Last year, British American Tobacco made an offer to take full control of Reynolds American, Inc. On Tuesday, that offer was finalized. BAT already owned 42.2 percent of Reynolds, and that offer caused shares of Reynolds to spike up about 20 percent. Since then, shares have remained level, and the finalized offer has seen shares tick up a bit more. But for the long term, was BAT wise in targeting an American tobacco company?

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NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATING TREASURY SECRETARY PICK MNUCHIN’S FIRM FOR REVERSE MORTGAGES

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating practices at reverse-mortgage businesses, including the unit of a bank once run by Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin, according to a person familiar with the matter. The inquiry is examining whether businesses employed tactics that pushed elderly borrowers into foreclosure. It is focusing on practices related to the servicing of reverse mortgages at Financial Freedom, a part of OneWest Bank, and at Champion Mortgage, a unit of Nationstar Mortgage, according to the person..

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YELLEN GIVES DOVISH SPEECH; SAYS ECONOMY IS GETTING CLOSER TO RUNNING ON ITS OWN

The U.S. economy is closing in on the Federal Reserve’s goals, giving the central bank impetus to start reducing the extreme levels of support it has provided over the past decade, Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech Wednesday…

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Closing Bell

– Wednesday, January 18th

Markets Close Mixed Following Yellen’s Promise of Creeping Rate Hikes

Big Insider Trades

– Facebook, Inc. (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg Sells $14m

-Professional Diversity Network, Inc. (IPDN) Stake Owner Cosmic Forward ltd. Buys $3m