Business week in pictures

A woman pushes a buggy past a Louis Vuitton boutique in Omotesando shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. A falling pound and lower rents pushed London sharply down the list of the world's most expensive cities to live in. Tokyo has knocked Moscow off the top spot, while Osaka is in second position Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP

Prime minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, arrive on a British Airways plane in Rome. Cabin crew, baggage handlers and check-in workers at British Airways refused to accept plans to axe thousands of jobs and freeze pay Photograph: Massimo Percossi/EPA

Pope Benedict XVI signs his new encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate at his studio in Vatican City. Pope Benedict pinned responsibility for the worldwide recession squarely on greed and an amoral fascination with technological progress for its own sake. His 144-page encyclical said the economic crisis was 'clear proof of effects of sin' Photograph: Getty Images

An Ikea superstore in Edmonton, north London. Ikea's founder Ingvar Kamprad said the 5,000 redundancies made by the furniture retailer would not be enough to deal with the tougher economic climate Photograph: David Levene

A man drinks a mug of coffee in Coffee Republic in Soho, London. The high street chain, Coffee Republic, collapsed into administration, blaming the downturn in consumer spending for its failure to move into profit Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Newspaper titles are displayed at the News International plant at Wapping. Hopes that Britain may be emerging from its steepest slump in output since the Great Depression were dashed when the government announced factory production had fallen to its lowest level in 17 years. Weakness in the paper, printing and publishing industries dented the figures Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Government leaders break after posing for a group photo during the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy. The leaders expressed fears of a double-dip recession and stressed the continued need for emergency measures to boost growth Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

A branch of JJB Sports in Croydon. The sportswear chain confirmed it was raising £50m and further details emerged of a row between chairman Sir David Jones and rival retailer, billionaire Mike Ashley Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

Two women wearing Alistair Darling masks play a game of bingo during a protest in front of the Houses of Parliament against the government's increase in bingo taxation from 15% to 22%. The chancellor failed to deliver a radical overhaul of Britain's banks with a white paper ruling out caps on bankers' pay or a breakup of the biggest City institutions Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Marks and Spencer shareholders queue to get in to the retailer's annual general meeting, at the Royal Festival Hall, on the South Bank, London Photograph: Martin Godwin

A power-shoulder jacket worn with sequin leggings from the Primark Collection for autumn 2009. The discount clothing chain reported sales had risen by 21% since last September Photograph: Barry McCall/Primark/PA

Six former executives at stockbroking firm Sky Capital – including founder Ross Mandell (pictured with FBI agents after surrendering in New York) – were charged by US authorities with cheating investors out of $140m (£87.2m) by operating a 'boiler room' fraud Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

A National Express train on the east coast mainline at Fenwick, north of Doncaster. National Express announced it intended to defy transport secretary Lord Adonis by extending one of its two remaining rail franchises Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian