Tobacco companies have lost their legal challenge against new cigarette plain-packaging rules in Britain.

Tobacco giants have lost their High Court challenge over the lawfulness of the British Government's new plain packaging rules - the day before they are due to come into force.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has warned that the budget airline will be forced to scale back British investment if the country votes to leave the European Union.

More than 300 business leaders in the UK are urging Britain to vote to leave the European Union, warning that the country's competitiveness is being undermined by its membership.

Ireland is the fourth most regulated ‘nanny state’ in the EU, according to a new report that ranks countries by their policies on eating, smoking, and drinking.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton urged the European Commission to bring negotiations over a contentious transatlantic trade deal to “a rapid conclusion” and said he hoped an equivalent Chinese deal could also be struck.

KINGSLEY Wheaton found himself in the middle of a coup d’état. It was 1999. At 23, he had joined the cigarette manufacturer, Rothmans, who had sent him to Dubai.

Live reporting from the Budget 2015 speech.

Ireland could be forced to abandon its plans for plain packaging for cigarettes if the European Commission decides it interferes with the single market.

Welcome to your Thursday morning briefing. Let us ensure you’re up to speed on what’s happening and are prepared for the day ahead.

Tobacco conglomerates spent decades challenging the science that proved nicotine was addictive. They dishonestly spent decades rubbishing the science that identified their products as cancerous and the root cause of fatal diseases.

America’s second biggest cigarette maker has vowed to fight a Florida jury verdict of $23.6bn (€17.4bn) in punitive damages in a case filed by the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer.

A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organisation not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardise a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking.

No hard retail evidence has emerged in Australia to show that the introduction of plain packaging for cigarettes is worth copying by other countries.

There has been a 10% reduction in heart attacks since the introduction of the workplace smoking ban, according to the Irish Heart Foundation.

A European commissioner forced to resign; the head of the EU’s fraud investigations body questioned; the commission’s most senior civil servant dragged into the melee; and now an unprecedented lobbying campaign in every EU capital.

I’VE JUST spent a few days in New York on a reconnaissance trip to check out what’s happening on the food scene over there.

Tobacco companies will be forced to remove their logos from cigarette packs in New Zealand – when a challenge to a similar move in Australia is resolved.

Uncertainty caused by tonight's US fiscal cliff deadline quashed any celebrations over a near 6% jump for the FTSE 100 Index over 2012.

Pre-tax profits at tobacco firm PJ Carroll last year fell 6% to €8.4m as the number of cigarettes legally bought in the State last year fell from 4.3bn to 4.1bn.

THE winner of this year’s National Enterprise Awards, Co Wexford company Innovate Business Technologies, has been capitalising on opportunities thrown up by the recession.

The Government has been urged to follow Australia’s example and strip branding from cigarette packs.

Australia’s highest court upheld the world’s toughest law on tobacco promotion today, despite protests from tobacco companies fearing for the value of their trademarks under new rules that will strip all logos from cigarette packs.

IRISH smokers purchased 4.3 billion cigarettes from companies in the tobacco industry last year, new figures show.

The London market slipped below the 6,000 mark today after disappointing US jobs data sparked fears over the strength of the recovery in the world's biggest economy.

Tobacco companies in Australia will be forced to strip all logos from their cigarette packages and replace them with graphic images such as cancer-riddled mouths and sickly children under legislation unveiled today – a move the government says will make Australia the world’s toughest country on tobacco advertising.

Intense fighting in Libya remained top of investors minds' today as stocks fell into the red once more on rising oil prices.

The FTSE 100 Index closed in the red for a second straight session today after a mixed report on the US jobs market.

TOBACCO companies could be forced to sell cigarettes in grey or brown plain packaging in an attempt to deter youngsters from taking up smoking.

A spike in the US dollar triggered by the prospect of smaller-than-expected stimulus measures from the Fed caused mining stocks to slide and dragged the London market lower today.

TOBACCO firm PJ Carroll saw its pre-tax profits plunge from €10.1m to €4.8m last year as the number of cigarettes smoked in Ireland fell to 4.5 billion from 5.1bn.

CRIMINAL gangs here are making about €3 million every week from the illegal cigarette trade, according to an Irish tobacco company.

MEXICAN President Felipe Calderon headed to his country’s most violent city yesterday after deadly attacks on US consular staff and their families upped the ante in his battle against drug gangs.

The London market tumbled 1% today as miners continued to be weighed down by fears over potential curbs to Chinese growth.

The London market's Christmas rally showed little sign of fading today as eager buyers pushed the blue-chip index close to a year high.

TOBACCO firm PJ Carroll saw its pre-tax profits increase 11% to €10.7 million last year despite falling cigarette sales.

The London market fell back below the 5200 mark today amid falls for retailers and concerns over US earnings reports.

The London market enjoyed a reversal of fortunes today as it leapt into the black after better-than-expected US consumer confidence figures.

The London market hung on to most of the near-5% rise seen in its previous session today as insurance stocks kept up their momentum.

Further pressure on banking stocks and more mixed economic data combined to keep the FTSE 100 Index close to its opening mark today.

Fears of an interest rate hike in the US failed to stop the London market from reaching a four-month high today as blue-chips were buoyed by some positive trading updates.

A resurgent FTSE 100 Index put last week’s turmoil behind it today as London’s leading shares soared to gains of more than 3%.

The FTSE 100 Index broke a week-long losing streak today as takeover talk in the property sector and early advances for US markets lifted blue-chip stocks.