Week in pictures

Sales on the high street suffered their worst ever fall last month, adding to evidence that the UK is heading into recession. JJB Sports said it was cautious about a 'very challenging' second half of the year Photograph: Jason Alden/Newscast

It was revealed that members of the Bank of England's rate-setting committee were split three ways at their last meeting. Although seven members of the MPC voted to hold rates, the meeting's minutes showed one member voted for a rise and another for a cut Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

The British economy is falling into a recession that could be deep and painful if interest rates are not cut sharply right now, says Professor David Blanchflower, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) Photograph: Public domain

Bank of America cheered up Wall Street by delivering profits that were less dismal than expected, stoking fragile hope that leading financial institutions could be over the worst in liabilities related to the credit crunch Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA

The scale of public alarm about the economy was revealed this week by a Guardian/ICM poll that shows an overwhelming majority of voters think Britain is heading into recession Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Guardian

City institutions were nursing heavy losses after the £4bn cash call by high street bank HBOS suffered the embarrassment of registering the lowest support ever recorded for a fundraising by a major company Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Freelance

The US faces the same problem of rising oil and food prices, with the cost of living there hitting a near 18-year high of 5.6% Photograph: Rex Features/Rex Features

The UK's leading pizza delivery chain, Domino's, has defied rising wheat prices and the consumer spending slowdown by reporting a surge in first-half profits thanks to new outlets and strong internet orders. Photograph: Newscast

The internet search engine Google has been named as Britain's top 'superbrand', after it beat Microsoft for the premier spot, according to a YouGov survey Photograph: David Paul Morris/Getty

EasyJet confirmed that the brakes have been firmly applied to the astonishing growth of the low-budget business model by slashing a planned fleet increase due to high fuel costs and weakening demand Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian