U.S. regulators decided to allow Boeing’s 737 MAX jet to keep flying after its first fatal crash last fall even after their own analysis indicated it could become one of the most accident-prone airliners in decades without design changes.

The November 2018 internal Federal Aviation Administration analysis, released during a House committee hearing Wednesday, reveals that without agency intervention, the MAX could have averaged one fatal crash about every two or three years. That amounts to a substantially greater safety risk than either Boeing or the agency indicated publicly at the time.

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The assessment, which came the month after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia, raises new questions about the FAA’s decision-making in the wake of that disaster, along with what turned out to be faulty agency assumptions on ways to alleviate hazards.

Also on Wednesday, the FAA said it is investigating alleged production issues at a Boeing factory near Seattle, where the plane maker assembles the 737 MAX. The disclosure followed testimony from a retired manager who told a congressional committee he had warned repeatedly about shoddy work arising from pressure to produce the aircraft more quickly.

Companies are waiting to see how the U.K. would craft sanctions policy if the country leaves the European Union.

The U.K. enacted the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act in 2018 to serve as a framework for the government to impose sanctions after exiting from the EU. Whether the U.K.’s future sanctions regime would align with or diverge from those of the EU and U.S. remains to be seen.

“The U.K. is generally been viewed as the hawk around the table in the EU in many respects in sanctions,” Neil Donovan, a senior associate at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer covering global criminal and regulatory investigations, and international financial services litigation, said Tuesday during a panel at an event in London hosted by The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Risk & Compliance. “And so, whether they align themselves with EU sanctions going forward or decide to take a [stricter] approach, it’ll be interesting to see.”

In the meantime, there is a concern the U.K.’s policy could end up somewhere between the U.S. and the EU, according to Michael Casey, a partner in the government, regulatory and internal investigations practice at law firm Kirkland & Ellis. “Companies are going to have to deal with three different regimes that may not be consistent, and in some cases might be inconsistent,” he said during the panel. “So that, going forward, can be a real challenge.”

—Mengqi Sun

A recent slowdown in global growth has prompted U.S. businesses over the past year to grow more cautious, with some retailers moving factory operations out of China as tariffs on clothing and other imports take effect.

Those decisions reflect a growing perception among executives and board members that economic-policy decisions could hinder their companies’ growth opportunities in the year ahead, according to an annual ranking of business risks published Thursday by North Carolina State University’s Enterprise Risk Management Initiative and consulting firm Protiviti Inc.

Concerns about economic policy jumped nine spots to second place on this year’s list. In addition to worries about trade and tariffs, executives—particularly in the financial services sector—said they worried a prolonged period of low interest rates could continue to put pressure on profits.

• CFOs Brace for Potential Recession in 2020

• Fossil-fuel and transport companies could end up paying tens of billions more in taxes under the European Green Deal, a package of proposals to fight climate change unveiled on Wednesday. The Green Deal is a cornerstone of newly elected European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plan for the European Union. In her speech to the European Parliament, she heralded the plan as the bloc’s “new growth strategy.”

The U.S. on Wednesday blacklisted a series of companies it accused of helping Iran transport weaponry to regional militia groups, including missile parts to Houthi rebels in Yemen. The move also comes amid rising concerns among some national security officials that Tehran might escalate attacks against the U.S. and its allies as the Trump administration’s sanctions take a deepening toll on the country’s economy.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are pushing ahead with enactment of new sanctions meant to prevent the completion of a new pipeline constructed to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, beneath the Baltic Sea. The measure could set back one of Europe’s largest energy deals for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which U.S. lawmakers view as a geopolitical gambit by Russia to strengthen its grip on European energy markets.

• A former Credit Suisse Group executive said she believes she was put under surveillance in July 2017 while in a dispute with the bank. Colleen Graham, previously the bank’s compliance head for the Americas, said she believes a woman followed her over three days that month, allegedly in retaliation over her stance on an accounting issue at the joint venture, according to filings released Tuesday by a U.S. labor court.
   
