Activity in US Tobacco (UST, news, chart) options picked up yesterday morning when the company unexpectedly pulled out of an analyst conference. Stock spiked several dollars on speculation that something might be brewing, and call buyers emerged, paying 95cents for several thousand Oct 60 calls when the stock was at $56.25. On the day a total of 27,000 calls traded, putting total option volume at 57 times normal. Today’s report in the NYTimes that MO may pay close to $70 for UST has the stock up 25% to 67.50, and the Oct 60 calls are trading around $8, a possible one-day gain of $2 million for that savvy buyer.