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Gail Kelly, chief executive of Australian banking major Westpac, has promised the lenders mortgage borrowers that the bank will not exceed official hikes in interest rates initiated by the Reserve Bank of Australia this year.

On Wednesday, the lender posted impressive growth in its first half profits, which grew 32 per cent to $2.88 billion, a record for the lender.

The record profits growth forced Mrs.

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The Associated PressTurn off CNBC & Kramer. Embrace Jon Stewart & comedy. The Dow is plunging, but don’t do anything rash.(UPDATED, 1:30 p.m.) The U.S. stock markets declined for the third consecutive day, and they accelerated even as I wrote the first draft of this post. The Dow and S&P 500 have just about wiped out all gains since the year began (They later recovered somewhat).

Try not to let it bother you.

If your exposure to the market is mostly via your IRA or 401(k), you should sit tight. Stick to your investment plan or philosophy. Full Article…

Fannie Mae has announced it will further toughen its lending guidelines for its adjustable-rate (short term) and interest-only loan programs.

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It’s Only Money is an equal-opportunity column.

Fair and balanced. Red and blue.

The past two weeks I’ve written about socially responsible investing — how you can put your money where your values are without necessarily sacrificing returns.

Let’s be frank, though. You and I both know we go to church and sign petitions through the front door. We lug the liquor and cigars through the back.

It’s time to head out back and talk “sin stocks.”

That’s right — the publicly traded companies that deal in booze, nukes, guns and gambling. Some extend their no-nos to porn, animal testing and genetic engineering. Full Article…

CAPE CORAL, Fla., May 3, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Tigrent Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: TIGE) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James K. Bass to serve on the Company’s Board of Directors effective May 3, 2010.  Mr. Bass will serve as Chairman of the Company’s Governance and Nominating Committee.  Mr. Bass will also serve on the Company’s Audit Committee.

From September 2005 to June 2009, Mr. Bass served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of Piper Aircraft, Inc., a general aviation manufacturing company. H

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