Business week in pictures

Prime minister David Cameron said he did not feel Gordon Brown was the appropriate person to head the IMF, indicating he would block the former PM's bid to become managing director of the fund Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

McDonald's hiring day attracted thousands of job seekers after the fastfood chain announced it would recruit 50,000 people in the US Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Irish banking collapse was caused by greed and a complicit public, revealed a nine-month inquiry by Finnish finance expert Peter Nyberg Photograph: Cathal Mcnaughton/Reuters

Tesco reported record profit of £3.8bn but its new boss wasn't happy with UK performance, as bulk of the profit increase came from Asian operations. Britain's biggest retailer said it would improve its product range and marketing at home Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Standards and Poor's downgraded US debt outlook from stable to negative for the first time since Pearl Harbor attack 70 years ago, causing stocks to tumble and denting confidence of investors in the US economy Photograph: Mark Lennihan/AP

Goldman Sachs beat forecasts with $2.7bn first quarter profit. The bank set aside $5.23bn (£3.2bn) to pay its staff Photograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images

The financial crisis has spelled an end to London's skyscraper boom – high-rises have fallen out of favour as austerity drive ushers in the era of 'ground-scrapers', declared the architect of the Gherkin. Heron Tower and the Shard, pictured above, would be among the last of the iconic buildings to adorn London's skyline, he claimed Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami forced Toyota to cut production at its Burnaston plant in the UK due to the shortage of car parts. Other major Japanese car manufacturers have also cut production, leading to a drop in exports from the disaster-hit country Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty

The gold price hit a new record of $1,500-an-ounce as investors sought safe havens in an increasingly uncertain global economic climate Photograph: AFP

iPhone is ringing up profits for Apple, improving quarterly earnings by 95% to $6bn. The number of iPhones sold has doubled from a year ago, but iPad sales have stuttered Photograph: Yonhap/Corbis