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Greece’s embattled prime minister and main opposition leader agreed Sunday to form an interim government to ensure the country’s new European debt deal and oversee early elections, capping a week of political turmoil that saw Greece facing a catastrophic default and threatening its euro membership.

Greek leaders had been anxious to end a severe political crisis with some positive result before Monday, when the country heads to a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels. The initial agreement, which will see Prime Minister George Papandreou step down, came after a week of drama sparked by his announcement he was taking the debt deal to a referendum. He withdrew that plan Thursday after intense opposition from European leaders and his own Socialist lawmakers, many of whom called for him to resign.

Papandreou “has already stated he will not lead the new government,” the statement from the president’s office said.

He is to meet again Monday with opposition leader Antonis Samaras to seek agreement on who will head the new government and who will be included in its Cabinet, the president’s office said.

A planned meeting with the leaders of all political parties represented in parliament, which was to take place Monday evening, was canceled after parliament’s two leftist parties refused to attend, the office said.

The statement came after a late-night meeting between Papandreou and Samaras called by President Karolos Papoulias to end a two-day deadlock. Direct talks had failed to get off the ground as Papandreou had agreed to step aside but only after power-sharing talks settled on a new government makeup, and Samaras insisted he wanted snap elections and would not start negotiations unless Papandreou resigned first.

An opposition conservative party official said Samaras’ party is “absolutely satisfied” with the outcome of the talks and that party officials were to hold meetings late Sunday night with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and his advisers to discuss how long it would take to finalize the new debt deal and when elections could be held.

“Our two targets, for Mr. Papandreou to resign and for elections to be held, have been met,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the process.

The crisis was sparked after Papandreou’s shock announcement on Oct. 31 that he wanted to put a new European debt deal aimed at rescuing his country’s economy to a referendum. That plan caused an uproar in Europe, with the leaders of France and Germany saying any popular vote in Greece would decide whether the country would remain in the euro direct payday lenders. European officials also said the country would not receive the vital euro8 billion euro installment of its existing euro110 billion bailout until the uncertainty in Athens was over.

Papandreou’s announcement also spooked international markets, leading stock markets to tumble and led to calls in Greece for Papandreou’s resignation _ even from among his own Socialist lawmakers and ministers _ with many saying he had endangered Greece’s bailout.

The prime minister withdrew the referendum plan on Thursday, after Samaras indicated his party would back the new debt deal, which was agreed upon after marathon negotiations in Europe on Oct. 27.

Greece has been surviving since May 2010 on its initial bailout. But its financial crisis was so severe that a second rescue was needed as the country remained locked out of international bond markets by sky-high interest rates and facing an unsustainable national debt increase.

The new European deal, agreed on by the 27-nation bloc on Oct. 27 after marathon negotiations, would give Greece an additional euro130 billion ($179 billion) in rescue loans and bank support. It would also see banks write off 50 percent of Greek debt, worth some euro100 billion ($138 billion). The goal is to reduce Greece’s debts to the point where the country is able to handle its finances without relying on constant bailouts.

Greece’s lawmakers must now approve the new rescue deal, putting intense pressure on the country’s leaders to swiftly end the political crisis so parliament can convene and put the debt agreement to a vote.

“We know that there can be no elections now,” Papandreou had said during an earlier emergency Cabinet meeting, noting that snap polls would delay the approval of the new debt deal. “This cooperation, however, is necessary and will be beneficial for the climate in our country and internationally.”

In return for bailout money, Greece was forced to embark on a punishing program of tax increases and cuts in pensions and salaries that sent Papandreou’s popularity plummeting and his majority in parliament whittled down from a comfortable 10 seats to just three.

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Associated Press writer Nicholas Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.

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A Republican-led House panel on Thursday agreed to subpoena the White House for documents related to Solyndra Inc., the failed California solar company that received a half-billion-dollar federal loan. A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee voted 14-9 along party lines to authorize subpoenas of top White House officials. GOP lawmakers say the subpoenas are necessary because the White House has denied or delayed requests for thousands of documents related to Solyndra.

The Fremont, Calif., company received a $528 million federal loan before filing for bankruptcy protection and laying off 1,100 workers.

Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said getting White House documents on Solyndra was like “extracting a tooth without anesthesia” — painful and time-consuming.

“I wish it had not come to this, but it has,” said Upton, R-Mich., who called the White House “downright obstructionist” on Solyndra.

Democrats called the solar loan subpoena an overreach.

Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., called the vote “an act of irresponsible partisanship” and a “political sideshow” that obscures the real issues in the Solyndra debacle.

DeGette and other Democrats said the vote amounted to a “fishing expedition” that grants Upton broad powers to issue subpoenas as he sees fit.

It was the second time in two days that a House panel authorized a subpoena of administration documents. On Wednesday, a House Judiciary subcommittee authorized its chairman to subpoena Department of Homeland Security documents on deportations of illegal immigrations.

Upton, who met with White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler on Wednesday, said he will take into account recent White House attempts to provide the committee with documents as he considers whether to issue a subpoena.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the Obama administration was disappointed in the GOP vote, adding that committee leaders have “refused to discuss their requests with us in good faith,” instead choosing “a partisan route, proceeding with subpoenas that are unprecedented and unwarranted.”

Schultz said the administration has “cooperated extensively” with the committee’s investigation by producing more than 85,000 pages of documents, including 20,000 pages produced Wednesday. Administration officials also have participated in multiple briefings and hearings on Solyndra, he said.

“All of the materials that have been disclosed affirm what we said on Day One: This was a merit-based decision made by the Department of Energy,” Schultz said. “We’d like to see as much passion in House Republicans for creating jobs as we see in this investigation.”

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the energy panel’s senior Democrat and former chairman, said a subpoena can only be justified if Congress and the executive branch have reached an unbridgeable impasse, which he said he didn’t see.

“Apparently what the committee really wants is a confrontation with the president, not information,” Waxman said.

But Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., chairman of the energy panel’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said an impasse had been reached.

“The administration seems to think that if they drag this out, we will give up and simply go away. But we won’t,” Stearns said.

Congressional Republicans have been investigating Solyndra’ s bankruptcy amid embarrassing revelations that federal officials were warned it had problems but nonetheless continued to support it and sent President Barack Obama to visit the company and praise it publicly.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who is scheduled to testify before the full committee later this month, acknowledged Thursday the loan program needed work but said he wasn’t “ready to throw in the towel on clean energy.”

Chu, speaking at an energy conference held by The Washington Post, said, “There is no reason to sit on the sidelines and concede on clean energy.” But, he noted, Congress and the administration “can design a better loan program.”

Among the 1,200 pages of documents the administration released Wednesday were details of a bailout plan considered by the Energy Department that would have provided an infusion of cash to Solyndra and part-ownership of the company by the government.

Officials rejected the plan, which was recommended in August by the investment banking firm Lazard Ltd. Lazard was paid $1 million for analyzing options related to Solyndra.

Without an infusion of new cash, Lazard wrote in an Aug. 17 memo to the Energy Department, Solyndra was almost certain to fail, which would “likely result in little recovery to the DOE.” The department rejected the refinancing plan sometime after Aug. 28, and Solyndra shut its doors on Aug. 31.

The White House announced last week it had ordered an independent review of similar loans made by the Energy Department. The review by former Treasury official Herb Allison will assess the health of more than two dozen other renewable energy loans and loan guarantees made by the Energy Department program that supported Solyndra.

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Visa Inc. says its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 14 percent as cardholders used their credit and debit cards more often both in the U.S. and abroad.

The San Francisco-based payments processing network says it earned $880 million, or $1.27 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. Revenue rose 13 percent to $2.38 billion.

Wall Street was expecting profit of $1.25 per share, on revenue of $2.4 billion fast payday loan no faxing.

Visa says it processed 13 billion transactions during the quarter, up 9 percent from last year.

Worldwide, Visa card holders spent $1.55 trillion on their cards, with debit outpacing credit. That’s up 17 percent from last year’s quarter.

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Fiat and Chrysler are focusing on cash-generating businesses in the United States and Brazil to help weather growing uncertainty in the European auto market, CEO Sergio Marchionne said Wednesday.

