Free Republic

Cisco reported earnings after the bell yesterday and its CEO, John Chambers, was far too gloomy in his forecast. As such, not only is the stock down but the NASDAQ sector with it. The NASDAQ is off about a half percent, while the other two indices are up by a bit more than that. Meanwhile, Taylor Bean and Whitaker closed down yesterday. That may not be a familiar name but they were the third biggest FHA lender in the country. They have been characterized as buying a lot of the "junk" that other lenders won't buy. This is going to...

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, the Ocala-based mortgage giant that was raided by the FBI this week, closed its doors Wednesday, leaving more than 1,000 employees suddenly out of work.Stunned workers filed out of the headquarters building off Northeast 14th Street on Wednesday afternoon, their arms laden with personal belongings, after learning their jobs had been terminated.When reached by telephone Wednesday afternoon, TBW Chairman Lee Farkas said, "We closed the business." Asked to elaborate, he replied, "I am just not going to go through this. I am very busy."The stunning closure of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker — one of the area's...