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Article: Philip Morris makes tobacco payment, market still leery. (News & Numbers).(tobacco bonds: 1998 Master Settlement)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- Government Finance Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Government Finance Officers Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As of April, governments in 17 states had issued some $19 billion in tobacco bonds backed by the 1998 Master Settlement between the tobacco industry and the states. Following a judgment in Illinois that nearly forced Philip Morris into bankruptcy and prevented the company from making a $2.6 billion payment, however, several governments are now rethinking their plans to issue tobacco bonds.
Just a day before the scheduled April 15 payment, Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron reduced the size of the bond that Philip Morris was required to pay in order to appeal a $10.1 billion judgment handed down by the same judge in March. That judgment stemmed from a ...