November 16, 2009
William C. Davis
Two years ago, William Davis, Past President of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers, told the Economic Forum that the crisis then rippling through the mortgage industry would spread. Back in the Fall of 2007, he warned that the the economy was about to get a lot worse. In an October 2009 return visit, however, he said he underestimated just how bad things were going to get, and he had few encouraging words for what lies ahead.
Many in the audience were probably hoping for better news. But Davis mostly talked about the deep systemic problems that will cause economic pain for years to come. For example, even as the economy comes back, jobs are unlikely to because during the downturn businesses have learned how to make do with fewer employees. “So jobs are lost forever,” Davis said.
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September 22, 2009
Randy Schultz, Editorial Page Editor, the Palm Beach Post
At our September meeting, Palm Beach Post Editorial Page Editor Randy Schultz made the case against misinformation – and for the continued existence of newspapers.
“Since my part of the paper is the one that deals with comment, I would like to discuss the difference between informed comment and uninformed comment. Because it has never been more important to distinguish between the two,” Schultz said.
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July 18, 2009
Russell Greene
Russell Greene – Grand Bank & Trust of Florida President & CEO
Attendees at Russell Greene Luncheon
December 18, 2008
From Palm Beach Daily News:
Palm Beach County Economic Forum President Rebel Cook said she is still “reeling” from news of the alleged scam. She predicts many wealthy Palm Beachers will be forced to cut back on their personal staffs, creating a trickle-down effect of growing unemployment. In the coming weeks, area restaurants, which are already hosting fewer patrons and coping with reduced staffs, will likely receive even less business, and charitable foundations will try to survive with dwindling donations, Cook said. The only South Florida industry that might be spared from the fallout is the legal industry, which will feed off the inevitable slew of lawsuits, Cook said. But even that’s not a sure thing. “Will lawyers do well?” Cook said. “Yes, if their clients can pay them.”
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October 16, 2008
From the Palm Beach Post:
Rebel Cook took stock of the country’s financial crisis on Tuesday and wondered whether she’d prefer a hurricane. Both disasters are devastating, but one has a predictable end, said the president of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County. “If it was a hurricane, it would blow through and it would be gone,” she said.
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April 22, 2008
From the Palm Beach Post:
It’s time that Americans acknowledged the inevitable. The end is not as far off as your pandering politicians would have you believe. The ticking debt clock is nearing detonation. Some say it’s still not too late to keep it from blowing the economy to smithereens. I’m not convinced that wasting the past 20 years wasn’t decisive. But there are those – such as the Concord Coalition’s Harry Zeeve, who spoke to the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County on Thursday – who believe that something still can be done.
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October 10, 2007
From the Palm Beach Post:
The housing market in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast has turned “brutal” and is getting worse, a veteran mortgage broker said Tuesday. The stark outlook came from William Davis, president of Private Funding Specialists Inc. in Palm Beach Gardens and past president of the Palm Beach County chapter of the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers.
“I’ve seen some tough times, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” Davis told members of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County.
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