Wednesday newspaper round-up: M&S, Asda, Boeing, Aramco
Marks & Spencer will start offering a “buy now, pay later” service on its website next month as it tries to attract younger customers and boost trade going into the key Christmas period. The retailer has teamed up with Clearpay to offer customers the option of paying for orders of more than £30 in interest-free instalments. – Guardian
Asda is raising the hourly rate paid to its supermarket staff by 18p next year amid a row with staff over new contracts that has left thousands of staff facing the sack this weekend. Union officials, who claim 12,000 workers face losing their jobs on Saturday after refusing to sign the new employment contract, described the pay offer as a smokescreen. – Guardian
Italian American car maker Fiat Chrysler has confirmed it is in talks with PSA Group – owner of Peugeot-Vauxhall – over a possible tie-up that would create one of the world’s leading automotive companies. Fiat Chrysler said on Wednesday it "confirms there are ongoing discussions aimed at creating one of the world's leading mobility groups" with PSA. Fiat did not provide any further details. PSA made a similar statement. – Telegraph
The chief executive of Boeing failed to investigate concerns about a potential fault with a safety system on the 737 Max, despite them being brought to his attention before the aircraft crashed for a second time. Dennis Muilenburg admitted yesterday that “until recently” he had not read a transcript of internal Boeing communications from 2016, in which a senior test pilot for the Max suggested that the safety system was “running rampant” in a simulator.- The Times
Saudi Arabia’s giant state oil company is planning to launch its long-awaited stock market flotation on Sunday. Saudi Aramco, the world’s most profitable company with net income of $111 billion last year, has been targeting a $2 trillion valuation, which would make it the biggest ever listing.- The Times