This week’s instalment of Friday Focus starts off with a discussion of the two major wars now ongoing in Gaza and Eastern Ukraine. How are these two conflicts similar and different? And how are they playing off each other both in terms of their future trajectories and domestic support in the West? The second half of the program explores the recent surge in longer-term borrowing costs that now face Western governments. What is driving this dynamic? Are the so-called “bond vigilantes” back after a multi-decade absence? Or, are a set of new forces and trends propelling interest rates higher on sovereign global debt?