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Greek party leaders are to resume power-sharing talks Monday as negotiations to create a government drag into a second week, raising the specter of fresh elections that could threaten the crisis-stricken country’s international bailout and its membership of the euro.

President Karolos Papoulias has summoned party leaders back to negotiations at 7:30 p.m. (1630GMT), after talks on Sunday failed to lead to the creation of a coalition government.

The conservatives New Democracy party won May 6 general elections, but the poll failed to produce an outright winner. The second-placed left wing party, Syriza, has refused to join a coalition, demanding that the terms of an international bailout be scrapped or radically renegotiated.

Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras will not attend Monday’s meeting, party officials said.

“They are looking for an accomplice to continue their catastrophic work _ we will not help them,” Panos Skourletis, a spokesman for the party, told Mega television.

The political turmoil has taken a toll on markets across Europe, with shares on the Athens Stock Exchange 3.5 percent lower at 590.38 in midday trading.

“Voices of support (in Europe) to Greece … are becoming fewer and fewer, while there is a frenetic increase of those that are predicting the country’s exit from the euro,” an editorial in Greece’s top-selling Ta Nea said. “The dramatic drop in state revenues during the election campaign and the serious souring of the atmosphere in Europe toward Greece mean that after almost certain repeat elections there will be a need for even tougher austerity measures.”

Greece’s two traditionally dominant parties, New Democracy and the Socialist PASOK were hammered on May 6, as the bailed-out country suffers through a fifth year of recession, with more than one in five Greeks out of work.

Since the election, Syriza has gained support, and in a survey published Monday led with a projected 20.5 percent of public support, pushing New Democracy to second place with 19.4 percent, while PASOK was third with 11.8 percent. No margin of error was given in the Rass poll of 1,002 people, conducted May 10-11 for the Eleftheros Typos newspaper.

New Democracy and PASOK could form a government without Syriza, but the small Democratic Left party that would provide the required support is insisting that such a coalition would be unworkable.

“The president has invited us to a new meeting and I will attend,” Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis told Antenna television. “I will repeat my position, that without the participation of the second largest party, the government would not have sufficient popular and parliamentary support.

Shut out of main debt markets, Greece is surviving on rescue loans from other euro countries and the International Monetary Fund, who have repeatedly warned that payments will only continue if the country continues its draconian cost-cutting program.

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Macy’s is reporting a 38 percent increase in its first-quarter profit as the department store chain continues to reap benefits from its move to tailor its fashions to local markets.

The results beat analysts’ expectations but the company failed to boost its guidance for the year.

Macy’s Inc. shares fell 4 percent in early premarket trading.

The retailer said Wednesday that its net income rose to $181 million, or 43 cents per share, for the three-month period ended April 28. That’s up from $131 million, or 30 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 4.3 percent to $6.14 billion.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected 40 cents per share on revenue of $6.14 billion.

Revenue at stores opened at least a year climbed up 4.4 percent for the quarter.

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J.C. Penney Co.’s Chief Financial Officer Michael Dastugue will leave the company Friday in the wake of a broader shakeup of the department store operator’s business.

The company said Wednesday that Chief Operating Officer Michael Kramer will serve as interim CFO while it looks for a permanent replacement.

Kramer joined J.C. Penney in December, after serving for three years and president and CEO of Kellwood Co. He was also executive vice president and CFO at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and served as CFO of Apple’s retail division.

The announcement comes less than a week after J.C. Penney said it laid off 600 workers, or 13 percent of the staff at its headquarters in Plano, Texas, as the company looks to streamline its operations. It will also eliminate 300 more jobs at its customer call center in Pittsburgh when it closes the center July 1.

The company’s new CEO, former Apple Inc. executive Ron Johnson, is transforming every aspect of Penney’s business, from pulling back on constant promotions to rethinking the brands it carries. Johnson became CEO on Nov. 1.

In recent years Penney has suffered because its core middle-income customers have been among those hardest hit by the weak economy. It’s also lagged behind rivals like Macy’s Inc. making its stores fun places to shop. In its latest fiscal year ended Jan. 28, Penney reported a loss of $152 million on revenue of $17.26 billion. That compares with a profit of $389 million on revenue of $17.76 billion in the same period last year.

Revenue at stores open at least a year, considered a key indicator of a retailer’s health, rose a slim 0.2 percent for the latest fiscal year. Rival Macy’s Inc. enjoyed a 5.3 percent increase.

