Week in pictures

The great credit crisis has cost the world’s largest banks billions since it started in August 2007. UBS, the biggest casualty in Europe, admitted in early July that it faced further writedowns - estimated by analysts at $7.5bn (£3.8bn). It has already written off more than £18bn from its exposure to the US mortgage market. The losses cost chairman Marcel Ospel his job. Read the article Photograph: Graham Turner/Guardian

French drinks giant Pernod Ricard has sealed a €5.6bn (£4.6bn) deal to buy the maker of Absolut vodka, the second-biggest vodka brand in the world, from the Swedish government. (Read the article) Photograph: PR

... UBS's admission was swiftly followed by a $3.9bn write-down from Deutsche Bank, and the two announcements appeared to give investors confidence that the financial sector is finally addressing the full extent of its sub-prime losses Photograph: Imago/Newscast

Wednesday: Steve Johnson, the new boss of the struggling Woolworths group, reshuffled his management team with four senior executives heading for the exit Photograph: Newscast

EADS vowed to defend its managers and itself after France's stockmarket regulator said it had found evidence of insider trading and market manipulation and accused the company of issuing misleading information over production problems at Airbus. (Read the article) Photograph: Clemens Bilan/AFP

Lloyd's of London chairman Lord Levene predicted that insurance rates would come under pressure this year, after the insurance market unveiled a 5% rise in profits. (Read the article) Photograph: David Devins/Newscast

Pinewood Shepperton, the film studio company hosting the latest James Bond instalment, is hoping for a smoother year after the US writers' strike, a weak dollar and tax changes knocked profits in 2007. (Read the article) Photograph: Rosie Greenway/Getty

Britain's car dealers are facing their toughest trading conditions for many years in the face of economic uncertainty, slumping consumer confidence and ever decreasing disposable income, according to a new report. Read the article Photograph: Sascha Schuermann/Getty

N is for Nationalisation: The mortgage lender Northern Rock was finally nationalised early this year, followed by the buy-to-let specialist Bradford & Bingley in the autumn, raising fears of a domino effect in the British banking sector. Authorities elsewhere – from the US to Germany – resorted to similar measures to prevent the financial sector collapsing Photograph: Sara Lee/Guardian

Northern Rock's demise was sparked by the credit crunch, when banks suddenly stopped lending to each other because of fears over the US subprime mortgage market. Applegarth was heavily criticised for making the Rock - now dubbed the Crock - so reliant on wholesale funding. He was eventually forced to resign, with a payment worth £760,000 Photograph: PA