Recovery: Can the Feds Be Counted On?

LOS ANGELES-Whether the federal stimulus plan will help get the economy moving and how much it will help remains to be seen, but financial and economic experts at Real Estate 2009 in Downtown Los Angeles agreed that the private sector will have to get up and running if the US is truly going to restore its economy. “There will have to be bond market participation,” said keynote speaker and CMBS pioneer Ethan Penner, executive managing director at CB Richard Ellis Investors.

Penner outlined the causes of the financial markets meltdown and offered some prescriptions for fixing them, explaining what he would do differently from what is being attempted by the feds. He then stayed around for a spirited interchange with a panel of economists, prompting roars of applause from the audience and at one point, a roar of laughter as Penner declared, “Have Tim Geithner run our economy! Are you kidding me?”

The give-and-take on the economics panel was so spirited that a member of one of the following panels called it “the liveliest economics panel I’ve ever seen.” The spirit continued throughout the day, in panels like “Industry Leaders Crossfire: Will There Be Zen in 2010?,” which was moderated by Lew Feldman, partner and Los Angeles office chair of Goodwin Procter LLP. Bruce Mosler, president and CEO of Cushman and Wakefield, summed up the global economic situation, saying that the most significant issue we have facing us is unemployment. “The government has to focus on job stimulus across the board,” he said. Thompson National Properties LLC chairman and CEO Tony Thompson reported that despite the gloom, the past three weeks for TNP have been among the best they’ve seen in the last year in terms of raising funds in preparation for the distressed opportunities that are sure to come.