Paul Cohen's Avatar

Paul Cohen

@paulecohen

Historian of France, the Atlantic world, language, food. Squirrelly cyclist, slowfooted defenseman, working dad. Worried about the 21st century. https://utoronto.academia.edu/PaulCohen

6,612
Followers
845
Following
9,911
Posts
08.09.2023
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Paul Cohen @paulecohen

Post image
07.03.2026 04:26 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Human lives are cheap; oil futures are not.

06.03.2026 22:20 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

dawg

07.03.2026 02:43 πŸ‘ 284 πŸ” 28 πŸ’¬ 16 πŸ“Œ 29

for those who expressed a desire to touch the stove in november 2024, is it hot enough for you yet?

07.03.2026 02:51 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

vision quasi absolue de la libertΓ© d'expression

07.03.2026 01:49 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

il s'agit plutΓ΄t d'un vΓ©ritable culte pour le premier amendement de la constitution (libertΓ© d'expression, de la presse, et de religion), repensΓ© et renforcΓ© de faΓ§on significative au milieu du 20e par une sΓ©rie d'arrΓͺts de la cours suprΓ¨me (sous l'Γ©gide du juge Earl Warren) -- d'oΓΉ cette ...

07.03.2026 01:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

after all those years lecturing France and other European countries about how laws criminalizing hate-speech and Holocaust-denial were violations of freedom of speech, (some) Americans are by dint of unhappy necessity coming around

07.03.2026 00:03 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

our man is ON IT

06.03.2026 23:03 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
06.03.2026 20:07 πŸ‘ 188 πŸ” 22 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0

you see, the friend of my enemy who is therefore my enemy and is also the enemy of my (former?) friends but is also my friend is my frenemy

06.03.2026 22:38 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Energy (con't). As former Secretary of Defense James Mattis was fond of pointing out, "the enemy gets a vote". The war in Iran ending is not a one-party decision like tariff de-escalation was. While Iran may de-escalate significantly and allow Hormuz flows to resume following any as-yet imagined American de-escalation, there is no guaranteeing that outcome.
That's especially true given how much of Iran's military leadership has been killed over the past week, opening serious questions about command and control at the individual unit level. Without that command and control, it's conceivable that even with an agreement in place, Hormuz may not be safe to transit.
There is also the question of whether Israel defers to American de-escalation. Their military is just as active as the US is in the region at present, including operations in Lebanon. While we don't think it's correct to assume the IDF will continue hitting Iranian targets regardless of what the American decision on de-escalation is, their cooperation is not guaranteed.
We think high confidence in how the other two major parties respond to any American de-escalation is completely unreasonable, even assuming high confidence that the President will ramp down American strikes in response to high oil prices. And that itself would be a material assumption.
To be clear, there are a wide range of outcomes where the current spike in prices reverses relatively quickly without taking crude over $100/barrel, but each day of continued bombing pushes them further out the distribution of likely outcomes.
As for efforts to ameliorate price impacts, including reporting yesterday that the US Treasury was considering selling crude futures as a way to prevent further price gains, they would do little to address the spot market shortage that the war against Iran will create. And as long as the spot market is short barrels, no amount of futures selling can deliver more barrels into the market. Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases…

Energy (con't). As former Secretary of Defense James Mattis was fond of pointing out, "the enemy gets a vote". The war in Iran ending is not a one-party decision like tariff de-escalation was. While Iran may de-escalate significantly and allow Hormuz flows to resume following any as-yet imagined American de-escalation, there is no guaranteeing that outcome. That's especially true given how much of Iran's military leadership has been killed over the past week, opening serious questions about command and control at the individual unit level. Without that command and control, it's conceivable that even with an agreement in place, Hormuz may not be safe to transit. There is also the question of whether Israel defers to American de-escalation. Their military is just as active as the US is in the region at present, including operations in Lebanon. While we don't think it's correct to assume the IDF will continue hitting Iranian targets regardless of what the American decision on de-escalation is, their cooperation is not guaranteed. We think high confidence in how the other two major parties respond to any American de-escalation is completely unreasonable, even assuming high confidence that the President will ramp down American strikes in response to high oil prices. And that itself would be a material assumption. To be clear, there are a wide range of outcomes where the current spike in prices reverses relatively quickly without taking crude over $100/barrel, but each day of continued bombing pushes them further out the distribution of likely outcomes. As for efforts to ameliorate price impacts, including reporting yesterday that the US Treasury was considering selling crude futures as a way to prevent further price gains, they would do little to address the spot market shortage that the war against Iran will create. And as long as the spot market is short barrels, no amount of futures selling can deliver more barrels into the market. Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases…

Quite. From my pre-market note this morning.