J.C. Penney has 1,100 stores. Its stock added $1.03, or 3.1 percent, to $34.24 in midday trading. Over the past year, the shares have traded between $23.44 and $43.18.

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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke called for new steps to curb

Government data show Japan’s factory production fell in February in its first decline in three months, as demand for exports weakened.

The 1.2 percent decline in industrial output reported Friday was worse than expected.

The data show production was weaker in the transport equipment, electronics components and machinery industries. Output of cell phones, large passenger cars and liquid crystal devices fell.

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Japan may cancel its multibillion-dollar plans to buy dozens of F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States if prices continue to rise or delays threaten the delivery date, its defense minister said Wednesday.

Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka said failure by manufacturer Lockheed Martin to deliver on time at current price levels would force Tokyo to consider switching to a different aircraft.

Japan announced late last year that it would purchase 42 F-35 jets in a deal expected to cost more than $5 billion. The next-generation fighter is set to become the centerpiece of the U.S. military and allied air forces around the world, but the program has been plagued by delays and its cost overruns.

Japan hopes to receive its first F-35s in 2016, at a cost of about $120 million per plane.

“I think we will reach a formal agreement before the summer,” Tanaka told a session of Parliament. “If we cannot reach an agreement at that time, this would create a great deal of uncertainty for our national defense and preparedness. We would naturally have to view the possibility of canceling our plan or selecting another aircraft.”

Lockheed Martin, in conjunction with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems, is building 2,400 F-35s for the U payday advance low fees.S. as well as partner nations. But the cost of the program has jumped from $233 billion to $385 billion. Some estimates suggest that it could top out at $1 trillion over 50 years.

Lockheed is building three versions of the F-35 _ one each for the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. The plane would replace Cold War-era aircraft such as the Air Force F-16 fighter and the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet.

Last January, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates had put the Marines’ version of the aircraft on a two-year probationary period because of “significant testing problems.”

His successor, Leon Panetta, ended the probation late last month.

But the Pentagon has said it will slow its purchases of the fighter to save money, which has raised concerns abroad. Slowed production could lead to delays in delivery to foreign buyers, and could make the planes more expensive to produce.

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Greece’s coalition government on Monday caved in to demands to cut civil service jobs, announcing 15,000 positions would go this year, amid mounting international pressure to agree on austerity measures needed to secure major new debt agreements.

The announcement signals a shift in Greece’s policy, as state jobs have so far been protected during the country’s acute financial crisis, which started about two years ago. Public Sector Reform Minister Dimitris Reppas said the job cuts would be carried out under a new law that allows such firings.

Unions have called a 24-hour general strike for Tuesday, in response to the new austerity measures, while about 4,000 protesters braved torrential rain late Monday to join protest rallies organized in central Athens by left-wing opposition parties.

Greece is racing to push through painful reforms and clinch a euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout deal from its European partners and the International Monetary Fund to avoid a March default on its bond payments.

Debt-ridden Greece has been kept solvent since May 2010 by payments from a euro110 billion ($145 billion) international rescue loan package. When it became clear the money would not be enough, a second bailout was decided last October.

Its implementation depends on the austerity measures but also on separate talks with banks and other private bondholders to forgive euro100 billion ($131.6 billion) in Greek debt, in exchange for a cash payment and new bonds worth 50 per cent less than the original face value, longer repayment terms and a cut in the interest rate to be paid on the bonds. Greek government officials say they expect private investors to take an overall cut of up to 70 percent on the value of their bonds.

But delays in negotiations with rescue creditors pushed a crucial meeting of coalition party leaders back by one day to Tuesday.

“We are opposed to indiscriminate firings,” Reppas said. “The work force reduction is strictly connected with the restructuring of services and organizations at each ministry.”

Officials at the Public Sector Reform Ministry gave no details of the new plan, or say how many of the job cuts would be compulsory.

The government has promised to reduce the 750,000-strong broader public sector by 150,000 by the end of 2015, but has so far insisted it could reach that target through staff attrition.

Greece’s coalition party leaders pushed back a key meeting by a day till Tuesday, due to the ongoing negotiations with EU-IMF debt inspectors who were to hold a new round of talks later Monday.

They have already agreed to cut 2012 spending by 1.5 percent of gross domestic product _ about euro3.3 billion ($4.3 billion) _ improve competitiveness by slashing wages and non-wage costs, and re-capitalize banks without nationalizing them.

Creditors are also demanding spending cuts in defense, health and social security, a cut in the minimum wage, as well as the civil service layoffs, as European pressure increased on Greece to make more concessions.

European Commission spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said Greece is already “beyond the deadline” to end the talks.

After talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said there can be no bailout deal unless Athens implements creditors’ proposals.

“(The proposals) are on the table,” she said. “And time is pressing. Therefore something has to happen quickly.”

“Time is pressing and for the entire eurozone is much at stake,” Merkel added.

Greece is in its fifth year of recession, while unemployment has hit record highs of about 19 percent _ following a spate of austerity measures in return for the rescue loans, that included significant cuts in pensions and salaries coupled with repeated tax hikes and an increase in retirement ages.

“The current policy of austerity … is turning workers into pariahs, jobless people and pensioners into paupers and deprives our youth of any hope,” a statement from the servants’ union ADEDY said. “This policy has already pushed Greeks beyond their limits and must be stopped at any cost.”

Yiannis Panagopoulos, leader of Greece’s largest union, the GSEE, said the creditors’ demands were certain to lead to more hardship.

“What is going on is not a negotiation,” he said. “It’s blunt, cynical blackmail targeting an entire people.”

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Republican senators and Gov. Jay Nixon have sparred regularly the last few years about how to grow Missouri’s economy. Now they’re sparring over who to put in charge of the effort.

Senate leaders are poised this week to sink Nixon’s nomination of St. Louis attorney Jason Hall to lead the Department of Economic Development, claiming the 36-year-old lacks the experience necessary for the job. The Senate committee that approves nominations declined to take up Hall’s on Wednesday. And if they don’t by week’s end, not only will his nomination expire, but Hall will be barred for life from holding the post.

Senate President Pro Tem Robert Mayer, R-Dexter, said Wednesday he has no plans to approve Hall this week, and people familiar with the talks said his nomination is basically dead.

But there was no official word from Nixon’s office, which put out a statement saying Hall is “highly qualified.” Hall himself did not return messages seeking comment.

The son of a Granite City steelworker and founder of a group for gay lawyers in St. Louis, Hall was an attorney at Bryan Cave before Nixon tapped him to lead the quasi-governmental Missouri Technology Corp. in 2009. In December, Nixon picked Hall to replace outgoing DED director David Kerr, calling him “exactly the type of bright, energetic leader we need to help create jobs and move Missouri’s economy forward.”

But Hall’s nomination came on the eve of an election year, on the heels of a legislative special session where lawmakers couldn’t agree on job-creation tools, and amid probes into DED’s handling of a sweetener plant deal that collapsed in Moberly last fall.

All those factors likely played a role in Senate opposition to Hall, said Dan Mehan, president of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“This appointment became that much more critical and focused on,” Mehan said. “It was going to get attention because there is this opinion out there, rightly or wrongly, that [DED] needs to be fixed.”

Mehan is one of several business leaders who’ve said they support Hall’s nomination. He called Hall well-qualified, and pointed out that Missouri has had many officials - from both parties - who served in top roles while in their 30’s.

“[Hall’s] a quality guy and would be a great benefit to the state,” Mehan said.

Mayer sees it differently. Talking to reporters in Jefferson City today, he noted the nominee has “very little experience in private industry or business.”

“Most senators believe he’s a bright, articulate young man,” Mayer said. “But at this stage in his life, I don’t think he’s ready to take on the position of the Department of Economic Development.”

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Ralcorp board OKs spinoff — Ralcorp Holdings Inc.’s board has approved the spinoff of its Post cereals business, the food maker said Tuesday, and the stock distribution is set to happen Feb. 3. The St. Louis company said it will complete the separation of the two businesses by giving at least 80 percent of Post Holdings Inc.’s outstanding stock to Ralcorp shareholders of record as of Jan. 30. Each stockholder will get one share of Post for every two shares of Ralcorp held on the record date. Ralcorp will maintain a stake in Post. Ralcorp’s stock will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the “RAH” ticker symbol. Post is expected to start trading on the NYSE under the “POST” ticker symbol Feb. 3.

