Week in pictures

British Airways boss Willie Walsh warned that the airline industry was mired in its 'worst ever' trading environment, as the carrier announced it was cutting flights and revealed an 88% slump in profits. Walsh confirmed merger talks with Spanish rival Iberia as the industry seeks safety in consolidation Photograph: Tim Ockenden/guardian.co.uk

Reporting a 47% tumble in Ryanair's first-half profits to €215m (£170m), Michael O'Leary said more loss-making airlines would go bust over the coming months and predicted the industry in Europe would eventually be dominated by four main players, including Ryanair Photograph: Johan Nilsson/EPA

Last-ditch talks to salvage a deal in the seven-year Doha round of global trade negotiations broke down dramatically in Geneva, after India, China and the US fell out over measures to protect poor farmers Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

It was revealed that directors of the state-backed Lloyds Banking group were sounding out shareholders about a change in its executive remuneration plans Photograph: Sang Tan/AP

Coffee giant Starbucks has reported its first ever quarterly loss but said it will press ahead with its recently announced deal to open 150 Starbucks outlets in the UK and elsewhere in western Europe Photograph: David Parry/Newscast

Butlins, the budget holiday camp operator, has seen a 15% rise in the number of bookings and said it was 'reaping the rewards of the boom in UK holidays' Photograph: Lee Tracey/Hulton

On Thursday, the world's leading central banks tried again to ease the growing stress in the global money markets with coordinated action to provide $180bn (£100bn) in extra liquidity. The FTSE 100 initially moved higher on the news, but fell back at the close Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty

Inflation dropped to its lowest rate in five years as falling energy prices continued to cut the cost of living. The consumer price index fell to 1.1% in September, down from 1.6% the previous month. Photograph: Steve Taylor/Getty

Profits at HBOS, the country's biggest mortgage lender, plunged 72% in the first six months of the year after it was forced to take a £1.1bn hit from investments hurt by the credit crunch Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian

Shell stoked the furore over high petrol and wider fuel prices by reporting profits of nearly $8bn (£4bn) in the second quarter of the year, equivalent to £2m an hour Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

Alliance & Leicester, which last month agreed to a £1.26bn takeover by Spain's Santander, saw its first-half profits almost wiped out by the credit crunch. Profit before tax slumped to £2m, against £290m in the first half of last year. Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian