Week in business

10 May: After European leaders agreed a €750bn rescue plan over the debt crisis as markets reacted positively. In the most radical move since Europe launched its monetary union 11 years ago, EU finance ministers concluded 12 hours of negotiations in Brussels this morning, unveiling a package aimed at defending the 16-country eurozone against risks of unravelling in the wake of Greece's debt crisis
Photograph: Thierry Roge/Reuters

10 May: Nearly two million British Airways passengers face 20 days of strikes including during the school half-term week after the Unite trade union called a new round of walkouts. Five-day strikes are scheduled on 18 May, 24 May, 30 May and 5 June. Crews will go back to work for 24 hours between each five-day block

Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

10 May: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has been ordered to pay out almost £19,000 after a cockroach was found eating a chip in one of the busiest branches in Britain. The cockroach was seen on a food dispensing counter near takeaway boxes and tongs used to serve chicken by an environmental health officer in a restaurant in the West End of London

Photograph: Westminster City Council/PA

10 May: Mobile phones using Google's Android operating system have outsold Apple's iPhone in the US for the first time, according to new research, as the battle between two of the biggest American technology firms to dominate the mobile web steps up a gear
Photograph: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

10 May: While the FTSE 100 gained 200 points, BP was the only faller in the leading index as more problems hit the attempt to cope with the Gulf of Mexico oil spillage. The company has issued a statement saying that the cost of the clean-up so far has reached $350m. The oil industry will have to overhaul how it operates in deep water as a result of the Gulf of Mexico disaster, BP's chief executive, Tony Hayward, said (£236m)

Photograph: Reuters

11 May: A sleek, curved vintage Bugatti has become the most expensive car in the world after being sold at an auction in California for about $30m (£20m), easily smashing previous records in the automotive industry. The 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic is one of only three of its kind ever produced. Praised for its art deco elegance, the car was considered highly avant garde in its day. It came on to the market following the death of its owner, Peter Williamson, a neurologist and well-known car collector

Photograph: Martyn Goddard/Corbis

11 May: Britain's biggest nursing homes operator, Southern Cross Healthcare has been hit by a clampdown on spending by local authorities that provide the firm with the bulk of its income. Southern Cross shares fell 11% to 62p after Jamie Buchan, the chief executive, revealed that fewer people were entering its homes because local government was restricting numbers as the recession bites

Photograph: Alamy

11 May: Anxiety that the financial crisis might force more countries to the brink of collapse and kick-start a new phase of the credit crunch gripped markets, unravelling the euphoric reaction to Monday's €750bn bailout of the eurozone. Rates showing the prices at which banks lend dollars to each other rose higher today as anxiety resurfaced about the vulnerability of indebted European countries

Photograph: Richard Drew/AP

12 May: David Cameron's new government received an early warning of the economic balancing act ahead as unemployment rose to a 15-year high of 2.51 million while the Bank of England stressed the need for quick action to rein in the public finances

Photograph: Christopher Thomond

12 May: Bank of England governor Mervyn King gave his strong backing for spending cuts in George Osborne's first budget as the coalition government revealed the broad thrust of the emergency package due within 50 days of last week's election. King said the turmoil in Europe over the past few weeks meant it was vital for the government to start tackling Britain's record peacetime budget deficit without delay

Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

12 May: (Angela Merkel) Germany is facing the full impact of the euro debt crisis as the bailout on Europe's biggest economy was laid bare by politicians and financial experts for the first time. The nation is to be forced to make savings more extensive than at any time since the end of the second world war, with education and family welfare expected to take the largest hits. Germany's cabinet gave the go-ahead for Germany to put up €123bn (£105bn) towards the rescue package to stabilise the eurozone. That figure could rise to almost €150bn if needed

Photograph: Michael Sohn/AP

12 May: Spain's prime minister, José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, performed a radical U-turn in his policy of trying to survive the financial crisis announcing emergency cuts to civil service pay and public investment. A total of €6bn (£5.1bn) of investment spending will disappear over the next two years, including civil servants taking a 5% pay cut and MPs 15%, cuts child welfare, home care for the elderly and a freeze on some pensions
Photograph: Paul White/AP

13 March: The volcanic ash cloud that grounded planes across Europe last month has cost Thomas Cook around £70m. The travel firm reported this that the disruption will have a significant impact on its financial results this year. The company estimates that it lost up to £20m of revenue from customers who chose not to rebook their holiday after they were unable to fly. The rest of the £70m cost relates to the cost of supporting customers who were stranded, and bringing them home

Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

13 March: Britain's trade gap widened more than expected in March by £1.2bn to £7.5bn as imports shot up five times faster than exports, casting fresh doubts over the prospects of an export-driven economic recovery. Britain has not run a surplus in visible trade - manufactured goods, food and drink and oil - since 1982

Photograph: Diego Lezama Orezzoli/Corbis

13 March: Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King believes Britain's new coalition government will probably announce a rise in VAT as it gets to grips with Britain's record budget deficit. A rise in VAT on non-food items looks "more likely than not," King said this morning. It is expected to be announced in the the emergency budget that will be held within the next 50 days. A BBC poll of 28 economists showed 24 expect VAT to go up. The majority predicted a rise from 17.5% to 20% before the end of 2011. Analysts say a 20% rate would raise about £11.5bn a year for the public coffers

Photograph: Sarah Lee