In the meantime, here's more analyst comment, this time from Investec's Brian Barry: The auction will be a litmus test as to demand for their paper given the impending election... if there's a marked increase (in yields) then we'll know investors are getting a bit more worried.
Richard Dicker, head of international justice at Human Rights Watch in New York, said Libya's actions over the two suspects would be the litmus test of its commitment to democracy and the rule of law.
"Let me say this: if elected president, I will have a litmus test in terms of my nominee to be a supreme court justice.
The "cashgate" trial, a case that has become a litmus test for foreign donors backing the government of Joyce Banda, is scheduled to start on Wednesday.
But seriously, if Bob Dylan is the litmus test, then I can tell you exactly what the result will be even if I've never seen the show: after what he sat through, if Wikingsson doesn't beam from ear to ear with pure joy for at least six months, then there's something seriously wrong with him.
The litmus test, say experts, will be how quickly the two sides move ahead with confidence-building measures that can pave the way to a viable solution.
Landmark events like the Festival of Britain and the Olympics present an opportunity to gauge the spirit of the times and provide a litmus test for the health of society and democracy.
Protesters burned ballot boxes in several restive states of southern Mexico on Sunday, in an attempt to disrupt elections seen as a litmus test for President Enrique Peña Nieto's government.
South Carolina symbolizes more than a litmus test for conservatism.
"It's a crucial litmus test for European foreign policy," said Jan Techau, director of the Carnegie Europe thinktank in Brussels.
A litmus test for me at this primary is whether a candidate supports a renewal of the payroll tax cuts that were given just a two-month reprieve at the end of the year.
