Paul Price

Cramer's Mad Money - The Capitalist Manifesto (7/27/09)

Cancel card check and forced manditory arbitration PERMANENTLY.

Nothing could be worse for America's long-term fiscal health.

Dividend Investing vs. Trading

Court Upholds Landmark Racketeering Suit Against Tobacco

By BRENT KENDALL
WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court Friday upheld major points of a landmark ruling that said the tobacco industry violated federal racketeering laws in a scheme to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected, however, the Justice Department's request for additional penalties against cigarette makers, including a proposal that the tobacco industry fund a $10 billion national smoking-cessation campaign.

Defendants in the case included Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc., British American Tobacco PLC and Lorillard Inc.

Murray Garnick, an Altria senior vice president, said the company disagreed with the ruling and would appeal. Altria could first ask for a review of the case by the entire D.C. appeals court.

Spokesmen for the other companies could not immediately be reached for a comment.

In a unanimous 92-page ruling, the court said Friday there was ample evidence to conclude the tobacco industry intentionally deceived the public about the harmful and addictive effects of cigarette smoking.

The court affirmed most of the remedies imposed against tobacco companies in 2006 by U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler following a nine-month trial, including a ban on promoting brands as "light" or "low tar." Judge Kessler's ruling also required the industry to make corrective public statements about the health effects and addictiveness of smoking.

"[T]he court's conclusions are not supported by the law or the evidence presented at trial, and we believe the exceptional importance of these issues justifies further review," Altria's Mr. Garnick said.

The case dates back to 1999, when the Clinton administration filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against nine tobacco companies and two trade associations, alleging they had engaged in a 50-year conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking.

The court on Friday said the tobacco companies "knew about the negative health consequences of smoking, the addictiveness and manipulation of nicotine, the harmfulness of secondhand smoke, and the concept of smoker compensation, which makes light cigarettes no less harmful than regular cigarettes and possibly more."

The court further said the government had adequately proved that the tobacco industry was likely to commit future racketeering violations unless restrictions were imposed. But it also affirmed an earlier ruling that the government could not force the industry to forfeit as much as $280 billion in profits.

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the ruling was a "tremendous victory for public health," but that the court's refusal to allow additional remedies was disappointing. "It means that there's much more that needs to be done to counter decades of wrongful behavior by the tobacco industry," he said.

A Justice Department spokesman said government lawyers were reviewing the decision.

S&P Dividend Aristocrats Getting Through the Credit Crisis

The so-called 'book' by dividendgrowthinvestor [who copycatted the name name of Dividend Growth Investor] is a joke.

The man can't spell or write gramatically let alone give good advice.

All he does is tout MO and PM each and every day whether it's up, down or unchanged.

He gives daily advice on buying or shorting pre-market movers and takes credit for 'winning' if they move by even 1% anytime after he writes up the trades.

He has ZERO credibility.

40 Best Stocks to Retire On - Fortune

Only companies that don't kill their customers were eligible.

Why Abbott Labs Is Getting Closer to a Buy

Here's a way to play ABT with a break-even point well below your purchase price target zone...

seekingalpha.com/artic...

Five Things Worth Remembering About Healthcare in 2009

You say that...

"The market has reacted like those firms are not recessionary and the procedures that they perform will simply not be as prevalent in this current market environment" regarding Stryker, Zimmer and Smith and Nephew while at the same time noting that their shares have been beaten way down.

By definition your quote cannot be true then. SYK and ZMH are at their cheapest valuations in years maiking both of them look extrememy attractive for anyone with more than a very short-term horizon.

You're a young man now. As you get more experience you'll find you can make better profits by purchasing great companies like these when they are temporarily out-of-favor, instead of chasing them when they're loved by all but selling at overpriced valuations.

Five Things Worth Remembering About Healthcare in 2009

You say that

"The market has reacted like those firms are not recessionary and the procedures that they perform will simply not be as prevalent in this current market environment" regarding Stryker, Zimmer and Smith and Nephew while at the same time noting that their shares have been beaten way down.

By definition your quote cannot be true then. SYK and ZMH are at their cheapest valuations in years maiking both of them look extrememy attractive for anyone with more than a very short-term horizon.