Week in pictures

The US mortgage crisis has spiralled into 'the largest financial shock since the Great Depression' and there is a one-in-four chance that it will cause a full-blown global recession, the IMF warned. Read the article Photograph: Dorothea Lange/Getty

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

The pound slumped to a fresh record low against the euro of 80.29p, bringing more bad news for British holidaymakers as it pushes up the cost of continental breaks. Read the article Photograph: Joerg Sarbach/AP

Rocketing global food prices are causing acute problems of hunger in poor countries and have put back the fight against poverty by seven years, the World Bank said. Read the article Photograph: Khaled Desouki/Getty

Y is for Yahoo: It was a busy year for the internet search engine Yahoo: a controversial $800m advertising deal with the rival company Google collapsed; the co-founder Jerry Yang stepped down as chief executive, and 1,500 jobs were slashed Photograph: Don Ryan/AP

Sir Philip Green, the fashion entrepreneur, has warned of a fall in profits at his Bhs chain and predicts a shake-out in the retail market, which he says has turned 'ugly'. Read the article Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Ikea, the Swedish retail chain, warned that the housing downturn is hitting sales of its flat-pack furniture and said it is scaling back some of its expansion plans. Read the article Photograph: AP

Marks & Spencer won a sweet victory in its 12-year battle to claim back £3.5m in overpaid VAT on chocolate teacakes. The European court of justice in Luxembourg ruled that the retailer had been treated in a discriminatory fashion and was entitled to a full repayment. Read the article Photograph: PA

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh admitted that moving the airline's long-haul flights to Heathrow's Terminal 5 on April 30 would be an 'unnecessary risk' and postponed the transfer until June. Read the article Photograph: PA/PA