Best business images of the week - in pictures

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  Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, listens during speeches at an ‘Inspiring Women In Finance’ event at the Bank of England in London. Toby Melville / Reuters

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  Workers cut and polish diamonds on a production line at a processing centre in Surat. India’s gemstone industry is persuading Russia to massively increase its exports of diamonds direct to the global hub of cutting and polishing. Sam Panthaky / AFP

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  Cho Hyun-ah, the daughter of Korean Air Lines chairman Cho Yang-ho, arrives at the Seoul Western District Prosecutor’s Office in Seoul for questioning over alleged over breaches in aviation safety laws in the 'nut rage' incident. Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

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  Canada’s finance minister Joe Oliver listens to a journalist's question before the start of a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Ottawa. Mr Oliver is confident the federal government would balance the budget next year, even given volatile oil prices. Chris Wattie / Reuters

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  A SpiceJet Airlines staff speaks with a passenger at the ticket counter at an airport on the outskirts of Agartala. The cash-strapped budget carrier that was forced to ground its entire fleet after creditor oil firms refused to refuel the aircraft. Jayanta Dey / Reuters

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  An airplane prepares to land at Cointrin airport in Geneva. Pierre Albouy / Reuters

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  A worker paints a wall of an apartment in Beijing. Activity in China’s factory sector contracted in December for the first time in seven months, the latest in a string of weak economic indicators that will intensify calls for more stimulus measures to head off a hard landing. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

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  Senator Ted Cruz, centre, is surrounded by media as he goes to the US Senate floor to cast his vote on the $1.1 trillion spending bill in Washington. Gary Cameron / Reuters

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  A worker watches clashes between policemen and students during a protest in Milan. Thousands of union workers and students staged a general strike through more than 50 Italian cities to protest government reforms that they say erode workers’ rights. Luca Bruno / AP Photo

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  Cranes are seen through a rusty gate of a construction site in Beijing. Growth in China real estate investment slowed further in the first 11 months of 2014, but property sales hit the highest level seen this year, indicating Beijing’s efforts to boost the ailing sector may be starting to pay off. Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

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  Labourers unload potatoes at a wholesale vegetable market in Ahmedabad. India’s wholesale price inflation eased for a sixth straight month in November to its lowest in nearly 5-1/2 years, mainly driven by a sharp fall in fuel price. Amit Dave / Reuters

See some of our favourite pictures from the business world up until December 18.