Marlboro maker Altria Group Inc. said Wednesday higher prices, gains in its cigarette, smokeless tobacco and wine business and cost cutting led its first-quarter profit to climb 38 percent. The owner of nation’s biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, also reaffirmed its guidance for the year but said the second quarter will be challenging for income growth. Altria, based in Richmond, Va., said it earned $813 million, or 39 cents per s ... Jump to full article >>

Philip Morris Counterfeit Marlboro Lawsuit: Philip Morris USA is accusing 10 New York and New Jersey retailers of selling counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes. Reyes Grocery Store and Sunny’s Supermarket, in Newark, are among the defendants named in litigation brought by the tobacco company. The Henrico County-based cigarette-maker has monitored retail markets for years to keep fake versions of its brands off store shelves. Since May of this y ... Jump to full article >>

Although many people suggest that life was easier in the past without all those gadgets, I think that the dramatic technical progress in the past decade provided a whole new world of pleasant options for web users. For instance, now we are able to communicate with our friends from other countries; we can check our bank accounts via e-banking services; we are able to pay bills from home and, one of the most pleasant things, is that now we can buy ... Jump to full article >>

The market is overlooking the long-term stability of Big Tobacco’s cash flow generation and strong returns on invested capital Occasionally, the market gives investors the chance to buy great cash-flow-generating companies at prices significantly below their intrinsic value. We think one of those opportunities now exists for investors who do not mind holding firms that manufacture a harmful product. Facing challenges on multiple fronts, to ... Jump to full article >>

More than a decade after Harvard researchers first revealed that life and health insurance companies were major investors in tobacco stocks – prompting calls upon them to divest – the insurance industry has yet to kick the habit. A new article on insurance company holdings, published in today’s New England Journal of Medicine, shows that U.S., Canadian and U.K.-based insurance firms hold at least $4.4 billion of investments in companies wh ... Jump to full article >>