Technology
DraftKings hires gambling-industry veteran to lead expansion
Fantasy sports provider DraftKings, which recently raised a $300 million round of investment, is delivering on its promise to expand overseas. The Boston-based company said it has been licensed to operate in the United Kingdom and plans to open a London office by year’s end. Chief executive Jason Robins previously said that a UK expansion would come in 2015, enabled by the new fund-raising round. On Monday, the company said it plans to expand to Europe, Asia, and Latin America in 2016. Newly hired chief international officer Jeffrey Haas, a veteran of the gambling sector with experience in online poker, will lead the expansion. Expanding to the UK gives DraftKings a new base of players to add to its fast-paced version of fantasy sports, in which users compile imaginary rosters of real-life athletes and compete to get the best overall statistics. DraftKings is the second-largest daily fantasy sports operator in the US behind New York-based FanDuel.
— CURT WOODWARD
online retail
Liberty Interactive agrees to buy Zulily for $2.4 billion
NEW YORK — The Liberty Interactive Corp. said Monday that it had agreed to acquire Zulily in a cash-and-stock deal that values the online retailer at $2.4 billion. The transaction is expected to bolster Liberty’s QVC Group business, which includes its online and broadcast shopping channel QVC and its interest in the retail and interactive lifestyle broadcast network HSN. The acquisition will be reflected in the QVC tracking stock, Liberty said. Following the deal, QVC and Zulily will operate as separate brands, but are expected to collaborate on sales and strategy. Under the terms of the deal, Liberty, based in Englewood, Colo., will pay the equivalent of $18.75 a share for Zulily, representing a 49 percent premium to Zulily’s closing price Friday. Founded in 2010, Zulily is an online retailer focused on young families offering a variety of products, including clothing, shoes, home décor and toys. Zulily, based in Seattle, reported sales of $1.2 billion in 2014. — NEW YORK TIMES
Banking
Harvard professor, ex-Goldman exec Kaplan to lead Dallas Fed
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas has named Robert Steven Kaplan, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive who left to teach at Harvard in 2006, as its new president. Kaplan, 58, will take his post Sept. 8, the Dallas Fed said Monday. He will replace Richard Fisher, who was president from April 2005 to March 2015. Helen Holcomb, the Dallas Fed’s first vice president, has served as interim head. The new president, who won’t vote on policy until 2017, is joining the Fed at a pivotal time. The US central bank’s policy makers are weighing when and how quickly to raise interest rates, which have been held near-zero since 2008. Kaplan is a professor of management practice and a senior associate dean at Harvard Business School. Before joining Harvard, he spent 22 years at Goldman Sachs and was vice chairman in charge of investment banking when he departed. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Retail
Panera opens new front in all-natural battle with ‘clean’ drinks
NEW YORK — Panera Bread Co. is making more of its beverages free of artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, and preservatives, going a step beyond rivals as restaurants vie to offer more “clean” products. “We drew a line in the sand specifically for food, and beverages are a natural extension of those goals,” said Dan Kish (left), senior vice president of food at the St. Louis-based company. Restaurant chains are increasing efforts to appeal to consumers seeking healthier and more natural foods. Panera’s new beverages, which include a pumpkin spice latte, bottled BluePrint juices, and Joia sodas, push the bakery chain beyond its original pledge to remove artificial additives from its food by 2016. While Panera is increasing its bottled offerings, the company hasn’t made changes to what may be the final frontier for clean beverages: fountain drinks. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Finance
Citigroup to pay $180m over crisis-era hedge fund fraud
NEW YORK — Citigroup agreed to pay almost $180 million to settle a US regulator’s allegations that it defrauded wealthy clients of two failed hedge funds by telling them the investments were as safe as low-risk municipal bonds. Citigroup units made false and misleading statements about the funds, which raised almost $3 billion from 2002 to 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement Monday. Before the funds collapsed in 2008, the bank didn’t tell most clients that an internal rating showed the investments posed significant risks to principal and Citigroup also failed to disclose that one of the funds was seeking an emergency loan. ‘‘Advisers at these Citigroup affiliates were supposed to be looking out for investors’ best interests, but falsely assured them they were making safe investments even when the funds were on the brink of disaster,’’ Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s enforcement division, said in the statement. In settling the matter, Citigroup neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
health
FDA issues warning to scope makers over spread of deadly bacteria
NEW YORK — The Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters last week to three medical device manufacturers whose endoscopes have been blamed for spreading deadly bacteria. This is the agency’s strongest regulatory action yet since outbreaks in Los Angeles, Seattle, and elsewhere made headlines earlier this year. The devices, made by Olympus, Pentax, and Fujifilm, are used in hundreds of thousands of procedures each year. The FDA says the companies failed to report problems with the scopes as required by law and in some cases failed to ensure the devices could be adequately cleaned. Olympus and Pentax were specifically cited for failing to relay to FDA reports that their devices ‘‘may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury’’ within 30 days of learning about the event. Pentax and Fujifilm were cited for failing to make sure the instructions for cleaning the scopes were valid. Olympus spokesman Mark Miller said in an e-mail the company is reviewing the warning letter. Representatives for Pentax and Fujifilm did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Labor
Connecticut shuts nail salons, cites wage violations
HARTFORD — Connecticut labor officials have shut nearly two dozen nail salons, recovered more than $47,000 in wages allegedly owed to employees, and penalized businesses $100,000 for alleged pay and records violations. The Department of Labor said Monday it responded to complaints from nail salon employees about health and employment practices. Unannounced visits on Aug. 3 resulted in stop work orders on more than 20 nail salons in the state. Gary Pechie, director of the Labor Department’s wage and workplace standards division, said workers were paid in cash with no payroll records, wages were below the hourly minimum wage of $9.15, and overtime was unpaid. The regulatory crackdown comes months after a series of articles in the New York Times that found similar practices at nail salons in New York City and nearby communities. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Industry
US Steel idling Alabama mill as industry struggles
FAIRFIELD, Ala. — US Steel Corp. said Monday that it will close its Fairfield Works mill, one of the largest remaining pieces from Birmingham’s years as a Southern steel-making giant. The decision will affect about 1,100 workers at the roughly century-old plant, company spokeswoman Sarah Cassella said. It was unclear whether employees might be able to move to other jobs within the Pittsburgh-based company. In a statement from US Steel, chief executive Mario Longhi said the shutdown was needed to improve the efficiency and cost structure of the company’s rolled-steel segment. US Steel announced temporary shutdowns earlier this year at two facilities in Minnesota, resulting in more than 1,000 layoffs. The domestic steel industry has been buffeted for years by low prices and foreign imports. The United Steelworkers blamed the decision on unfair foreign competition. — ASSOCIATED PRESS