Fiat, which took over Chrysler nearly 2 1/2 years ago, saw its credit rating downgraded this week over financial risks in its alliance with the U.S. carmaker, which has been recovering from bankruptcy. Crucially, it is under severe pressure in its home market of Italy, where unions are resisting more flexible work conditions and demand is fading.

Adding to uncertainty, the Italian government appears unable to swiftly implement the austerity and growth measures aimed at preventing the country _ Fiat’s most important market _ from being swept into a spiraling debt market crisis.

“There is no doubt that a lot of elements are coming to play here, one of which may be an Italian factor. … I don’t know any more,” Marchionne said. “The stock market is up 4, 5 percent one day, then down 3. It is totally moving on rumors. There is no factual basis. I haven’t moved a forecast. I have moved nothing.”

Marchionne has maintained 2011 forecasts of euro58 billion ($79 billion) in revenues with euro2.1 billion ($2.9 billion) in trading profit for the combined automakers.

But he said there was little he can do to calm the markets.

“It is embedding a perception of risk which is totally outside of my control for me to try to cover it. We are almost helpless on this. There is nothing I can tell you, or tell the market, that will make this go away.”

The continuing economic uncertainty is hurting auto sales, particularly in Fiat’s main Italian market. Fiat registered a 7.8 percent drop in sales last month compared with a year earlier while its European market share shrank to 6.5 percent in September from 7.2 percent a year earlier.

“It impacts consumer attitudes, and that is probably the most negative thing about all of this. It really negatively impacts moods,” he said.

To maintain profitability, Marchionne said he is focusing on the cash-making parts of the business _ the U.S. and Brazilian markets _ while trying to build sales in the increasingly competitive European market, mainly outside of Italy where sales are at 30-year lows.

“They are still today the biggest profit contributors to Fiat. They need to be nurtured,” Marchionne said of the U.S. and Brazil business card. “That’s why I spend so much time there.”

Ironically, it is Fiat’s alliance with Chrysler that triggered downgrades by ratings agencies. Fitch was the last to weigh in on Tuesday, lowering the credit rating from to BB from BB+. It cited Fiat’s “intrinsic weakness,” its heavy reliance on the Italian and Brazilian markets, and exposure to increased financial risk due to the alliance with Chrysler.

Marchionne said Fiat is in a good cash position to continue with its investments in Italy and abroad for new production. Fiat expects to have euro18 billion in liquidity at the end of this year, according to its forecasts.

“We have enough liquidity now to deal with our requirements for quite a while,” Marchionne said.

But he criticized unions in Italy that continue to challenge the new contracts with more flexible work hours that Fiat has agreed at three plants. The FIOM metalworkers union has announced a one-day strike Friday at all Fiat plants.

“I think the strike, personally, is a very bad idea. It is not the manner in which one would encourage investment in this country,” Marchionne said, adding that he believes most Fiat workers support the new contracts, which have secured new investments at two plants near Fiat’s Turin headquarters and one near Naples.

Marchionne attended Wednesday the European launch of the Lancia Voyager minivan and Thema luxury sedan, both based on Chrysler models and concrete examples of the tighter integration of the two companies. In all of Europe except Britain, Chrysler models will carry the Lancia badge.

The Thema luxury sedan is Lancia’s re-entry into the premium market, after a two-year absence, at an affordable price of euro41,400. It is based on the Chrysler 300, but has been restyled and adapted for European markets with a soft leather interior, firmer suspension and redesigned front-end.

Lancia brand chief Saad Chehab said the car is the same size as the Audi A-8, but sells at a 15 percent discount over the smaller Audi A-6.

Both the Thema and Voyager will be manufactured in Canada, and aim at the higher end of Fiat’s market, with neither expected to achieve huge volumes. Chehab said they expect to sell 10,000 Themas and 11,000 Voyagers a year.

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Banks are parking more money overnight with the European Central Bank in a sign the eurozone debt crisis is unsettling the banking system.

Banks deposited euro255.6 billion ($347.1 billion) overnight Friday, the highest this year, the central bank said on Monday. That surpassed the previous year high of euro229 billion from Thursday.

The deposits suggest banks would rather stash money with the ECB than lend it to each other. Banks are afraid that other banks could suffer losses on Greek and other government bonds in case of a default _ and not pay them back.

