Week in pictures: December 7

The Bank of England's monetary policy committee cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 5% in an attempt to counteract the effects of the global credit crunch on mortgage markets. Read the article Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Tuesday: Debenhams slashed its dividend after a reporting like-for-like sales fell by 4.2% in September and early October Photograph: David Parry/Newscast

BP has teamed up with the Canadian oil group Husky Energy in a multibillion-dollar deal that will give the UK group a strategic presence in oil sands for the first time (Read the article) Photograph: Jeff McIntosh/AP

Clapham House, the restaurant company behind the Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Tootsies and the Bombay Bicycle Club chains, has slashed the number of new outlets it plans to open over the next two years (Read the article) Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian

Greene King has bucked the negative sentiment in the pub sector by posting record profits for the last six months (Read the article). Photograph: Newscast

The French media conglomerate Vivendi is merging its computer games business with its US-based rival Activision in an $18.9bn (£9.2bn) deal that will create the world's largest computer games company (Read the article) Photograph: PR

A Guardian investigation revealed Tesco has created an elaborate corporate structure involving offshore tax havens which enables it to avoid paying what could be up to £1bn of tax on profits from the sale of its UK properties. Read the article Photograph: Newscast

Sir Philip Green, the retail billionaire, indicated he may move quickly to snap up struggling Moss Bros as he bought a 28.5% stake in the menswear retailer for £6. Photograph: Newcast

Gold leapt to another historic high - above $1000 on the futures market - as investors rushed to buy the precious metal to protect against losses from the tumbling US dollar and record oil prices (Read the article) Photograph: Tom Schierlitz/Getty

British online fashion retailer ASOS reported a jump in first-half pre-tax profit today, and said recent sales had doubled on strong demand for sparkly frocks ahead of the Christmas party season (Read the article). Photograph: PR

Representatives of Silvio Berlusconi's government this week met trade union leaders in a bid to secure their backing for the take-off of a new Italian flag-carrier airline, salvaged from the wreckage of Alitalia Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP