Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Boeing is to halt production of its troubled 737 Max in a move that will send a shockwave through British industry. Hundreds of suppliers to the aviation giant will be affected by the temporary suspension, which begins next month. International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) had signed a letter of intent to buy 200 Max jets and Ryanair Holdings (RYA) has 135 on order. Three British aerospace components suppliers will also be affected by the decision. Melrose Industries (MRO) , the £12 billion FTSE 100 group, makes wing tips, engine casings and other parts for the Max. Melrose said in April that it expected to make about $500,000 from every jet. Senior (SNR) , the FTSE 250 group based in Hertfordshire, has warned several times this year that its financial situation has been hurt by the Max groundings. The company, which has an outpost near Boeing’s Seattle factory, makes wing and wheel well components for the aircraft. Meggitt (MGGT) , also a FTSE 250 constituent, supplies seals and composite parts for the Max’s control systems. The group has estimated that it makes about $155,000 per jet. - The Times
The Serious Fraud Office has charged two former Serco Group (SRP) directors with fraud in relation to the company’s prison tagging contract with the Ministry of Justice. Nicholas Woods, 50, former finance director of Serco home affairs, and Simon Marshall, 58, former operations director of field services, were charged with fraud and false accounting in relation to representations made to the Ministry of Justice between 2011 and 2013. Mr Woods was additionally charged with false accounting in relation to the 2011 statutory accounts of Serco Geografix, a subsidiary of Serco that ran the electronic tagging service. They both deny the charges. - The Times
Sports Direct International (SPD) tycoon Mike Ashley is planning a £100m share giveaway to staff after renaming his firm and unveiling a jump in profits that sent shares rocketing by almost a third. His proposal will be introduced by September 2020 if it wins shareholder support, and is likely to be seen as part of a charm offensive after the 55-year-old was heavily criticised over how Sports Direct treats its staff. It came as the firm rebranded itself as Frasers and vowed to focus more on luxury products following a rescue of the House of Fraser department store in July. Sports Direct reported a 14% rise in revenues to £2bn for the six months to October after a string of takeovers of struggling rivals. - The Telegraph
FirstGroup (FGP) is considering a sale of all its North American businesses, in an apparent reversal of strategy only months after the struggling transport group said it would focus primarily on its US bus operations. The group said it had appointed advisers to explore options, including the potential disposal of First Student, which operates about 43,000 yellow school buses, and First Transit, which provides outsourced public transport. The third US division, Greyhound, which operates the famous intercity coaches, was put up for sale in May. The turnaround comes after FirstGroup was announced the winner of the West Coast Partnership franchise in the UK, which secures a longer term future in rail. - The Guardian
Yu Group (YU.) soared after announcing a deal which should allow it to free up more cash. The firm has previously had to keep cash aside to cover its hedging deals. These agreements involve Yu buying wholesale energy ahead of time to mitigate soaring energy prices in the future. But it has agreed a £13m credit facility with Smartest Energy to cover hedging, so it won’t have to set aside the cash any more. - Ther Mail
Boris Johnson’s new government must reform business rates immediately to save the country’s ailing high streets, the boss of pizza chain Franco Manca has said. Ministers must make the rates system clearer and sort out a backlog of complaints over firms’ often sky-high bills according to David Page, who made his name running Pizza Express and is now executive chairman of Franco Manca owner The Fulham Shore (FUL) . The company has challenged the calculation of some of its business rates bills. He said: “We’ve got rate appeals going on all over the place. “It can take years. It can’t be right. I am not sure that smaller businesses can wait that long.” - The Telegraph