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Non-Tech : Philip Morris - A Stock For Wealth Or Poverty (MO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (6118)	2/7/2001 10:33:46 AM
From: md1derful	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

Here are some interesting notes from Schwab this am: "Mark McMinimy – Tobacco: Look for an Early Indicator of Justice Department's Attitude Toward Tobacco Industry on Thursday On Thursday this week we may get an initial indication of how far the Bush Administration’s Department of Justice (DoJ) under newly confirmed Attorney General John Ashcroft will go to accommodate the agenda of the tobacco industry in general and cigarette makers, like Phillip Morris (MO 46.16)² in particular. On Feb. 8, the DoJ is supposed to submit in federal appeals court a friend-of-the-court brief that weighs in on the side of the state of Massachusetts. The state is appealing a lower court decision that favored the tobacco industry by striking down a state law mandating disclosure of ingredients and additives in tobacco products. Failure by DOJ to submit its amicus brief would be an unusual breach of commitment and could signal a significant about-face. Our understanding is that the brief supporting the state's position was prepared and approved during the Janet Reno era and is ready to go. If new leadership at DoJ pulls it, it would suggest the industry does indeed have some new-found clout in an important department where it has been shut out during the past eight years. It would suggest the Department's sweeping racketeering lawsuit against cigarette makers will be subject to a critical review by the incoming Ashcroft team and would raise questions about the new leadership team's inclination to actively pursue the litigation. In other words, such an outcome would tend to confirm that the industry faces a far less hostile Washington environment."