U.S. grounds 737 MAX jets, Boeing shares fall again

GORA-BOKKA, Ethiopia/OTTAWA (Reuters): President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States would ground Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jets, following Europe and other nations that have already stopped the planes flying due to safety concerns, following an Ethiopian Airlines crash on Sunday.

“We’re going to be issuing an emergency order of prohibition to ground all flights of the 737 MAX 8 and the 737 MAX 9 and planes associated with that line,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“The FAA is prepared to make an announcement very shortly regarding the new information and physical evidence that we’ve have received from the site, and from other locations and through a couple of other complaints,” he said, referring to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Boeing shares, which were up earlier in the session, fell 2 percent to $367.70. The shares have fallen about 13 percent since the crash, losing more than $25 billion of market value.