If these last 3 paragraphs are any indication of the state of communication between Boeing and regulators, things are not looking good for the MAX flying soon:
In August, Boeing met with officials from the F.A.A. and other global aviation agencies to brief them on its efforts to complete fixes on the Max. Regulators asked detailed questions about adjustments to the Max’s flight control computers, which the Boeing representatives there were not prepared to answer.
Instead, the company representatives began to display a PowerPoint presentation on their efforts, according to people briefed on the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it was not public.
At that point, the regulators ended the meeting. Weeks later, Boeing has still not answered all their questions.
Sounds a lot like public comments on the nature of the Brexit negotiations by Boris Johnson (much progress being made in negotiations), contrasted with statements from the EU (nope, not happening).
Talking past each other? Not a good sign. Must be missing something, I thought FAA was working closely on final fix details, getting ready to start test flights?