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Smoking is a noxious habit but that doesn't mean investors should turn up their noses at Altria Group. The leading U.S. tobacco maker is gaining market share, its stock looks cheap and -- perhaps best of all -- the dividend is both rich and reliable.

Branding counts. Apple (AAPL) could probably do well selling tea pots. Sharper Image is still around, but its brand is so tarnished that it could not give away many of the ultra-modern home utilities that it used to market at ridiculously high prices. The New York Times reports that AIG (AIG) is...

After a long fight in Congress, legislation is about to pass that would put the FDA into the position of regulating the tobacco industry. The industry has largely been free to operate as it has seen fit, with the major obstacle to profits being periodic lawsuits over health, disability and death...

Altria Group Inc. (MO) posted a decline in first-quarter profit, but earnings from continuing operations actually increased 5.4 percent to 39 cents a share from 37 cents a year earlier. The largest U.S. tobacco company had to walk a fine line in the quarter, increasing prices three times to help...