I’m in favor of the global output cut orchestrated by President Trump but let’s recognize it for what it is: largely irrelevant. Mohammed bin Salman and Vladimir Putin were glad to burn down the world a month ago when they walked away from production cuts. They had dueling temper tantrums in the junior high locker room while the world descended into economic Armageddon. To Trump’s credit, he may have found a way for them to reverse their terrible blunder, save face and emerge looking like much better guys than they really are. An agreement means conceding to the lack of demand for their oil. Price takers can’t be choosers. It will be lipstick on an ugly pig made larger than life by the closure of the world economy. If an agreement happens, we will see how much of it is sleight-of-hand arithmetic based on imaginary starting levels of output […]