BAT to Consider Settling Tobacco Cases

BAT Industries Chief Executive Martin Broughton said the London-based cigarette maker will consider paying damages to smokers if that would end mounting legal claims against the industry. Broughton’s comments mark the second time a tobacco executive has mentioned the possibility of settling liability claims. RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. Chief Executive Steven Goldstone said the same thing last March. “The big issue is how much money it’s going to cost,” said Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Gary Black. Meanwhile, shares of tobacco companies fell as a federal judge in North Carolina said he will not rule on the industry’s challenge to sweeping cigarette regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for five to 10 weeks. BAT’s American depositary receipts rose 6 cents to close at $16.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.