The increase follows a worsening of fears about a Europe-wide banking crisis and credit crunch that could hurt global economic growth.

The governments of Belgium, France and Luxembourg have had to come to the rescue of Dexia, a bank that had trouble borrowing on the interbank credit market because it is heavily exposed to Greek and Italian bonds.

The Belgian government is stepping in to buy Dexia’s retail operations there as part of a wider bailout that will see the three governments provide euro90 billion in funding guarantees.

Eurozone political leaders are working on plans to put more capital into banks across Europe to better shield them from the government debt crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday night that they expected to come up with a plan by the end of the month but offered no details.

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Forecasters say Tropical Storm Jova could become a hurricane later in the day out in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Saturday that Jova had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph (113 kph) but was still far from land. It was about 460 miles (740 kilometers) west-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, on Saturday morning.

Current forecast models show Jova could make landfall over Mexico by next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irwin was beginning to make a U-turn and is expected to start moving toward land in the next couple of days Faxless payday loans. Irwin had maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph (120 kph) and is expected to remain a Category 1 storm for now.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Philippe continued to swirl far from land.

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Japan’s central bank on Friday kept its key interest rate unchanged at nearly zero and extended by six months an emergency loan program for disaster-hit regions.

The Bank of Japan’s nine-member policy board voted unanimously at a two-day meeting to maintain the overnight call rate target at zero to 0.1 percent.

It described the world’s No. 3 economy as “picking up” and predicted an eventual return to a moderate recovery despite concerns about the health of the global economy.

Industrial production figures last week showed that output had nearly recovered to the levels recorded before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Japan. Exports in August rose for the first time in six months. Capital investments and private consumption also show some pick up, the central bank said.

A key Bank of Japan report earlier this week offered a cautiously optimistic assessment of corporate Japan, where business confidence is improving as recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami takes hold.

To support reconstruction efforts, the central bank voted to give financial institutions in disaster areas six more months _ until the end of April 2012 _ to apply for loans through a special program.

The central bank said it would vigilantly watch the health of the U.S. economy as well as sovereign debt problems in Europe. It also questioned whether high-growth emerging economies could maintain momentum while controlling inflation.

“It is necessary to continue carefully monitoring how Japan’s economy will be affected by the uncertainty regarding the developments overseas and by the ensuing fluctuations in the foreign exchange and financial markets.”

The central bank promised to keep interest rates at virtually zero until it decides that “price stability is in sight.” Price stability for central banks usually means a stable rate of increase in prices. Japan suffers from prolonged falling prices _ also known as deflation.

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Police have arrested two dozen protesters for trespassing during a demonstration against Bank of America’s foreclosure practices at the banking giant’s offices in downtown Boston.

The Boston Herald reports ( http://bit.ly/ohHrLa) that the event was an act of civil disobedience that the organizers intended to send the message that the lender’s practices were unfair.

“They wanted to be arrested, and we obliged,” Boston police Commissioner Edward F. Davis told the newspaper Payday advance.

Organizers say about 3,000 people joined the protest.

Bank of America spokesman T.J. Crawford dismissed the demonstration as a publicity stunt.

There was no mention of Bank of America’s planned debit card fees, which recently have generated headlines and frustrated customers nationwide.

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Missouri’s community colleges have received a federal grant to train unemployed workers for health care jobs.

Officials say MoHealthWINS, fueled by a $20 million federal grant, will educate 4,600 people through the state’s 12 community colleges and Linn State Technical College. The program was announced Monday by Gov. Jay Nixon, who said it would specifically target unemployed adults seeking new careers.

The funding is provided through a grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Among the jobs that would be targeted are certified nursing aide, licensed practical nurse, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician and medical lab technician.

Nixon supported the grant proposal, saying it would offer the state another way to boost its percentage of residents with college degrees unsecured personal loans. Following a similar national goal, Nixon is hoping to push the percentage of state residents with a degree to 60 percent from 37 percent by 2020.

It is unclear how the money will be divided among the various schools.

In the grant proposal, St. Louis Community College said it would use the money to support career counselors and boot camps.

St. Charles Community College said it would train students to work as technicians in several areas, including radiological, medical lab and hearing aid specialization.

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