers. Higher debt can make investors demand greater returns to hold long-term securities, pushing yields higher. Higher yields then increase the government’s interest costs, adding to future borrowing requirements.

David Young, president of the Conference Board’s CEO Center, said the national debt affects financial decisions made by households and businesses.

The latest Treasury action may ease short-term pressure in the bond market, but it does not address the underlying increase in federal borrowing. The record debt level is therefore likely to remain a major issue for US financial markets and policymakers.

The Financial Independence, Retire Early movement is gaining popularity among younger workers facing rising living costs, workplace burnout and growing uncertainty about the future.

Known as FIRE, the approach encourages people to save and invest aggressively so they can build enough wealth to leave full-time employment earlier than traditional retirement age. Supporters say financial independence can give people greater freedom to pursue travel, creative projects, volunteering or other interests.

Higher housing costs, inflation and stagnant wages have made traditional retirement planning more difficult for many households. A recent YouGov survey found that between 57 percent and 72 percent of non-retired adults across several European countries lacked confidence that they would be able to live comfortably in retirement.

Workplace stress is also contributing to interest in FIRE. Long working hours, commuting and limited work-life balance have prompted some employees to seek an alternative to conventional career paths.

The movement has also benefited from easier access to financial information and investment products. Low-cost index funds, online investment platforms and personal finance communities allow people to monitor spending and build portfolios with fewer barriers than previous generations faced.

FIRE is not limited to one type of worker. High earners in areas such as technology, engineering, medicine and finance may be able to save substantial portions of their income while maintaining relatively modest lifestyles.

People who enjoy budgeting, long-term planning and tracking their finances may also be attracted to the strategy. Workers experiencing severe job stress can view financial independence as a possible route out of demanding employment.

The FIRE approach often uses two widely discussed calculations. The 25-times rule involves multiplying expected annual living expenses by 25 to estimate the investment portfolio needed for financial independence.

The 4 percent rule is then used as a general guide for retirement withdrawals, suggesting that an individual could withdraw around 4 percent of the portfolio in the first year and adjust the amount for inflation in later years.

Some FIRE followers aim to save 50 percent to 70 percent of their income, reduce unnecessary expenses and invest the remainder in diversified assets.

There are several versions of the strategy. Lean FIRE focuses on a low-cost lifestyle and a smaller retirement portfolio. Fat FIRE targets financial independence while maintaining a higher standard of living. Barista FIRE involves leaving full-time employment while continuing with part-time work, often for income or benefits. Coast FIRE involves saving heavily at a younger age and allowing investment growth to build wealth over time.

However, early retirement comes with risks. Large savings targets can require years of strict spending controls, while healthcare expenses, inflation and market downturns can alter financial projections.

Extreme frugality can also affect social relationships and quality of life. Some people may struggle with a loss of identity or purpose after leaving the workforce, while returning to employment after a long absence can be difficult if professional skills and networks have declined.

For many followers, FIRE is therefore less about never working again and more about gaining greater control over when, how and why they work.

Nvidia and six of the world’s largest investment firms are preparing to channel more than $500 billion into artificial intelligence infrastructure, creating new financing options that could allow technology companies to expand data centres without carrying the full cost on their own balance sheets.

The US chipmaker said it had signed memorandums of understanding with Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs and KKR. The firms plan to create financing platforms that will draw on institutional investors, insurance funds and private credit.

The funding could be used to purchase Nvidia chips, servers and networking equipment, as well as construct data centres and provide the electricity infrastructure needed to operate them.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said the company approached the six investment firms specifically and that none rejected the proposal.

Under the arrangement, Nvidia could guarantee as much as 25 percent of an individual financing deal. Such backing could help reduce borrowing costs for customers while leaving most of the credit exposure with financial institutions.

The financing plan comes as technology companies dramatically increase spending on AI infrastructure. Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and other major cloud providers have projected combined capital expenditure of roughly $720 billion to $745 billion in 2026, around 77 percent higher than the previous year.

Expectations for spending in 2027 have also risen sharply. Bank of America data shows analysts now expect the major technology companies to spend about $1.08 trillion next year, compared with a consensus estimate of $480 billion in August 2025.

The scale of the investment has raised concerns about cash flow and borrowing. Moody’s has warned that heavy spending is reducing free cash flow and pushing technology companies toward greater use of debt.

Nvidia’s proposed structure could ease some of that pressure by moving borrowing to specialised financing vehicles rather than leaving the debt directly on the balance sheets of major technology companies.

The arrangement could also benefit smaller AI operators, including firms such as CoreWeave and Nebius, which do not have the same credit strength as major cloud companies and can face higher financing costs.

Huang has argued that Nvidia’s graphics processing units should increasingly be viewed as productive, revenue-generating infrastructure rather than equipment that quickly loses value.

That assumption is central to the financing model, since lenders would be relying on the future value of GPUs as collateral. Some investors have questioned whether that value will remain strong as new generations of chips are released rapidly.

Critics have also pointed to the unusual relationship created by Nvidia helping finance purchases of its own products. The arrangement has raised questions about whether the expanding AI investment cycle is becoming increasingly dependent on financial structures that support demand for Nvidia hardware.

Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon described the development as a major moment in the AI investment cycle.

The success of the model will ultimately depend on whether the infrastructure being financed continues generating enough revenue to justify the debt and whether current-generation AI chips retain sufficient value as technology advances.