Week in pictures: November 16

Britain's inflation rate jumped above the government's target last month as the surging cost of oil on the global markets led to a sharp rise in the cost of petrol. (Read the article) Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian

Further evidence of a weakening housing market emerges as a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says prices are under the biggest downward pressure since summer 2005. (Read the article) Photograph: PA/PA

British Airways raised fuel charges as the price of oil soared. (Read the article) Photograph: Newscast

Chinese retail sales jumped 18.1% year on year in October, the fastest pace on record, propelled by rising incomes, accelerating inflation and windfall gains from the surging stock market. (Read the article) Photograph: Teh Eng Koon/AFP

Lower profits from its Asda chain failed to drag down US parent company Wal-Mart, which reported better than expected third-quarter income. (Read the article) Photograph: Tim Boyle/Getty

O2 claims to have sold 'tens of thousands' of iPhones over the weekend, despite little evidence of a repeat of the long queues that formed outside stores when the device launched in the US. (Read the article) Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who topped the Forbes Arabia rich list last year, invested a small piece of his estimated £9.8bn fortune in an Airbus 'Flying Palace' costing $310m. (Read the article) Photograph: Francois Mori/AP

Arun Sarin, departing chief executive of Vodafone, will leave the mobile phone company he has run for the past five years, with as much as £25m in his pocket. Read the article Photograph: Newscast/Jason Alden/Newscast

Sainsbury's increased its half-year profits by a fifth despite the 'distraction' of its £10.6bn takeover saga. (Read the article) Photograph: Newscast/David Devins/Newscast

Former New York Stock Exchange chief John Thain has been appointed as the new Merrill Lynch boss, replacing Stan O' Neal. (Read the article) Photograph: Richard Drew/AP

An Andy Warhol painting of Conrad Black sold for $240,000 in New York this week. (Read the article.) Photograph: Andy Warhol/Christies

Northern Foods, the company behind Marks & Spencer's ready meals and Fox's biscuits, revealed a big rise in profits, but warned that higher food costs make the outlook uncertain. (Read the article) Photograph: Gabriel Szabo/Newscast