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Business week in review

Saturday 03 August 2013 11:37 BST
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In profit...

Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, had more friends this week after the social network's shares powered past last year's flotation price of $38 (£25) for the first time. Its stock price tanked after its troubled float on Nasdaq in May 2012, but a boom in mobile advertising drove its quarterly revenue up by 53 per cent to $1.8bn.

Shares in Next, the UK fashion chain, hit a record high on Tuesday, following a robust first quarter of trading. Its chief executive Lord Wolfson said shoppers were becoming "more spontaneous" in their spending habits, but downplayed the prospects of a full-scale economic recovery for the foreseeable future.

...at a loss

Barclays' chief executive Antony Jenkins had a week to forget, as the bank unveiled a £5.8bn rights issue to shore up its balance sheet. It was forced into the bigger-than-expected cash call to satisfy the Prudential Regulation Authority, which has identified £12.8bn a capital shortfall at the banking giant. Barclays is also steeling itself for further developments into its 2008 fundraising from Qatar before Mr Jenkins' time.

Another company facing fresh controversy is Apple, whose chief executive is Tim Cook, over working conditions at its Chinese suppliers' factories. US-based China Labor Watch alleges Apple's suppliers have used child labour, forced overtime and illegal 66-hour working weeks.

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