Boeing's crisis deepens; Brexit chaos; US futures mixed

It was the second crash of a 737 Max 8 plane in less than five months, and aviation authorities in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Indonesia, China and other countries reacted by ordering the planes out of their airspace. India, Egypt and Hong Kong joined the list Wednesday.

Boeing says it has "full confidence in the safety of the 737 MAX," but the company's stock has been punished. Shares in Boeing (BA) fell 6% on Tuesday, pushing losses for the week to 11%.

The big question is whether it would be better for Boeing to order a global grounding of the more than three hundred 737 Max planes in service, even though the US Federal Aviation Administration says there's no basis for grounding the aircraft. Still, the longer Boeing waits to act, the more pressure will build from aviation authorities around the world.

2. Pound strengthens amid Brexit mess: The pound jumped 0.5% higher against the dollar as investors found reasons to believe the risk of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal on March 29 has decreased.

The British parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected the Brexit divorce deal negotiated by the government with the European Union. UK lawmakers will vote Wednesday on whether Britain should leave the bloc without a deal. Analysts expect that idea to be rejected. Another vote, on whether Brexit should be delayed, will follow on Thursday.

"Enough is enough," Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said in a statement Tuesday. "It's time for parliament to stop this circus."

Philip Hammond, the UK Treasury chief, will update parliament on the state of government spending and the British economy later on Wednesday. Economists expect official forecasts for growth this year to be slashed because of the political uncertainty.

3. T-Mobile and Sprint: T-Mobile (TMUS) CEO John Legere and Sprint (S) CEO Michel Combes will testify before the US House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday. They'll answer questions about their companies' planned merger.

The companies have claimed that they need to merge to remain competitive with larger rivals Verizon (VZ) and AT&T as the wireless market shifts to 5G. AT&T (T) owns CNN's parent company, Warner Media.

Watch CNN Business' live digital show 'Markets Now' today at 12:45 p.m. ET

4. Global market overview: US stock futures were mixed.

European markets opened mostly higher. Stocks in Asia struggled to find direction.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.4% on Tuesday. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq gained 0.4%.

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5. Companies and economics: Tailored Brands (TLRD) will release earnings after the closing bell.

A report on US durable goods will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The weekly EIA report on US crude oil inventories will be released at 10:30a ET.

6. Coming this week:
Wednesday — US durable goods report
Thursday — Dollar General (DG) earnings; New US home sales report; Tesla holds Model Y event
Friday — US industrial production and US consumer confidence report

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