March 10, 2008

U.S. Conference of Mayors President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer traveled to New York City to participate in a Housing Summit on Feb. 19th at Reuters headquarters in Times Square.

The summit brought together top editors and reporters from Reuters covering a wide range of beats with guests from all walks of life to analyze the housing and the subprime lending crisis from many different perspectives.

Summit participants — including executives, regulators, investors and politicians — answered questions from a team of journalists in a free-flowing discussion about how the housing crisis impacts investors, homebuilders, bankers, regulators, retailers, homeowners and elected leaders.

“The foreclosure crisis is no longer just about mortgages — entire neighborhoods are being negatively affected on several levels. This issue is now the number one economic challenge of many major American cities,” commented Palmer during the session.

Stories produced from the summit have been very broad and cover the effect of the housing crisis on the U.S. economy, the presidential elections, regulatory reform and societal change.

Other participants in the housing summit this year include: Toll Brothers Chief Executive Robert Toll, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, LendingTree CEO C.D. Davies and Corcoran Group CEO Pamela Liebman.

Past summit participants include: President of Mexico Felipe Calderon, Time Warner Chairman and CEO Dick Parsons, New York Governor and former NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, Cisco CEO John Chambers as well as renowned investors such as Carl Icahn and Bill Gross.