Friday newspaper round-up: Boeing, ExxonMobil, rail firms, Mike Ashley
Indonesia’s national carrier Garuda has cancelled a multibillion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after two fatal crashes involving the plane, the company said, blaming passengers’ loss of trust in the aircraft. In what is thought to be the first formal cancellation for the model, Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said: “We have sent a letter to Boeing requesting that the order be cancelled. “The reason is that Garuda passengers in Indonesia have lost trust and no longer have the confidence” in the plane, he said, adding that the airline was awaiting a response from Boeing. – Guardian
ExxonMobil faces losing its lobby privileges at the European parliament after the company failed to show up for the first hearing into climate change denial. ExxonMobil would become only the second multinational – after Monsanto – to lose access to MEPs, parliamentary meetings and digital resources if it loses a high-level vote expected by the end of April. – Guardian
Rail firms will be forced to admit that three times as many trains are delayed than current figures show, as a new website will for the first time let commuters check when their train is just one minute late. At present Network Rail data shows nine in ten (89.1 per cent) of trains arrive "on time", but this will fall to two in three (66.9 per cent) under the new measure, which deems a train "late" if it arrives 60 seconds after its due time. – Telegraph
Britain’s biggest carbon-emitters are in talks with the Government over a funding plan for projects that could start stripping greenhouse gases from power plants and factories by the mid-2020s. Tata Steel will join energy giants BP, Royal Dutch Shell, National Grid, Drax Group and Cadent Gas to back fresh plans to develop a technology that can trap and storage carbon emissions to help tackle climate change. – Telegraph
Mike Ashley has picked a fight with Sir Philip Green as his battle to take control of Debenhams enters the final stages with a pre-pack administration of the department store chain looking increasingly likely. In an extraordinary attack, the billionaire owner of Sports Direct lashed out and said that he would not buy Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia empire, which owns Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Wallis and Miss Selfridge, even for £1. – The Times