Who is Daniel Rogge?/Germany opening up the spending spigots and bonds puke/Earnings comments

Nevermind then on those Canadian and Mexican tariffs?! Isn't there another tactic that can be used to shore up our borders and stop the flow of drugs? Anyway, the tariff tool is very disruptive and it's not just me saying it, it's those who make things in the real world. We saw in each of the regional manufacturing surveys, and in the national ISM, worries about how to maneuver and manage both the actual tariffs on China, the steel and aluminum ones on everyone and the threats, now seemingly being pulled back, on others.

If you didn't see in yesterday's hard copy WSJ or digitally a few days ago, there was an article titled "Inside One CEO's Impossible Mission to Stay Ahead of Trump's Tariffs." It went on to say "Tormach is among the businesses slicing spending and raising prices to blunt the damage of a potential trade war." Tormach is a machine tool supplier making product in Wisconsin. "The small Wisconsin manufacturer asked the landlord to alter a lease. Then it told staff it was reducing 401k matches and eliminating some bonuses. The moves reflect the mad dash contingency planning happening in recent weeks at companies of all sizes as they try to navigate the Trump administration's stop-start tariff threats. And they show how costly those threats are becoming for businesses and their employees - even before they become reality."

The CEO is Daniel Rogge and they bought a factory in 2023 in Mexico to shift some production from China. "A prolonged trade war with both Mexico and China is a severe blow to our business model" he said. And to all the tariff threats and those now in place, "Whipsaw. That's an accurate description. Can we please, God, know what's going to happen so we can plan accordingly? What I want is no tariffs. What I want after that is certainty" he also said.

Further, "On Feb 19, Rogge told employees the company was reducing spending on marketing by 25%, trimming the company's 401k retirement savings plan match and eliminating work from home stipends and anniversary bonuses." Rogge said "It beats laying people off."

And finally, "We have no idea what is going to happen. Because of this, we will conserve capital and focus on short term projects with more immediate paybacks."