Monday, March 23, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Allen Harris

Allen Harris is the founder, CEO and CIO of Berkshire Money Management based in Dalton, Massachusetts. He is a Certified Exit Planner, Certified Value Builder and Certified Business Valuation Specialist, and specializes in working with business owners intending to accelerate their growth and/or transition. Harris is also the author of 'Build It, Sell It, Profit: Taking Care of Business Today to Get Top Dollar When You Retire,' publishes the Berkshire Business Confidence Index, and hosts the BMM Business Roundtable. He built and sold his previous business, the Navigator Newsletters Group, a financial publication with 16,000 paid subscribers (one of the five largest of its era). Beyond his professional work, Harris is passionate about the well-being of animals. He is an avid supporter of spay and neuter efforts and animal rescue. Additionally, he is a strong advocate for both economic revitalization and the arts in the Berkshires, including First Fridays Artswalk, Shakespeare in the Park, Alchemy Initiative, Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow and other nonprofit organizations.

written articles

CAPITAL IDEAS: What happens in small-town America

Do you know who gets the worst returns in the stock market? People who buy something because it’s gone up in price and sell something because it’s gone down in price. Time and time again, following the crowd has proven to be the stupidest thing in the world of investing.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Enough is enough

It's very easy for me to tell you what to do at extremes: Do what feels the worst and go against the crowd. But we’re not at extremes now; indicators are mixed. So what to do now?

CAPITAL IDEAS: A Lannister always spays his pets

Dalton -- First off, there are no spoilers ahead for the season finale of Game of Thrones. I wrote this before it was aired. There...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Less talk, more tariffs

The threat of more tariffs to be imposed by the U.S. just before talks were to begin was a dangerous game of diplomacy chicken, which didn’t end well as the Chinese said they were going to retaliate by raising tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods starting June 1.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Buffett-stock and China gets rocked

Dalton -- Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate headed by famed investor Warren Buffett, held its annual shareholder meeting this past weekend. It’s like Woodstock for...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Suck it up, buttercup

According to my colleagues, 44 percent see a recession hitting in 2020, and 32 percent in 2021. That’s two-thirds who think the U.S. will see a recession within the next two years. You can count me among them.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Markets feeling good

The bad news is that when everyone is bullish, it’s often a bad time to be invested because, often times, that means all of the potential good news has already been expected and priced into the market.

CAPITAL IDEAS: What is the bond market saying about the stock market?

The average daily volume for high yield bonds has fallen 18 percent from two years ago, and the average daily holdings have dropped 80 percent from five years ago.

CAPITAL IDEAS: You are not going to be OK

My point is that it’s not just about investing—you’ve got to be aware of your mistakes. Humans tend to be overconfident in their skills.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Advising seniors

Dalton -- When I work with a business owner to improve their company, one of my main points is that whatever your industry looks like...

CAPITAL IDEAS: Interest rate whiplash

Last week the Fed pivoted so quickly that all of us watching the press conference got whiplash. The Fed went from expecting two hikes in 2019 to zero. (It did maintain its estimate of one hike in 2020.)

CAPITAL IDEAS: Financial advisors are the worst

Have a conversation with your financial advisor. It’s perfectly appropriate for you to ask for tax returns or profit-and-loss statements and have them explain where their revenue is coming from in general, and, specifically, from your accounts.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Go refund me

You deserve to receive your income when you get paid. Change your withholding and stop treating IRS tax refunds as if it’s some sort of windfall.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Perfect 10

The market has been so good that it’s likely to keep being good for another few months as investors move from the sidelines back into stocks. But after that, brief declines in stock prices wouldn’t be unlikely.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Lunchin’ and learnin’ with local titans

Getting to the specific solution for your company, whether you’re an owner, an aspiring one or just looking for that next promotion will first require recognizing that you have problems.

CAPITAL IDEAS: Mort à la résistance

Recency bias is the tendency to think that what’s been happening recently will keep happening. It’s one of a group of behavioral finance biases that cloud the judgement of investors.
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