Smoking may not be terribly good for you but in the past it has been healthy enough for investors in the industry and analysts were betting that the tie-up between British American Tobacco and Reynolds in the US would provide further enhancement of the high dividends the companies have traditionally paid. BAT shares were up 162p to £49.60, one of those odd cases where a company announces a deal that will require a large issue of new shares and sees the price rise. Analysts say the US cigarettes market is one of the most profitable there is, and the deal…

Source: The Times October 21, 2016 11:03 UTC