NEW YORK — A Credit Suisse analyst downgraded Altria Group Inc. Monday, worried about possibly declining Marlboro prices and the company’s ability to balance profit and market share growth for the cigarette brand. In separate client notes, analyst Thilo Wrede boosted the price targets of peers Lorillard Inc. and Reynolds American ( RAI – news – people ) Inc. Wrede said Altria ( MO – news – people )’s ... Jump to full article >>

In the new world of big tobacco, Altria (NYSE: MO) seems to be marching to the beat of its own drummer. Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO) have joined forces to continue their fight with the government over increased tobacco regulation. Last week, the dynamic duo launched a lawsuit questioning the free speech (i.e., advertising) ramifications of FDA control over the tobacco industry. Kissing cousin Philip Morris International ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco companies jointly filed a lawsuit in Kentucky against the U.S. and the Food and Drug Administration, claiming a law signed by President Obama in June of this year imposes “unprecedented restrictions” on First Amendments Rights. For instance, the law prohibits tobacco companies from jointly marketing their cigarettes with non-tobacco products. Also, they can’t market or describe any products as less harmful than others ... Jump to full article >>

Washington County Commissioner Bracken Burns was fuming Thursday when it appeared that a ban on tobacco-related stocks in the county employees’ pension fund was about to go up in smoke. Even after Burns read an eight-minute statement on tobacco-related mortality statistics and the high cost of illness from smoking, the retirement board voted 2-1 to lift a restriction excluding tobacco stocks from its employees’ pension portfolio.  ... Jump to full article >>

Mirror, mirror on the wall: Who is the “world’s most international tobacco group” after all? Well, British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) claims to be “it,” since the company reaches consumers in more than 180 countries (although I’m not sure that my fourth-grade English teacher would approve of the grammar). Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) calls itself “the leading international tobacco companyR ... Jump to full article >>

If you’re looking for an investment that’s resistant to economic downturns, pays a reasonably high income and has a track record of increasing dividends, you might fancy having a look at the tobacco sector. Many investors will refuse to invest in tobacco companies on ethical grounds. That is a perfectly understandable position since their main product, cigarettes, if used as advertised will harm the health of the vast majority of its ... Jump to full article >>

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama’s signing in mid-June of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act giving the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the U.S. tobacco industry is likely to have broad effects on the industry but no immediate rating impact on the largest-rated tobacco manufacturers or on tobacco settlement-backed securitizations, according to a recent report published by Standard & Po ... Jump to full article >>

THE ink on yesterday’s Business Day was barely dry when I was asked this morning via e-mail, how I would rate the shares of British American Tobacco (BAT) as a long-term investment if the company was not in tobacco, but, say, in retail. “It seems to me,” the reader goes on, “that you don’t like BAT because you’re antismoking. Your view on the share is subjective. As you keep on saying, look at its investment fundamentals. That’s wh ... Jump to full article >>

S&P Ratings says the newly signed regulatory bill will change the tobacco industry’s competitive landscape and raise future costs On June 22, President Barack Obama signed into law a tobacco regulatory bill giving the U.S. Food & Drug Administration oversight of the industry, including the tobacco companies’ manufacturing and marketing practices. The changing regulatory environment has raised questions about the credit impli ... Jump to full article >>

Many young smokers want to quit but don’t know what methods work. The University of Illinois at Chicago is leading a $2.9 million National Cancer Institute project to increase demand for evidence-based, Internet-based smoking cessation treatment among young adults. “Even though many young adults think about quitting and actually want to stop smoking, they tend not to use what we know works – evidence-based approaches to quittin ... Jump to full article >>