Company
LON:BATS
British American Tobacco is the world’s second largest quoted tobacco group by global market share, with brands sold in more than 180 markets.
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Most safe harbour stocks have been confined to a select group of market sectors that include tobacco and food retailers, although enthusiasm seems to be waning for these once dependable stocks
The Citi analysts said: “We expect organic growth will pick up this year as NGPs sales accelerate and we think the regulatory threat will probably move away from cigarettes”
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The FTSE 250 though, seen as a better indicator of the state of UK companies, closed down around 41 points at 19,347.
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Not much excitement is expected from the Bank of England, so investor attention will instead be on two of the UK’s troubled clothes retailers: Ted Baker and Next
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DIY stores owner Kingfisher, clothing retailer Next, plus troubled fashion firm Ted Baker will report full-year results, with trading updates due from internet grocer Ocado and online fashion group ASOS
The protection means ITCAN won’t have to pay out any of the billions of dollars of damages awarded to a group of Quebec smokers for the time being
During his time at the regulator, chief commissioner Scott Gottlieb has served as a thorn in the side of big tobacco, having previously led efforts to ban menthol cigarettes and curb e-cigarette use among teenagers
As part of the 2015 decision, ITCAN was required to place C$758mln (approximately £436mln) in escrow and BAT said its board have determined that that asset's recoverability is "less than virtually certain”
A spokesperson for BAT said: “We are still of the view that this decision is wrong - ignoring the reality that both adult consumers and government have known about the risk associated with smoking for decades"
For the full year ended 31 December 2018, the FTSE 100-listed firm saw its adjusted operating profit rise by 4% on a constant currency basis to £10.34bn
The UK's premier share index closed down around 32 points at 7,074
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Its set to be a busy day for blue-chip news in London on Thursday.
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The Week Ahead will also bring a trading update from AB Foods, plus final results from Standard Chartered, IAG, Persimmon, Rightmove, as well as the latest US GDP data
The US broker maintained its 3,000p target on BAT, with the shares currently trading at 2,4870, up 4.7% on Monday’s close, and said valuation appeared "attractive" at current levels
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A deceptively dull start by the Footsie gradually turned into something a bit more dramatic
Since its foundation in 1984, the FTSE 100 has become one of the key barometers of the British economy, however the makeup of its constituent companies is far from the same
High yields are often viewed as a warning that a company’s dividend is too high to maintain, but a new study thinks the issue lies with the value of unloved UK stocks and not their pay-outs
Cowen’s analysts said the downgrades come as they “grow increasingly cautious on the outlook for combustible cigarettes in the US”
"This year’s Boxing Day bonanza could be no more than a wicked bear trap set to lure investors into more trouble.”
Investments and investor services
For Ocado, it was a case of "eat my shorts" as short sellers got burnt while for BATS, not enough cigarettes got burnt as e-cigarettes rose in popularity
