Business week in pictures

Week in Business: A man uses a cash machine next to an estate agents in Hampstead

The International Monetary Fund raised the prospect of a double dip in Britain's property market when it said house prices were overvalued and vulnerable to a fall, while the next day the Halifax reported a drop of 3.6% in September – the biggest for a single month since it started collecting data in 1983 Photograph: Matt Dunham/AP

Week in Business: George Osborne at the Conservative Party Annual Conference

The taxpayer is to be asked to inject millions of pounds into a fund being devised by the UK's six biggest banks to funnel more cash into small businesses. Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features

Week in Business: Diageo opens a major new whisky distillery at Roseisle

Diageo opened the first major new whisky distillery for a generation at Roseisle, Speyside – a symbol of optimism for the industry after the uncertainty of the global economic downturn as demand picks up in emerging markets Photograph: Diageo

Week in Business: Barclays managers take the day out to work under branches

Barclays managers take the day out to work under branches - not in them - as part of a live mobile banking clinic. At a meeting to discuss 'values and trust' in the City, Barclays chairman Marcus Agius told financiers they need to improve their image by tackling their corporate culture, pay levels and treatment of customers Photograph: Ken Lennox

Premier Foods, makers of brands such as Hovis, Bisto and Mr Kipling, came under pressure from shareholders to cut its £1.4bn debts as the share price crashed to 16p. The company is seen as a potential takeover target Photograph: Premier Foods/PA

Week in Business: A partially finished suit hangs in bespoke tailoring rooms

Meanwhile, a firm of Savile Row tailors named Cad & the Dandy put their best efforts into brushing up the image of City workers by launching the best-dressed banker award. The prize, which included a £3,000 bespoke suit, was won by 46-year-old Greg Rellis, a Chicago commodities broker working in London Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Week in Business: A man reads a paper as strikers pass by during the strike in Pamplona Spain

A man reads a paper as strikers pass by during the general strike in Pamplona. Spain's most powerful media group, Prisa, which owns the left-leaning El País newspaper, is to undergo a radical overhaul as it battles huge debts, a falling circulation and the death of its co-founder, in a deal with a US cash shell that will turn the family company into a multinational firm traded on Wall St Photograph: Alvaro Barrientos/AP

Week in Business: A woman looks into a butchers shop, on the north side of Dublin.

A woman looks into a butchers shop, on the north side of Dublin. Moody's warned it was considering cutting Ireland's credit rating amid concerns that its economic recovery was running out of steam, coupled with the financial burden of the €50bn (£43bn) bailout of its crippled banking system Photograph: Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Week in Business: Commuters walk across London Bridge during the underground strike

Business leaders called for tough new laws to make it harder for public sector workers to go on strike, and to make it easier for employers to make mass redundancies and to employ agency staff to cover striking workers. Unions condemned the CBI's proposals as a 'fundamental attack' on human rights. Photograph: Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images

Week in Business: A one euro coin in front of a one dollar note

The collapse of UK foreign exchange firm Crown Currency Exchange left thousands of customers facing a long battle to get their money back Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

Week in Business: A sign outside a Marks & Spencer stall at the Conservative Party conference

Marks & Spencer reported sales ahead of City expectations, with clothing, homeware and food all putting in strong performances. New chief executive Marc Bolland, who joined M&S in May, said customers were returning to quality and is hoping the retailer's older customer base will help it weather the looming austerity measures Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters