Who says the universe doesn't have a sense of humor?

Or, at least, a grim, twisted, very dark and slightly profane sense of humor.

That's the case on European bond markets today, where there's very little left to do but laugh.

Here's the back story:

You might think that the election victory yesterday in Greece by the New Democracy party would at least give a little relief — even temporarily — to the serious debt problems across Europe.

With Greek voters narrowly supporting the pro-bailout party — you might reasonably conclude — the chances of a disorderly Greek exit from the euro zone would decrease.

An unruly  "Grexit," of course, would put further pressure on Spain, Italy and other debt-ridden countries across Europe.

It would also unnerve the global financial system, as banks just about everywhere hold European debt.

So, phew, the pro-bailout party wins and Greece and the EU get a little more time to figure this mess out.

But check out this chart on Spanish 10-year bonds today, which our friends at Business Insider have brilliantly dubbed "The Spanish 10-Year Yield Middle-Finger Formation":

Source: Bloomberg

As the chart above illustrates, the yield — or put another way the rate at which investors are willing to accept for betting money on the Spanish government right now — surged to a record 7.2850 percent before falling back later in the day.

The result: a giant middle finger, or as Business Insider writer Eric Platt put it:

"Perhaps this is the bond market's way of saying that the elections solved nothing."

New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman also had some smart — if less visually appealing — things to say today about the Greek election.

Need to know:
Greek voters went with a pro-bailout party in Sunday’s elections. It may end some of the Grexitement about a Grexit, but the Grelief could be short-lived.

An analyst quoted by the Wall Street Journal put it like this: 

“In reality nothing has been resolved by this election other than giving the Greek creditors, the Troika of the IMF, ECB and the European Commission, someone talk to and voice complaints about Greece not living up to its obligations.” 

The EU already has been talking about giving Greece a little longer to pay off its loans and meet its deficit targets, but it’s not clear that will be enough. Still fear of financial armageddon was enough to keep anti-bailout leaders out of power in a nation that’s been in a recession for five years. 

Want to know: 
Facebook managed to get out of one of its big lawsuits for $10 million. 

The company has agreed to pay a charity that accused it of violating users’ rights to use their own nams and photos $10 million. 

The suit was filed by five Facebook members and accused the social network of violating California law by using their names and likenesses to promote advertisers using its “Sponsored Stories” feature. 

Facebook Sponsored Stories are the ones where a friend’s name, photo and the advertiser they like are highlighted in another friend’s feed. 

Many more people may have been wishing they’d sued. Reuters said early court documents suggested the suit could win billions of dollars for privacy violations impacting nearly one in three Americans. 

Dull but important: 
Ruh-roh. The euro zone has funded so many bailouts that its bailout fund is now running low on cash. 

Europe’s big bailout fund now holds about $317 billion, which according to the Institute of International Finance means it could rescue a Cyprus but not a Spain. 

The group is pushing for the euro zone to adopt a banking union that would spread the cost of supporting the continents weakest banks, the Wall Street Journal said. 

Just because: 
Ratings downgrades aren't just for Europe.

India could find itself being downgraded within the next year or two, CNBC's Indian network reported. Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook for the country to negative meaning a ratings downgrade could be in the emerging market giant's future.

India's economy has been cooling off, and Fitch said the country's government hasn't been able to make it a more attractive place for investors. That's choking off the country's potential. 

Strange but true: 
Unemployment may be a problem pretty much everywhere else, but more people are working in Oklahoma than ever before. 

Need to know:

If it seems like every day brings another downgrade in Europe, it's because it pretty much does.

Spain's credit rating slid another three notches Wednesday as Moody's cut it to just above junk status. That status, however, may not last long. Spain is already on the list of countries facing further downgrades by Moody's.

Spain's borrowing costs also have been rising, and a $125 billion bank rescue plan hasn't done much to calm the inSpainity.

Want to know: 

The Greek unemployment rate has risen to a fresh record. 

Nearly one in four Greeks were jobless in the first quarter, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Greek unemployment hit 22.6 percent, up nearly two percentage points from the previous quarter. 

More than half of all unemployed Greeks have been looking for work for more than a year. 

Dull but important: 

JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told lawmakers he put a little too much faith in a key subordinates, leading to more than $2 billion in losses that have put the vocal critic of financial reform in the congressional hot seat.

Dimon said the company's since ousted chief investment officer had made so much money for the bank in the past that a trading strategy that "violated common sense" wasn't questioned.

He said risk-monitoring systems and JPM executives failed to correctly assess risks of a London derivatives portfolio. He also said that portion of JPMorgan's business wasn't scrutinized in the same way other lines of business are, Bloomberg reported.

Dimon, of course, is one of the loudest voices against the government increasing its scrutiny on the trading practices of big banks like his. 

Just because:

China's yuan is continuing to developing a larger presence outside of the country's borders. 

Hong Kong's central bank plans to begin providing yuan loans to city banks this week, Financial Times reported. The one-week loans will be offered in exchange for "high-quality" collateral like Chinese government securities. 

Strange but true: 

A rapper who shares a name with a well-known brand of emergency contraception has a whole lot to say about the state of the UK economy.

My colleague Barry Neild has the story of Ben Drew, a.k.a. Plan B, a Brit who is becoming the voice of austerity generation.

Need to know: 

Spain's pains are showing no signs of letting up. Fitch, which a day earlier cut the credit ratings for two major Spanish lenders, downgraded its outlook for another 18 Spanish banks. 

Meanwhile, yields on 10-year bonds in Spain have risen to their highest level since Spain adopted the euro.

Want to know: 

Greeks aren't standing by their banks ahead of a major election many fear could force Greece out of the euro zone. 

Greeks are withdrawing about $1 billion a day and are using at least some of that money to stock up on groceries, Reuters reported. Greeks aren't planning for the end of the world but are instead planning for the election of a leader who could bring brack the drachma. 

Dull but important: 

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is headed to Capitol Hill today where he's expected to take a beating for his company's $2 billion plus in recent trading losses. 

Dimon tried to get a jump on the situation by releasing his planned remarks ahead of time. In his remarks, Dimon tries to deflect criticism by admitting to making some big mistakes and telling Congress taxpayers haven't had to pay for his companies losses. 

"We will not make light of these losses, but they should be put into perspective. We will lose some of our shareholders' money - and for that we feel terrible - but no client, customer or taxpayer money was impacted in this incident," McClatchey quoted Dimon as saying in his remarks. 

The hearing should be particularly interesting since Dimon has been among the most vocal critics of regulators efforts to reign in trading practices at his bank and its peers. 

Just because: 

Italy's borrowing costs are surging, and the Wall Street Journal reports Prime Minister Mario Monti's honeymoon may be over. 

Monti is facing increasing pressure to turnaround the Italian economy but the austerity measures he's pushed aren't exactly popular with rank and file Italians. 

Monti has moved to increase taxes and revamp the country's pension system. Investors and world leaders have praised him but taxpayers and pensioners haven't been so approving. 

Strange but true: 

The economy isn't the only thing under siege in Greece. History is in trouble, too.