Business week in pictures

Jaguar Land Rover has announced a £355m engine plant near Wolverhampton, which will create 750 skilled jobs to build low-emission car engines, and further employment in the supply chain Photograph: Marc Tirl/EPA

Energy secretary Chris Huhne proposed new plans to stop anticompetitive practices by the big six energy companies, and arrest their ability to impede action by regulator Ofgem
Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

Stock markets fell sharply ahead of crucial talks to decide whether Greece will receive €8bn to stave of default, a decision delayed until next week. European banks were worst hit, with French bank Société Générale shares tumbling by over 6% Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP/Getty Images

UBS chief executive Oswald Grübel met with the bank's board on Friday, reportedly to seek a vote of confidence after "rogue trader" Kweku Adoboli (above) was charged with fraud Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

The World Economic Outlook of the IMF, which is headed by Christine Lagarde, said recovery could be jeopardised by Europe's debt crisis or over-hasty attempts to cut America's budget deficit, risking a slide back into recession Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Trouble in British toytown as the rights to many of Britain's favourite children's characters, including Peppa Pig, Thomas the Tank Engine and Bob the Builder may be sold to a US company as the UK's Chorion group and Hit Entertainment struggle under private equity ownership Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

The IMF cut UK economic growth forecasts, saying Britain is one of three big developed economies at risk of falling back into recession, and warned George Osborne that he may have to slow his deficit reduction programme. Pictured: shoppers leave the new Westfield shopping centre in Stratford Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

The US Federal Reserve announced 'Operation Twist' – a $400bn plan aimed at kickstarting the beleaguered US economy. But US stock markets continued to fall as the Fed painted a gloomy picture of the US's fragile economic recovery. Pictured: A woman stands among her family's possessions after being evicted in Centennial, Colorado Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images

Fears that Tesco is set to launch a damaging supermarket price war next week sent its rivals' shares plunging. Shares in internet grocer Ocado, which promises to match Tesco's prices on hundreds of branded goods, were hardest hit, closing down more than 11%. Sainsbury's and Morrisons also lost ground Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian

JD Sports may pursue a multimillion-pound compensation claim against police to recover losses from the August riots, after reporting that looters made off with £700,000 of its stock. The company is working with its insurers on a claim for damages, covering theft of stock, repair costs and business interruption Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features

Lloyd's of London is warning that the insurance industry faces an extremely challenging outlook after an unprecedented run of catastrophes in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the US led to insurers paying out billions of pounds this year. The first half of 2011 was the costliest six-month period in the insurance market's 323-year history; Richard Ward, Lloyd's chief executive, said 2011 was shaping up to be the second-worst year on record for the insurance industry after 2005 Photograph: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Government borrowing hit a record high for August, as increased spending put Britain's public finances under renewed pressure. With the economy weakening, the Bank of England has signalled that it is ready to pump more money into the system, possibly as soon as next month Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

The boss of BNP Paribas tried to restore calm in the French banking system on Thursday, insisting there was no peril in the sector despite the continued fall in the share prices of the country's major banks. Baudouin Prot dismissed speculation that the bank was trying to raise fresh funds from Middle East investors, and the suggestion that the French government might step in to prop it up Photograph: Pierre Verdy/AFP/Getty Images

Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to pocket £72m from his family's stake in easyJet after the budget airline bowed to investors' concerns by promising a special dividend. EasyJet's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said the announcement of a shareholder payout of £190m early next year was due to mounting concerns over the state of the eurozone economy Photograph: Philippos Christou/AP

A segment of Bowland shale, from which shale gas can be extracted. A huge natural gas field has been discovered under the north-west of England, potentially revolutionising the UK's energy outlook and creating thousands of jobs, but environmental groups are alarmed at the controversial method by which the gas is extracted. Photograph: Paul Thomas/Bloomberg via Getty Images