Free Republic

Altria is selling off part of its 10% stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev, valued at about $2.2 billion. The tobacco giant said it would use the proceeds to purchase its own shares. Anheuser-Busch InBev has been hurt by the loss of Bud Light sales related to the boycott over the beer maker's relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) slumped more than 5% Thursday after Altria (MO) slashed part of its 10% stake in the beer maker at a discounted price. Altria announced that it would be selling 35 million of its 195 million...

RICHMOND, Va. -- Two people were killed and at least five other people were shot following Huguenot High School's graduation ceremony outside the Altria Theater in Richmond, Virginia, Crime Insider sources told Jon Burkett. Two people were taken into police custody after a shooting. "I've now been told by multiple sources that there 10 victims, five of them are gunshot victims," Burkett reported on CBS 6 News. "The other five are those that were hurt running back inside to the Altria Theater when shots rang out." Burkett said it did not appear the suspects taken into custody were high school...

The Altria Group and Nikon Inc. were both expected to attend the NRA’s annual event May 4-6 but have since backed out of the event. Altria Group is the parent corporate for “big tobacco,” such as Marlboro cigarettes and Skoal smokeless tobacco. Nikon, the photograph equipment company – which makes rifle scopes – has been appeared at several past NRA conventions.

The Dingell dynasty dates back to the era of FDR and there’s very little that can stop it from rolling on. Rep. John Dingell announced Monday he’s leaving the seat he took over from his father nearly six decades ago. And now his wife, Debbie Dingell, is planning to announce in the district Friday her candidacy for the open seat, according to a source close to Dingell. Dingell wasted no time putting together a campaign apparatus Monday, holding a conference call last night with her husband’s former aides. She also may sever ties with the American Automotive Policy Council where...

Not content with masterminding Obamacare, which taxes, regulates, and disincentivizes the healthcare industry into nothing more than a capitulatory utility under government control, Democrat Senator Max Baucus used the recently passed transportation bill as the vehicle to exterminate thousands of jobs with the stroke of Barack Obama’s pen. In addition to the $400 million the senator earmarked for his state’s highway system, the Montana senator mischievously added a separate and unrelated special interest earmark to the transportation bill as a nod to his Big Tobacco benefactors at Altria, a parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris. How did he appease...

Tobacco giant Philip Morris struck out again in its attempts to kill San Francisco's new ban on cigarette sales at pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid. A federal court judge in Oakland rejected an unusual first amendment argument. Philip Morris argued that the sales ban effectively kills in-store tobacco advertisements, a violation of free speech. But Judge Claudia Wilken didn’t buy it. She said the company could still advertise in any store it liked. Philip Morris said 20-percent of its San Francisco sales took place at Walgreens and Rite Aid, the two chains affected by the ban. The first...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - The Florida Supreme Court has thrown out a $145 billion punitive damage award against cigarette makers - and decertified the case as a class action -- in a huge victory for the tobacco industry. "We unanimously conclude that the punitive damages award is excessive as a matter of law," the court said in a ruling handed down in the Engle case on Thursday. The news sent shares of No. 1 tobacco company Altria , +6.6%) up 5.5% to $77.44 while Reynolds American (RAI : reynolds american 119.21, +4.85, +4.2%) gained 4.8% to $119.79. ) U.S. stocks boosted...

CHICAGO, Dec 15 (Reuters)- The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA, ordering a lower court to dismiss the case in which the company was accused of defrauding customers into thinking "light" cigarettes were safer than regular ones. The much-anticipated ruling sent shares of Philip Morris parent Altria Group Inc. (MO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) up more than 5 percent to a new all-time high. The court found that U.S. Federal Trade Commission rulings specifically authorized tobacco companies to characterize their products as "light" or "low tar and nicotine." The case has been closely...

Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA has initiated a long-awaited increase in cigarette prices, providing what some analysts consider the first sign of life in the U.S. cigarette market since 2002. Philip Morris on Friday confirmed earlier analyst reports that it notified wholesalers Thursday of a reduction in the current "off-invoice promotional allowance," by $1 to $5.50 a carton, for its Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Parliament and Basic cigarette brands. An off-invoice promotional allowance is a form of wholesale discount, and analysts said the reduction effectively raises cigarette prices by about $1 a carton, or 10 cents a pack. The lower...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tobacco and food giant Altria Group Inc. is asking federal regulators to sign off on its plan to run magazine ads contrasting the policies of President Bush and Democratic candidate John Kerry. The parent of Philip Morris, Kraft Foods and other companies plans to run ads in BusinessWeek magazine over the summer and fall featuring responses by the Democratic and Republican parties and their presidential campaigns to questions about positions on various issues. Altria Group, formerly Philip Morris Cos., told the Federal Election Commission it believes the ads do not fall under a ban on corporate contributions...

January 15, 2004 Lobbyist: Corporation Provides Air Travel For Richardson By Barry MasseyThe Associated Press        SANTA FE   —   A subsidiary of a tobacco and food conglomerate paid nearly $17,000 for air travel by Gov. Bill Richardson and several of his aides on an out-of-state trip last year.     The travel was reported by a lobbyist for Altria Corporate Services Inc., a subsidiary of Altria Group Inc.   —   the New York-based parent of the world's largest cigarette company, Philip Morris.     The company provided travel to Washington and Chicago in late September on "corporate aircraft" for...

<p>Philip Morris USA's decision to desert the Big Apple for a new home down south will bring some real economic benefits to the Richmond area.</p> <p>But it may also revive Richmond's slowly fading image as a big tobacco town, which is just fine with some folks, not so fine with others.</p>