Will new car sales rise? — That clunker in America’s driveway has reached a record old age, but there are signs that people may be growing confident enough in the economy to get a whiff of that fresh new car scent very soon. The average age of a car or truck in the U.S. hit a record 10.8 years last year as job security and other economic worries kept many people from making big-ticket purchases. That’s up from the old record of 10.6 years in 2010, and it and continues a trend that dates to 1995, when the average age of a car was 8.4 years, according to a study of state vehicle registration data by the Southfield, Mich.-based Polk automotive research firm. However, Polk Vice President Mark Seng says that a rebound in sales last year and expected growth for the next couple of years is likely to slow the growth rate in the age of cars as a whole in America.

Airbus touts record in orders — Airbus took in a record number of orders for new commercial aircraft last year as strong demand for its revamped single-aisle plane helped it best U.S. rival Boeing Co. in the race for orders for the fourth year running. The European jet maker said Tuesday that it took in 1,419 net new orders in 2011, worth $140 billion, well above Boeing’s total of 805 aircraft. That topped the previous record of 1,413 net orders recorded by Boeing in 2007. Airbus also delivered 534 aircraft last year, up from 510 a year earlier and keeping the title of world’s biggest jet maker that it has held since 2003. Boeing delivered 477 aircraft last year.

Yahoo co-founder leaves firm — Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang is leaving the struggling company’s board. The departure, announced Tuesday, comes just two weeks after Yahoo Inc. hired former PayPal executive Scott Thompson as its CEO. Yang expressed his support of Thompson in his resignation. He had been on Yahoo’s board of directors since the company’s 1995 inception. Yang also is stepping down from the boards of China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan. Yahoo is negotiating to sell its stakes in both companies.

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Citigroup’s loan portfolio improved late last year, partly because Americans were better about paying down credit card debt. But choppy financial markets hurt its investment banking profits, and the bank missed expectations. Profit fell 11 percent in the last three months of last year. to $1.16 billion, or 38 cents per share, on revenue of $17.2 billion. A year earlier, Citigroup made $1.3 billion on revenue of $18.4 billion.

Lee Enterprises, owner of the Post-Dispatch and other newspapers, reported a profit of $14.6 million, or 32 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Dec. 25. That compares to $19 million, or 42 cents per share, in the same quarter of 2010. Lee, based in Davenport, Iowa, said the year-over-year comparison would be positive if not for refinancing costs and other unusual items. Excluding such matters, profits would equal 38 cents per share for the recent quarter, compared with 32 cents a year earlier. Operating revenue was down 3.9 percent in the quarter compared with a year earlier. As in earlier periods, Lee showed sharp gains in digital advertising while print ads, which make up the bulk of its advertising, continued to decline. Combined print and digital advertising was down 6.1 percent. Lee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, submitting a reorganization plan pre-approved by the vast majority of its creditors. Chief Financial Officer Carl Schmidt said Tuesday that the court will be asked to set Jan. 30 as the date to make the plan effective, allowing the company to exit bankruptcy. (Staff reports)

Pulaski Financial Corp., owner of Pulaski Bank, reported a slight decline in profit in the first fiscal quarter, compared with a year earlier. The bank earned of $2.525 million, or 23 cents per share, compared with $2.601 million, or 24 cents, a year earlier. CEO Gary Douglass said he expects “meaningful, year-over-year earnings improvement” for this year. (Jim Gallagher)

TD Ameritrade said its fiscal first-quarter net income grew 5 percent, though its revenue was almost unchanged. The online brokerage posted $152 million in net income, or about 27 cents per share, up from $145 million, or 25 cents, a year earlier. Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $653.4 million.

A steadier mortgage business, higher commercial lending and an increase in deposits lifted Wells Fargo & Co.’s fourth-quarter profit by 20 percent. The bank reported that the amount of mortgages it wrote in the last three months of last year jumped 35 percent compared with the third quarter, to $120 billion. Overall loan balances rose to $769.6 billion, up 2 percent from a year earlier. The bank, the largest consumer lender in the U.S., reported a 2 percent increase in commercial loans, to $5.6 billion, reflecting direct lending and the purchase of portfolios from other lenders. The bank’s brokerage division, Wells Fargo Advisors, is based in St. Louis.

— Find full versions of these stories at stltoday.com/business

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Those that count out exact change for their morning brew at Tim Hortons will either have to practice ordering a different size or fork over a few extra pennies.

The beloved Canadian coffee joint will shift the names of its sizes starting next Monday to make room for a 24 oz. cup