Business week in pictures

George Soros, chairman of Soros Fund Management, at Davos. Soros said that growing economic and political tensions could destroy the European Union, which was backed by warnings from other economists on the first day of the World Economic Forum in about the fragility of the single currency Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images

Greece has played down comments by Angela Merkel which cast doubt on the debt-stricken country's ability to be saved from economic collapse, saying they had been 'over-read' by the media Photograph: John Kolesidis/Reuters

The threat posed to the British economy from the eurozone crisis was underlined on Wednesday when Portugal saw its borrowing costs soar to a record high amid market fears that the bailed-out country will not be able to break free of its financial crisis in the near future. Pictured: A protester stands in front of the Portuguese parliament during a demonstration against the government's austerity measures in Lisbon Photograph: Patricia De Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images

Britain has moved closer to its second recession in three years after official figures showed the UK economy contracted by 0.2% in the last three months of 2011. A telephone box is reflected in the window of a closed pub in the City of London Photograph: Luke Macgregor/Reuters

A report by the Welsh assembly's enterprise committee, and being launched in Caerphilly, concludes that throughout the country high streets are struggling to survive. 'I wish I could say it's bad, but frankly it's worse than that: it's dire and has been for some time,' says Eddie Talbot, owner of the JET model shop in Caerphilly Photograph: Dimitris Legakis for the Guardian

But in a small piece of good news for the government, McDonald's said that new outlets as well as a shift to 24-hour opening would create 2,500 jobs and provide a lifeline to young job hunters Photograph: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The US Federal Reserve expects to keep short-term interest rates close to zero 'at least through late 2014' – longer than previously indicated – chairman Ben Bernanke said as he expressed concerns about the pace of the recovery. The decision means the Fed fears the economy will not fully recover from the recession that started in 2008 for at least another two years. Pictured: People wait to speak with coaches about polishing their CVs during a Veteran Career Fair in Washington, DC Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Record sales of iPhones and iPads resulted in record profits at Apple in the final quarter of 2011, the first since the death of its co-founder, Steve Jobs Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Hedge fund manager David Einhorn, whose short selling famously helped to bring down Lehman Brothers bank, has been fined £7.2m for insider dealing by the UK regulator. Einhorn, the owner of Greenlight Capital, engaged in 'market abuse' in relation to a fundraising by pub group Punch Taverns in June 2009, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has ruled Photograph: Jonathan Fickies/Bloomberg via Getty Images

WH Smith has reported falling sales at its outlets at Christmas, but said profit margins were up thanks to a focus on selling stationery and books. The company's chief executive, Kate Swann, has boosted profits by cutting costs and pulling out of markets including CDs, DVDs and video games, where the markup for retailers is small Photograph: Kumar Sriskandan/Alamy

Soaring demand for smartphones and tablet computers has increased the number of mobile users worldwide to nearly one billion, helping Ericsson, the largest telecoms equipment supplier, to return to growth after a two-year slump with a 12% rise in annual sales. A Belle Epoque week enthusiast takes a picture of dancing couples with her mobile phone at the Hotel Victoria in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Photograph: Harold Cunningham/Getty Images

EasyJet has reported strong growth in revenue and passenger numbers for the last three months of 2011, thanks to a rise in business passengers and better weather than a year ago Photograph: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images