09:48 – I see that Spanish and Italian bond yields are down slightly because the ECB has begun buying them. That won’t last long, either the ECB buying these junk bonds or the lower yields on Spanish and Italian debt. At a very high price, the ECB has bought a few weeks at best, and more likely a few days. And the first shoe has dropped. A national political leader, the former prime minister of Finland and the current leader of the opposition party, has suggested a break-up, with the northern FANG nations splitting off from the bankrupt southern tier, a proposal that is almost certain to gain the support of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Luxembourg.

Work on building more chemistry kits continues. The first batch of chemical blocks is mostly complete, and that’s the part that requires most of the work.