Anheuser-Busch InBev’s chief executive says a study of SABMiller’s African beer markets and talks with top shareholders led to an “alignment of stars” that drew it to its nearest rival.

Beer giant SABMiller turned up the heat in its takeover battle with rival Anheuser-Busch InBev as it said a sweetened bid from the Budweiser brewer "substantially undervalues" the business.

Anheuser-Busch has approached rival SABMiller about a takeover that would form a brewing colossus which makes around a third of the beer consumed globally.

America’s biggest tobacco companies say they are ready and willing to pass along factual public health information about cigarettes.

Four generations and 150 years on from the founding father of Heineken, the Dutch brewing family shows no signs of wanting to relinquish control.

A SOUTH Florida jury has ordered Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million (€202m) to a former smoker, agreeing that the tobacco company’s negligence was the cause of her emphysema.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris was ordered by a Florida jury to pay US$8m (€6.3m) in damages to the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in a case that could set a precedent for around 8,000 other state lawsuits.

Imperial Tobacco, the maker of Davidoff cigarettes, secured a major new market today after winning approval to introduce its European brands to the United States.

ALTRIA Group Inc, the world’s largest tobacco company, may announce plans this week to spin off its international unit, bowing to investors who favour faster overseas growth and reduced exposure to smokers’ lawsuits.

Wall Street managed a tiny gain today, enough to give the Dow Jones industrial average another record close, after the Federal Reserve stoked some fears of inflation pressures but implied that it is not intent on raising interest rates.

Wall Street rebounded today as energy prices fell on signs that Tropical Storm Ernesto will not hit the Gulf of Mexico.

Mild economic data gave Wall Street a moderate gain today as stocks survived a round of profit-taking ahead of the Labor Department’s June employment report. A favourable court ruling for Altria Group Inc lifted the Dow Jones industrials.

Philip Morris USA, the United States’ largest cigarette company, today said it plans to test a smokeless, spitless tobacco product this summer in the Indianapolis market.

THE €15 billion National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF) is to review its policy on ethical investments.

Stocks surged higher today after new data soothed inflation concerns and the price of oil tumbled to its lowest level in five months. The advance carried the Nasdaq composite index to a new 52-week high.

Philip Morris USA, the largest US cigarette maker, is cutting prices of its four biggest brands, including Marlboro, to keep customers from switching to lower-price cigarettes sold by discount manufacturers.

US stocks regained some upward momentum today, rising on news that President George Bush would sign a tax cut bill into law and on a favourable court decision for cigarette makers.

War euphoria wore off on Wall Street today as investors realised that Operation Iraqi Freedom might not be so quick after all.