Nobody in business is going to remember this week with any particular delight. Oil prices continue to be a source of concern and are edging up in a way that seemed to have stopped in the middle of last week; there was no real agreement on how the economy is performing but a slowdown of some sort is what the Bank of England is telling everyone. Whether that's just to calm down speculation on a reduction of interest rates is anybody's guess.
There were tales of fraud, both perpetrated by businesses and on them, while lots of our morning round-ups carried stories of the Euro zone faltering - it started on Monday and is continuing today.
There were strong feelings about flexible working. This might or might not include sabbaticals, but they seem to be coming back in as a trend.
Overall, though, it felt like a belt-tightening, not entirely pleasant week for business. No doubt there will be more to come.
