Business week in pictures

The John Lewis department store chain is planning up to 50 specialist home stores to target middle-class shoppers in smaller towns across the UK and Ireland. The first store in the so far unnamed chain is scheduled to open at an out-of-town retail park in Poole, Dorset, in October Photograph: David Moir/Reuters

Hitachi said it expects to report record losses of 788bn yen (£5.27bn) for last year, in what would be the biggest ever loss by a Japanese manufacturer Photograph: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images

A threat to close the Boston Globe was averted as the struggling newspaper's owner, the New York Times Company (NYTC), struck a deal with its largest union after a week of negotiations Photograph: Josh Reynolds/AP

German carmakers Volkswagen and Porsche announced that they planned to merge, bringing to a sudden and dramatic end a lengthy takeover attempt by the sports car manufacturer of its larger rival Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

President Obama's announcement of a US crackdown on corporate tax avoidance is just the beginning, according to Washington insiders who believe further measures will be outlined this year Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The impact of the recession on one of Britain's most prestigious rail routes is deepening, National Express admitted, as the public transport group indicated that passenger numbers on its London-to-Edinburgh franchise are falling Photograph: National Express/PR

Warm weather and a buoyant Easter have helped Next report better than expected sales, prompting its boss to say the downturn on the high street was not as bad as feared and had 'potentially bottomed out' Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Lloyds Banking Group stunned the City when it warned that corporate bad debts are expected to soar by 50% this year, and that it has yet to finalise its participation in the government's crucial insurance scheme for toxic assets Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters

A range of realistic action figures based on the modern British armed forces was launched at RAF Northolt, produced by the toymaker Character Group Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian