Decathlon’s Dublin opening, tobacco battles over menthol and how Covid-19 killed cash

The HSE is investigating if some tobacco companies are breaching a recent ban on menthol cigarettes to hold onto a slice of what was a €250 million market in the Republic. Mark Paul reports.

Big news on the retail front with French sports retail giant Decathlon confirming it will open its doors to the public in Ireland for the first time on Saturday. Peter Hamilton has the details.

New figures out today show property prices rebounded in May, in what was the biggest monthly rise since 2015, while the stock of rental properties available in the month continued to rise as the Covid-19 crisis all but shut off the tourism tap.

Spiralling accommodation costs have made Dublin the most expensive place in the euro zone to live, costlier than Paris, Berlin and Rome, according a new survey published today.

Businesses to seek instant end to lockdown and halving of 2m rule

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German industry records historic 18% drop in output

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Call for zero rate VAT as stores reopen; CRH US subsidiary accused of discrimination

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KPMG calls for zero rate VAT as data show slow economic pick-up

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Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy will call for the immediate removal of quarantine restrictions related to the Covid-19 virus coronavirus and the replacement of the 2m social distancing to a 1m requirement when he appears before the Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 later today.

The battle for insurance payouts to pubs forced to close over Covid-19 looks set to end up in court after yet another bar, Dublin's Lemon & Duke, failed to resolve its dispute with insurer FBD.

Meanwhile, more than half of businesses in the Irish events industry say they may not survive 2020 due to the extended disruptions posed by Covid-19 coronavirus.

In personal finance coverage, Laura Slattery looks at how Covid-19 boosted contactless and took the gloss off cash.

And her media and marketing column today forecasts a difficult time ahead for consumer magazines, despite having adapted well to the Covid-19 crisis.