Business week in pictures

The credit crunch has bitten into Mayfair, the area that European hedge fund managers chose to settle in, away from the large corporations and grey suits of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf. Attracted by riskier investments and higher returns, young hedge fund professionals bought their trendy clothes in the area's upscale boutiques and lunched at restaurants such as Nobu, near Berkeley Square Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Business secretary Peter Mandelson has warned of a 'domino effect' of bankruptcies among car parts suppliers due to the withdrawal of credit insurance that protects businesses from the collapse of automotive groups Photograph: David Moir/Reuters

Qantas, Australia's national airline, has posted a severe profit warning and announced plans to axe up to 5% of its staff following a slump in business travel Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

Newly elected chairman of the board of the Swiss bank UBS Kaspar Viliger addresses the bank's annual general meeting in Zurich. The Swiss bank UBS confirmed its staff's worst fears by taking the axe to a further 8,700 jobs as it pointed to a Sfr2bn (£1.17bn) loss in the first quarter Photograph: Sebastian Derungs/AFP/Getty Images

Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke, the head of the US's central bank, made a concerted attempt to talk up the prospects for the US economy despite fresh evidence of the squeeze on consumer spending Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

A Kentucky Fried Chicken employee holds up a piece of the company's trans fat-free Extra Crispy fried chicken in New York. The fast-food chain is introducing grilled meat at its 5,100 American outlets in an effort to present a healthier image to diners Photograph: Kathy Willens/AP

Uranium mine at Areva Resources in McClean Lake, Canada. The rump of the bankrupt bank Lehman Brothers is sitting on a stockpile of 450,000 lb of uranium 'yellowcake' which could be used to power a nuclear reactor or, theoretically, to make a bomb. Lehman's potentially explosive asset is a hangover from a commodities trading contract undertaken before the Wall Street bank went bust in September Photograph: David Boily/AFP/Getty Images

A lone shopper walks on the near-empty pavements of Oxford Street in London. Morgan Stanley economist David Miles, who is due to join the Bank of England's monetary policy committee in the summer, said that the worst of the recession may be over Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

Commuters are taking advantage of tax breaks and turning to pedal power in increasing numbers to beat the recession. Car parts and cycles chain Halfords said demand for bikes was helping it cope with sales declines across the wider business Photograph: Rex Features/Image Source