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

To: Ali Khaman who wrote (1502)	4/30/1998 8:14:00 PM
From: Christopher White	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6439

Ali, Things are much more serious for MO today than they were for MRK in '92-'93. It seems every day now the Richmond Times-Dispatch has full front page articles on the tobacco legislation. Unions around here are just now waking up and realizing how critical the situation has become. The 'settlement' proposals of both Republicans and Democrats, if passed, will either put the tobacco industry out of business, or force them to move offshore. In Richmond alone, MO employs over 6,000 folks - real good paying jobs. In 1982, here in Petersburg, our inept City Council chased Brown and Williamson out, costing us 3,000 jobs...now 16 years later we still haven't recovered - the booming economy passed us by so far, real estate is flat and our unemployment is 3x that of surrounding communities. Tobacco is in trouble since they tried to settle with the states - by doing so they de facto admit liability...the lawyers smell money and I don't know how, now that the ball is rolling, the litigation can be stopped. On the technical side, the chart looks terrible. If MO goes through 36, I think we'll see about 28 in short order. I think the only thing keeping the ship afloat is the fat 4% dividend - if it starts to look like the dividend is not secure, watch out below. Christopher