The business week in pictures

Bob Diamond quit Barclays in the wake of the Libor-rigging scandal Photograph: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

A day earlier the bank's chairman Marcus Agius had resigned in an attempt to take the heat off Bob Diamond Photograph: Micha Theiner/City AM / Rex Feat

Bob Diamond stonewalled through three hours of questioning by backbench MPs on Wednesday as he sought to justify his failure to prevent and uncover the interest rate fixing scandal that led to his abrupt departure from Barclays this week Photograph: HANDOUT/Reuters

Chancellor George Osborne ramped up hostilities with Labour over Britain's banking culture, accusing Ed Balls and other Labour former ministers of being 'clearly involved' in intervening over the Libor rate http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/04/libor-bob-diamond Photograph: PA Wire/PA

An influx of squeezed middle-class shoppers has propelled profits at Poundland 27% higher, as the discounter – which sells everything from Fairy washing-up liquid to Nestlé After Eights for £1 – opened its 400th store Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Spain's footballing euphoria was dampened somewhat by the latest Eurostat figures showing that youth unemployment continues to rise, with 52.1% of the under-25s officially out of work compared to 7.9% for the same age group in Germany Photograph: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

As the P&O Cruises fleet sails from Southampton, the Arcadia will be without the Indian restaurant crew who were serving British passengers this time last year. For daring to protest for little over an hour at their falling, meagre earnings – and despite the assurances of the ship's captain and P&O's British head office – the careers of about 150 people have been quietly, summarily ended Photograph: Alamy

When she made her first appearance in the 1960s, Sindy sported a casual look with jeans, a stripy top, short blond hair and big blue eyes. Now the British owner of the Sindy brand is preparing a major relaunch to celebrate her 50th birthday - Sindy will have eyelash extensions, purple hair and light-blue legwarmers Photograph: PR

Politicians and unions have denounced Network Rail plans to pay bonuses to its directors – only months after a public outcry led to the rail bosses pledging to waive their annual payouts Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The Purchasing Managers' Index for services, which measures the strength of high street shops to management consultants, fell to 51.3 in June from 53.3 in May, against the background of renewed turmoil in the eurozone Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Taylor Wimpey expects an improvement in its financial results in the first half of the year, supported by a "stable" UK housing market Photograph: Jeff Morgan/Alamy

A rising number of wealthy travellers from China, Russia and Brazil are driving sales of luxury brands in the world's leading airports, triggering to a rise in the number of upmarket stores. The Swedish data company Generation Research says duty-free and travel retail sales of perfumes, cosmetics and luxury goods jumped 28% between 2008 and 2011 Photograph: Bloomberg via Getty Images

The final turbine of China's massive Three Gorges dam has been connected to the power grid, marking the completion of a controversial hydropower project that cost the country more than £38bn and displaced at least 1.3 million people Photograph: Reuters

Central banks around the world moved to stimulate the flagging global economy on Thursday, with interest rate cuts in the eurozone and China and a further £50bn of quantitative easing announced by the Bank of England Photograph: Niall McDiarmid/Alamy