Tuesday newspaper round-up: Boeing, Revolut, HS2, business rates
Boeing said on Monday it could have its fleet of 737 Max jets flying again by January as safety checks on the aircraft’s troubled flight software reach completion. The planes were grounded in March in the wake of two fatal crashes in the space of five months that killed 346 people. The world’s biggest planemaker said it hoped the Federal Aviation Administration would approve certification of the plane’s flight control software before the end of the year. A fault with the plane’s anti-stall mechanism is believed to have caused the Lionair crash in Indonesia last October and then the Ethiopian Airlines disaster in March.
Every adult will be entitled to six years of free study under Labour plans for a radical expansion of lifelong learning, as part of its vision for a cradle-to-grave national education service. In a speech in Blackpool on Tuesday, the shadow education secretary Angela Rayner will pledge that a Labour government would “throw open the doors” to adult learners to enable them to study and retrain throughout their lives. – Guardian
Veteran investor Martin Gilbert has joined Revolut as its non-executive chairman, four months after he was reported to have been in talks with the fintech start-up. The appointment comes after the digital banking business signed deals with Visa and Mastercard to help it expand around the world. Mr Gilbert was first publicly linked to the Revolut chairman role in July but had to wait for regulatory approval to join its board. – Telegraph
The HS2 rail project should go ahead despite costs ballooning to £88 billion and a dramatic drop in the benefit to taxpayers, according to a review of the scheme seen by The Times. The leaked document recommends that the government commit to the full high-speed rail network — the biggest infrastructure project in Europe — but admits that it is “not affordable” within the £56 billion budget set in the 2015 government spending review. The new estimate of £88 billion is likely to be revised upwards again, the report notes. – The Times
Urgent reform of business rates and the apprenticeship levy is “essential” to help retailers to navigate the challenges posed by changing shopping habits, the industry has warned. The British Retail Consortium yesterday called on political parties to consider the plight of physical shops in their election manifestos. – The Times