British regulators may be powerless to act against JP Morgan over its chief investment office's huge, loss-making positions in credit derivatives because of the bank's structure, The Independent has learned.

While European leaders and pundits debate Greece's fate in or out of the single currency, a sombre mood blankets the debt-strapped country as it continues to be pounded by its unprecedented financial woes.

Thomas Cook named Harriet Green as its chief executive yesterday, leading its chairman, Frank Meysman, to insist that the beleaguered travel company is "ready for lift off".

Britain's recession is even deeper than was thought, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics. Economic output in the first three months of this year contracted by 0.3 per cent, the agency said yesterday ? more than than the 0.2 per cent reduction it estimated in April.

Eurozone economies are likely to be heading deeper into recession and even Germany is now under growing pressure, a clutch of new surveys suggested yesterday.