06.03.2026 22:16 πŸ‘ 104 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

what is the case for thinking that the duration of the conflict will be up to Trump?

06.03.2026 22:05 πŸ‘ 1434 πŸ” 220 πŸ’¬ 55 πŸ“Œ 19

So in the same day we got negative data points/price action on:
-jobs
-oil
-private credit
-AI capex intentions

06.03.2026 20:32 πŸ‘ 223 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 4
Preview
Mamdani Deputy Mayor On Charging For Street Parking: 'It's Not a No' - Streetsblog New York City Dean Fuleihan said on Thursday that the city is discussing charging fees for currently free on-street parking.

NEW: Mamdani's City Hall is discussing charging fees for currently free on-street parking β€” a policy change that would not only create a new revenue stream but also seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the streetscape. buff.ly/9C0Iq34

05.03.2026 18:41 πŸ‘ 317 πŸ” 49 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 59

that that between say, British Columbia and the Canadian federal government

06.03.2026 22:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I've heard the same in Toronto -- but I have concluded from these brief exchanges that a lot of Canadians think it would be like swapping out NAFTA for EU membership, and don't understand that it would entail a relationship with Europe as juridically, politically and economically substantive as ...

06.03.2026 22:07 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

one can only imagine how a referendum on EU membership would play out in Alberta ...

06.03.2026 21:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

the real challenge won't be Brussels, it will be selling this to Canadians, who will have to wrestle w/profound changes to their labor, regulatory, financial, & market landscapes

from doctors to banks & transit to maple syrup cartels, a lot of vested interests won't be v happy with EU membership

06.03.2026 21:45 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Slovakia & Slovenia too

Canada's fiscal, financial and regulatory houses are in decent order, entry into the eurozone would be swift (simultaneous?)

Brexit will I think serve as a cautionary tale against special arrangements, and Brussels would I suspect insist on it

06.03.2026 21:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

my latest book, out now with Knopf

Donald J Trump: The Unlikely Making of a Champion of Degrowth and Renewable Energy

06.03.2026 21:37 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
A chart showing WTI Crude at $90.76 a barrel, up 9.75 or 12.04% as of March 6, 2026.

A chart showing WTI Crude at $90.76 a barrel, up 9.75 or 12.04% as of March 6, 2026.

$WTI West Texas Intermediary is now at $90.76 a barrel.

06.03.2026 21:22 πŸ‘ 31 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

how bad can it be, it only fuels half the world's population

06.03.2026 21:11 πŸ‘ 164 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 11

I didn't mean to contest your original post - my apologies if it read that way!

my concern was that, just as Noem's obscene corruption and self-promotion sometimes risks overshadowing the human costs of ICE and concentration camps, so too with GΓΆring's art heists obscuring his role in the Shoah

06.03.2026 21:27 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

βœŠβš–οΈ "I Am Somebody!" 🌟 πŸ•ŠοΈ
Rev. Jesse Jackson, 1972 Sesame Street

17.02.2026 17:07 πŸ‘ 1076 πŸ” 261 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 38
Nuremberg - Document Viewer - Instructions to Heydrich to prepare organizational and financial arrangements "for bringing about a complete solution to the Jewish question in the German sphere of infl...

I would submit that everything pales when laid alongside GΓΆring's letter to Reinhard Heydrich instructing him to take every measure to forward "the final solution"

nuremberg.law.harvard.edu/documents/54...

06.03.2026 21:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A one month chart of oil prices

A one month chart of oil prices

Oil prices are going parabolic. This is insane.

06.03.2026 18:01 πŸ‘ 1441 πŸ” 365 πŸ’¬ 80 πŸ“Œ 383
Preview
United Academics of KU Secures Historic First Collective Bargaining Agreement for All Faculty and Academic Staff LAWRENCE, Kan.β€”Today, faculty and academic staff at the University of Kansas, represented by United Academics of the University of Kansas, announced that they have reached a tentative first contract a...

Great news - 1600 academic workers won their first collective bargaining contract at the University of Kansas @afthighered.bsky.social @aaup.org www.aft.org/press-releas...

06.03.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 60 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 6

say what you will about Karoline Leavitt, she just found him an off ramp

06.03.2026 20:51 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

β€œWhen I use a word... it means just what I choose it to mean β€” neither more nor less.”
β€” Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass

06.03.2026 19:15 πŸ‘ 796 πŸ” 170 πŸ’¬ 61 πŸ“Œ 7

in the current moment i find myself cycling between moments of intense Marxism and Burkeanism, and then between anarchism and Isaiah-Berlinism -- sometimes all in the same 60-second sequence

06.03.2026 20:42 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0