Research & Advice

The Berkshire Business Confidence Index (BCI), sponsored and analyzed by Berkshire Money Management, indicates that there is a cautious level of optimism among Berkshire County businesses, as well as non-profit organizations that must make business decisions. We mailed out 5,000 surveys countywide, and received responses from the full spectrum of Berkshire industries—non-profits, retail, manufacturing, finance, lodging, real estate, etc.—each bringing their own voice to this survey.

Small Business Optimism Helps Large Cap Companies The U.S. economic expansion is now eight years old and has a chance of being the longest on record, surpassing the decade long run of the 1990s. The U.S. stock market is expensive, but continued strong corporate earnings growth is keeping valuations in check, allowing for continued stock gains in the presence of low inflation and a slow-going Fed. Stock market volatility has been largely absent for years. A shallow stock market correction of 5-10% is all but inevitable as the natural tendency of all things is to revert to the mean. The…