This week we witnessed Joe Biden’s inauguration at the US Capitol, as he was sworn in as the 46th US president and Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president. Read on for this week’s summaries of a selection of news stories from the business and legal worlds.

Rental laws are being reformed, PwC is in trouble with the Australian government, Sadiq Khan wants Labour to freeze rental prices, and a government committee wants to class cryptocurrency as gambling. Before we dive into this week’s round-up, we here at LawCareers.Net want to take a moment to wish all our readers a happy and stress-free Mental Health Awareness Week. 

Short and sweet this week; a handful of interesting business-driven news stories that you should know at least a small bit about.

Today’s the day – and if you haven’t already, get out there and vote! The implications of the outcome of the election on all areas of our lives is major. For news other than the election, read on.

No lengthy preamble required: straight in with this week’s essential business reading.

Who’s in the spotlight this week? Your favourite smoothie company, known for their on-point marketing, is in trouble, new partnerships are being signed in various industries, Brexit continues to wreak havoc and Warner Music Group enters the world of P2E gaming (are you as clueless as us?!). 

A decidedly autumnal feel in the air should invoke that "back to school" feeling, sharpening the senses and focusing the mind on the new term ahead. 

No preamble required: straight in with this week’s essential business reading.

To demonstrate the firework-like dynamism of a good candidate and avoid coming across like a damp squib, you need to show commercial awareness. For future lawyers, that involves keeping up with the business news and thinking about how the stories you read might affect law firms and their clients.

A student law society plays a vital role in getting your feet through the employability door, in particular the commercial awareness aspect of it. Commercial awareness is a skill that many students have difficulty grasping, but they need to understand that it takes time to develop.

No excuse to slow down just because it’s Friday and the weekend beckons.

In a week that marked International Women’s Day, the staggering lack of equality for women in terms of pay and positions of seniority was widely reported. Clearly on board for change were the senior law firm leaders that called for 40% female leadership within the next three years.

The unthinkable happened this week; KFC ran out of chicken! With the doors of most of its branches firmly shut, thousands of disgruntled consumers had to take their fried poultry habits elsewhere. 

We know it’s hard to concentrate on life beyond the soporific qualities of the summer holiday, euphoria at England trouncing Australia at cricket and general idleness now that your training contract applications are in.

This week’s best economic news is that the year-long squeeze on wages is nearing an end, at least according to the Office of National Statistics, which has released figures showing that people’s pay is now catching up to inflation. However, reports from elsewhere in the world show that the global economic situation remains precarious.

It’s the story that just runs and runs; the week was again dominated by what’s been happening in Greece.

What’s different about today? It no ordinary Thursday – it’s Super Thursday! Which means that the Bank of England is making a decision on interest rates, releasing minutes from its most recent policy-setting meeting and publishing its Quarterly Inflation Report. Follow it live on the Guardian’s live business blog. And don’t forget about these other important business-driven stories from the past week.

As national elections of all varieties continue to dominate headlines, there is still space for those all-important economic stories. In fact, more often than not, the political and business worlds are inextricably linked. For a variety of both, read on.

You may find yourself being quizzed on your knowledge of economic affairs in vac scheme interviews, so it pays to be prepared. Here’s a selection from the past week to get you started.

This week’s selection of headline-grabbing business news runs the spectrum from large-scale infrastructure projects to tumbling profits at household brand names and on to pension rule changes. For more detail, read on.