• Harvey Weinstein, his former associates, insurers and accusers have reached a nearly $47 million tentative settlement of almost all the civil cases pending against him, about $25 million of which will compensate women who have accused the Hollywood producer of sexual misconduct, according to people familiar with the matter. Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Weinstein and his former associates didn’t admit wrongdoing, the people said.
   
• The Vatican uses charitable contributions donated to the pope to plug a hole in its own administrative budget, according to people familiar with the matter. The Vatican is currently embroiled in a scandal over opaque real-estate investments in London, which has triggered a power struggle within the Vatican’s bureaucracy and led to the dismissal of its chief financial regulator. Last month, the Vatican was suspended from an international network of anti-money-laundering watchdogs.
   
• Justice Watchdog Testifies About Disagreement With Attorney General Over Report on FBI’s Russia Probe

Corporate boards could significantly improve how they hold executives accountable for strategies and policies they set, according to a new study from the Institute of Internal Auditors and the University of Tennessee.

Public company audit executives were asked to evaluate their companies on criteria including board performance, external disclosures, companywide communication, corporate culture and long-term strategies. Overall, U.S. companies got a C+ for their efforts. But about 10% of respondents gave their companies failing grades, according to the survey of about 130 audit chiefs.

More than one-third of respondents said board members at their company aren’t willing to challenge the judgment of the chief executive, the survey said. Corporate-governance dysfunction could lead to unethical behavior or an imbalance in the relationship between internal auditors, executives and directors, according to the study.

The most troubling aspect of the results was that, in the opinion of the auditors, board members often don’t hold management accountable for long-term sustainability of the company, said Richard Chambers, the IIA’s chief executive. “The question I would ask is, ‘Is Corporate America really applying itself?’ ” he said.

—Mark Maurer

Huawei Technologies secured a commitment to build part of Germany’s 5G infrastructure, strengthening its position in Europe’s largest economy despite calls from lawmakers to bar the Chinese company.

Telefónica SA, one of three major mobile operators in Germany, said Wednesday it planned to use equipment from Huawei and Finland-based Nokia Corp. to build its 5G wireless network in the country—subject to Huawei equipment meeting government security standards.

E. coli illnesses linked to romaine lettuce show how U.S. regulators continue to struggle with identifying which farms spark an outbreak and stopping it from spreading.

An outbreak involving a romaine-based salad kit has sickened at least eight people in three states, health officials said this week. Those cases could be connected to an outbreak in romaine last month that sickened more than 100 people in 23 states even though the strains of E. coli are different, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Sustained power outages caused by electric-wire failures in Northern California could double or even quadruple in years to come unless PG&E steps up its replacement of aging equipment, according to a utility-commissioned analysis.
   
• President Trump’s threatened new tariffs on Christmas decorations from China won’t take effect until next year—but that’s no comfort to importers who have to do their 2020 holiday shopping now.

A lengthy round of labor talks in Detroit has ended after the United Auto Workers said it secured a new four-year contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the last of three deals negotiated this year by the union.

About 71% of Fiat Chrysler’s unionized workforce voted to approve the agreement, the UAW said. The new deal includes terms that will likely close a longstanding labor-cost gap between the Italian-American car company and its larger rivals, labor experts say.

The ratification brings to a close a grueling round of labor negotiations for UAW leaders, with new contracts in hand at Fiat Chrysler, General Motors and Ford. Talks were more confrontational than in previous years, with the UAW executing one of the largest private-sector strikes in nearly half a century at GM. Top UAW officials also faced a widening federal investigation into corruption in its top ranks as negotiations progressed, leading to the resignation of former UAW President Gary Jones last month.

• JPMorgan is taking a bigger swing at wealth management, revamping its business units in an effort to better compete with big-bank rivals such as Morgan Stanley.

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Send comments to the Risk & Compliance editor, Jack Hagel, at jack.hagel@wsj.com