Dueling Fools
July 08, 1998
A Smoking Good Duel
Philip Morris Price (7/7/98): $39 9/16
Are you a Marlboro Man or a Kraft Mom? Tobacco and food conglomerate Philip Morris <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") end if %> is everywhere -- and lately it has been the subject of smoking lawsuits and a hot topic in many investor-related Internet forums.
But is there any jiggle left to the maker of Jell-o? This week, Dale Wettlaufer (TMF Ralegh) and Paul Larson (TMF Parlay) are Dueling Fools. Dale thinks the shares will light up soon. Pauly thinks it's all smoke.
And you?
You Get to Vote!
After reading all of the arguments, cast your vote for the winner of the Duel. We'll tabulate results each week and revisit them from time to time to see whether you were right! As always, we invite you to join us in the Dueling Fools Message board to continue the duel.
[Any suggestions, comments, praise, or flames, please send them along to the Dueling Fools Team.]
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The Bull... Let's just save some time here. I believe people have the right to smoke and I believe companies have the right to sell tobacco products. Addiction is a mental, as well as physical, phenomenon. Current excise taxes and private insurance take care of healthcare costs for sick smokers, as well as many externalities, and people have known for more than a century that smoking can kill you. OK, now let's look at the company and its situation. Continue... |
The Bear... When one thinks about investing in Philip Morris, one cannot avoid considering the ethical issue over profiting from the death of others. It may sound like a bold statement to make, but it's the truth. Nevertheless, we are not here to argue the merits of socially responsible investing. We dealt with that issue in Dueling Fools not too long ago. What we are arguing here is the investment worthiness of Philip Morris as a stock. Continue... |
Results for last week's Planet Hollywood Duel
| Answer | Percentage |
| I can't make up my mind |
3% |
| TMF Edible's Bull argument |
18% |
| Bill Barker's Bear argument |
70% |
| They were both excellent |
5% |
| They were both lame |
3% |