As everyone knows, there's been plenty of stress in the financial system since 2008 and the global financial and economic crisis.

But thanks to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (hooray for freshwater economists!) we've now got a graph to prove it.

The dependable bank has put together something called the Cleveland Financial Stress Index, which constantly monitors stress levels in an easy-to-digest graphic format.

It's a very sunny March day in Boston.

In fact, my GlobalPost colleagues and I enjoyed a lovely lunch outside, basking in our happy star's radiance. 

It was a great time until, of course, I read this GlobalPost story by Jessica Phelan about the massive solar flare storm bearing down on earth.

After fretting about UV protection and the right level of SPF to withstand such geomagnetic force, my mind naturally went to the economic costs of such a big space weather event.

This isn't a trivial matter for the economy.

Aircraft communications, satellites and GPS systems, oil pipelines, and even the water supply are among the many critical things that can be affected by significant space weather. 

Fortunately, scientists at NASA were also curious.

A 2009 NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences looked into that very question. (And, yes, I know 2009 isn't exactly fresh, but when you consider that the universe is 14 billion years old this will have to do).

So what did they find in the paper titled Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts?

For one, a really big solar storm (one that is much, much larger than the one forecast for today) could end up costing a lot of money.

Think 20 Hurricane Katrinas.

The first problem is power.

The nation's power grid, which is critical to just about everything we do, is particularly vulnerable to solar flares.

That's because these kinds of geomagnetic storms can trigger ground currents that can fry the copper wiring of transformers.

To make matters worse, America's aging electric power infrastructure is already in bad shape, and as this infographic painfully illustrates, everything in today's modern economy is interconnected:

In other words, a problem in one area can quickly lead to failures in other areas.

To figure out just how much a major storm could cost, scientists looked at some of the biggest solar storms on record, including the so-called Carrington Event of 1859, which set telegraph papers ablaze and produced Northern Lights so bright that they woke sleeping campers as far south as the Rocky Mountains.

So what would happen if something that big hit earth today?

Here's their dire conclusion:

High drama in Washington, D.C. today, especially if you're a fan of presidential politics, Fed policy, or both. 

The venue: the semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, given by US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

In one corner, US congressman and Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

Best line: "The Fed is going to self-destruct when the money's gone." 

In the other corner, Fed Chairman Bernanke.

Best line: "Good to see you again, Congressman Paul."

Yes, both were ready to rumble, in a classic wonkfest-death-match. 

Of course, there's video.

For months now, Greece has been at the center of Europe's exhausting debt and euro crisis.

Figuring out what to do about the mess in Athens has, of course, caused fits from Berlin, to Paris, to Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, London and beyond.

So today's bailout — while by no means a cure — is a welcome development for everyone involved. And due to Europe's central role in the global economy, that means just about everyone on earth.

But that happy note aside, it's important to keep Europe's challenges in perspective. 

GlobalPost's Paul Ames put it best:

Now all (the EU) has to do is help the country pull out of a five-year recession, get the one-in-five unemployed Greeks back to work and make sure that Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy don't end up sharing a similar fate.

That will be no easy task.

As GlobalPost's Ken Maguire reported today from Athens, plenty of Greeks feel like sacrificial lambs — enduring economic pain so the EU can save the euro.

“Psychologically, I am close to collapse because I am concerned about my family,” Dimitris Paras, a 38-year-old investment banker who was laid off one month ago told Maguire. “Now, I either work for a coffee shop or go abroad.”

“There will be a point when people won’t take it anymore,” he added.

Even more troubling — for European unity, anyway — is a growing divide about where to go from here.