Market Muses, Different Views

Looking at financial markets and investing through a poetic lens.

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

12/2/25

Santa Claus Rally

(Originally published years ago, it’s becoming a seasonal regular)

Twas near the end of the year, and all through the street,

Not a trader was leaving, not one left their beat.

The terminal screens arranged on each desk with care,

Waiting for the Santa Claus rally to take off in a tear.

The traders were tucked tight to their sleds,

They know the positive history stored up in their heads.

With the boss pacing the floor, traders ready to spring,

All settled down to a seven-day swing.

The last five trading days each year ushers in the rally,

The first two days of January adds to the tally.

The screens blink on and off in a flash,

The Santa Claus rally often brings in some yearend cash.

HJC

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

11/4/25

Rate Divergence

The FED recently cut its Funds rate,

10yr Treasuries higher since that date,

Why the divergence, it doesn’t relate?

 Last year provided a similar slate,

Fed Funds down, Treasuries elevate.

What’s the market trying to indicate?

It’s persistent inflation the market hates.

Market won’t let Treasury rates dissipate,

Until a Funds lowering FED capitulates.

HJC

FED (federal reserve board)

Funds refers to the FED Funds Rate

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

10/7/25

A.I. Oh My

A.I. is in the job beholders eye,

Not much reason to ask why,

Job uncertainty is quite high.

Many job categories will simply go bye-bye,

Relegated to where old jobs go to die.

Sentimentally, it does make one cry.

Finding entry level jobs are hard, no lie!

Job styles are changing, but to clarify,

Better jobs are on the way, oh my.

HJC

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

9/2/25

September Winds

(Originally version published 9/5/17, issues are updated)

This year September winds will again blow hard.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets seem prone to getting scarred.

Tariffs drive the northerly flow.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets left preparing for snow.

Stagflation talk tightens pressure isobars.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets see economic concern as par.

FED rate debate deepens the low pressure.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets are anything but assured.

Judicial rulings squeeze the fronts tight.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets are anxious about the fight.

September winds will again blow hard this year.

Cold and unsettling,

Markets will be buffeted until they clear.

HJC

(FED: Federal Reserve Board)

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

8/5/25

Summer in the Market

(Originally published 8/1/17)

Trader’s toil in summer markets,

Rather be on vacation, getting wet,

But haven’t made their mark, yet.

Still in town placing their bets.

Working hard, no regrets,

Quarterly numbers must be met.

Work more trades, what the heck,

Just don’t cause a trading debt,

Or these will be days to forget.

Trading desks are capitals outlet,

As summer drifts by, markets reset,

Come fall, we’ll see what we get.

HJC

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

6/3/25

Bonds

Bonds appear to be obscure,

But they are quite secure.

Easy to procure.

Pricing methods seem unclear.

Motives for price unsure,

If not demure.

Payments without the rancor.

This is what they ensure,

When they mature.

Safety remains the allure.

We can rest assure,

So says brochure.

HJC

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

5/6/25

Sell in May

(A Perennial May Market Muse, keeps popping up, originally published 4/21/15)

Sell in May and go away you’ve heard so many say,

The original saying is said to go this way.

“Sell in May and go away,

Stay away till St. Leger’s Day”.

The original verse relates to an old English horse race,

But in the USA, it’s more an agricultural case.

Fall harvest money is invested with haste,

Come spring, it’s sent back to put new crops in place.

IRA and 401k contributions now add to the investment lore,

Invested prior to May before taxes make us poor.

The money flow dries up waiting for Yom Kippur,

When investing commences, providing opportunities galore.

Making investments based on Wall Street one-liners,

Often turning good investors into whiners.

However, the verse “Sell in May” is like a canary for miners,

It’s an early warning sign for summer equity climbers.

HJC

(St Leger’s Day race is run in mid-September)

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

4/1/25

Aprils Fools, Two

(First published 4/5/22, updated to current times)

As the Administration unleashes its tariff tools,

Growth and constrained trade are about to duel.

Economic growth thrives on renewal,

Otherwise, recessions emerge, just not cool.

Are Trade barriers that economic ghoul,

That adds recession to the possibility pool.

Recessions are selectively cruel,

Slower growth, fewer jobs, a toxic dual.

Certainly not a glittering economic jewel,

Recessions do redistribute economic fuel.

A positive outcome is not often the rule,

Perhaps though, we won’t be April 2nd fools.

HJC

LayLine Asset Management Inc

Harry J. Campbell III, CMT

3/4/25

Tariffs

So many questions on Tariffs.

Do they cause the economy to go adrift,

Will it drop off an avoidable cliff,

Or can Tariffs provide an economic lift.

Tariffs accentuate an international riff.

More than one country is quite miffed.

They tariff, we tariff, what’s the diff,

Is it really more than just a tiff.

Hard to say who truly gets stiffed,

Could be Tariffs are a total whiff.

Might require economy’s to make a shift,

Perhaps producing some economic gifts.

Prices, up or down, they’ll likely drift.

Through so many variables we need to sift,

To say one is certain would be amiss,

Have to collectively consider, what if.

HJC

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