Hey, what's better than Cheese and Beer? Especially when you have them with a cigarette and some Jell-O, mmmm!
Back to reality, it seems that the latest settlement talks have an interesting quality, "At the insistence of Philip Morris Cos., RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., Loews Corp., and B.A.T. Industries Plc, any new settlement would also include the nine states that haven't filed Medicaid reimbursement suits." (from Bloomberg News) It looks like someone up top finally figured out that you need all of the states' approval to be done with the states' cases.
Our friend, any friend of tobacco is a friend of mine, Gary Black says that tobacco wants to have this all squared away within "two to three weeks."
Now the question I have is about the rally in the tobacco sector as late. Does everyone think that the rally is due to the growing optimism over a settlement with the states? Or can some of this rally be attributed to the shakiness of the overall stock market, after all, MO is by nature a defensive play in turbulent times.
I wonder. A combination of both is fine, but longer-term, if the market smooths itself out again, might we see MO sink back down to 40 or lower if many new investors are in MO for safety reasons alone.
later,
geoff |
