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

To: don kramer who wrote (2072)	8/14/1998 1:39:00 PM
From: Geoff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6439

HUGE NEWS! US FDA rules struck down by Appeals Court! From Bloomberg: A U.S. Appeals court blocked Food and Drug Administration plans to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, reversing a lower court and dealing a setback to President Bill Clinton. "It's another in a string of favorable rulings for the tobacco industry," said Gary Black, tobacco analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein and Co. ... Investors Doubtful The news did little for tobacco stocks. Philip Morris Cos. fell 7/16 to 41 in afternoon trading, while shares of RJR Nabisco Holding Corp. fell 3/16 to 23 13/16. One reason: Tobacco companies still face an uncertain legal landscape, particularly the possibility of extended courtroom battles with states seeking reimbursement for Medicaid money spent treating sick smokers. "All of these court verdicts help, but they tend to be almost ignored," said Timothy Ghirskey, a senior portfolio manager at Dreyfus Corp., which holds 8.3 million shares of industry leader Philip Morris Co. and 3.2 million shares of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. Analysts said investors may be missing the point. "This is a huge victory for the industry. It strikes me as strange investors are not reacting to this string of events," said Goldman, Sachs & Co. tobacco analyst Marc Cohen. "Investors seem to want iron-clad certainty." Back to Congress? Unless the decision is overturned on appeal, the only alternative for Clinton and public health advocates would be to ask Congress to give the FDA explicit regulatory authority over nicotine, and there's little likelihood Congress would comply -- at least not this year. "The political reality right now is that if the 4th Circuit doesn't give the FDA authority over tobacco, it is not going to get it," said Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Discover Inc. tobacco analyst David Adelman... C'mon, what's going on here?! This is huge news, and huge good news!