Business news in brief

By The Associated Press

JetBlue and Spirit ending their $3.8B merger plan

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines are ending their proposed $3.8 billion merger after a federal judge blocked the deal, ruling it would hurt competition.

JetBlue said Monday that even though both companies still believe in the benefits of a combination, they felt they were unlikely to meet the required closing conditions before a July 24 deadline.

The airlines say they are mutually agreeing that terminating the deal is the best decision for both. A merger would have eliminated Spirit, the nation’s biggest discount airline.

The Justice Department sued to block the deal and won in court.

China seeks ways to revive slowing economy

BEIJING | China’s efforts to restore confidence and rev up the economy will top the agenda during this month’s meeting of the ceremonial national legislature. The strong, consumer-led recovery hoped for after leaders gave up on severe anti-virus controls in late 2022 never materialized.

Premier Li Qiang’s work report Tuesday will showcase Beijing’s success in meeting last year’s target of about 5% growth. But the mood on the streets and in financial markets remains glum. Property prices have continued to fall, local governments are mired in trillions of dollars of debt and many Chinese are holding back on spending.

Officials: Boeing fails to meet quality-control standards in manufacturing

The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday its audit of 737 Max manufacturing at airplane-maker Boeing and its key supplier turned up “multiple instances” of them failing to make sure manufacturing met quality standards.

The FAA said that it found “non-compliance issues” with Boeing’s manufacturing-process control and parts handling and storage. It did not provide details.

The FAA said it gave a summary of findings from its six-week audit to Boeing and supplier Spirit AeroSystems, but it did not make the summary public. A spokeswoman said the FAA can’t release details because its investigation of Boeing is continuing.

—From AP reports