Business week in review

In profit...

Who would have thought City regulation could have the feel of a Cold War spy novel? Admittedly, not a rip-roaring yarn, but surprising nonetheless: Alexander Justham has switched sides, a gamekeeper turned poacher.

Until September, Justham was head of the markets division at the Financial Services Authority. On Tuesday, he was named head of a London Stock Exchange subsidiary, LSE plc, that will take responsibility for relations with FSA successor body the Financial Conduct Authority. Before the FSA, Justham was at JPMorgan. So, will he swap sides once more? And would that make him a quadruple agent?

Also on Tuesday, Evelyn Bourke was named chief financial officer at private healthcare group Bupa. She joins from insurer Friends Life. Bupa praised her "finance, risk, actuarial, operations and mergers and acquisitions knowledge".

On Thursday, WH Smith's boss Kate Swann reported improved sales.

...at a loss

You have to feel sorry for Tesco. Well, you don't, and you probably won't, but pity poor chief executive Philip Clarke anyway.

He came in for quite a lot of stick on Monday after posting its fourth consecutive quarter of falling underlying UK sales. Annoyed it didn't include the Diamond Jubilee, which was the supermarket giant's biggest ever week outside Christmas, the results ratcheted up the pressure on Clarke. However, he claimed that he "can see momentum gathering" . Clarke can't afford too many more quarters like this one.

Heathrow and Stansted airports operator BAA posted a slight decline in passengers in May on last year. Chief executive Colin Matthews conceded the "impact of the eurozone crisis" had hurt.

On Wednesday, Peter Cowgill's JD Sports Fashion said it could lose up to £15m on its purchase of outdoor specialist Blacks Leisure.