Business week in review

In profit...

Dame Marjorie Scardino may soon be leaving Pearson, but that hasn't hurt her eye for a deal. On Monday, the Financial Times owner agreed to merge Penguin with US giant Random House, creating a powerhouse in the global books market.

BP boss Bob Dudley cheered investors with a better-than-expected third-quarter profit of $5.2bn (£3.5bn) and raised the dividend payout to nine cents. Next chief executive Lord Wolfson increased full-year profit expectations to £590m-£620m after strong autumn trading.

At a loss...

The knives were out this week, with Apple head of retail John Browett among the first to feel the blade on Monday. Only six months after joining from the Dixons chain, he lost his job in a management overhaul.

This column’s sympathies go to UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti, who claimed on Tuesday that taking the axe to 10,000 jobs was “difficult”, particularly in a business “which is all about its people”. On Wednesday, Barclays boss Antony Jenkins revealed two fresh probes by US regulators.