CarMax criticized over handling recalled vehicles
Just in time for CarMax's expansion in Massachusetts, two consumer advocacy groups are criticizing the national chain of used-car dealerships for selling vehicles that are still subject to a recall. The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group and the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety said on Monday that they found that more than 17 percent of vehicles offered for sale — 42 out of 243 — on one day in October at CarMax's North Attleborough location were subject to a federal safety recall and had not been repaired. They said CarMax should have waited until the repairs were provided by the manufacturers before selling the cars. The reasons for the recalls, the groups said, included defects such as stalling in traffic, catching on fire, malfunctioning airbags and faulty steering. Five of the vehicles that were on sale that day were subject to two or more recalls, the groups said. Catherine Gryp, a spokeswoman for Richmond-based CarMax, said the company isn't authorized to fix the recalls at its stores. For that reason, she said, CarMax salesmen make sure that every buyer is familiar with any recalls attached to the vehicle being purchased from the company. She said the surge in vehicle recalls in recent years is an industry problem that all dealers need to confront. — JON CHESTO
Beverly restaurant owners charged with tax fraud
The US attorney's office in Boston on Monday charged the owners of Nick's Famous Roast Beef in Beverly with failing to report up to $6 million in income on their tax returns, avoiding $1 million in taxes. Nicholas Koudanis, 65, of Topsfield, Nicholas Markos, 69, of Lynn, and Eleni Koudanis, 60, were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and 10 counts of aiding and assisting in the filing of false tax returns. Steven Koudanis, 39, the son of Nicholas Koudanis, was charged with one count of endeavoring to obstruct the IRS. According to the indictment, the owners, who accept only cash payments at their restaurant, failed to report receipts of more than $1 million each year from 2008 to 2013, which allegedly allowed them to evade nearly $1 million in taxes. The US attorney's office said the owners split up the cash receipts each week and determined how much to put in the bank and how much to report, and then destroyed the original receipts. The indictment said Nicholas Koudanis and his wife, Eleni, amassed more than $1.6 million in cash in a safe in their home as of December 2014. — GLOBE STAFF
Seattle says drivers of ride-hailing services can unionize
SEATTLE — Seattle has become the first city in the nation to allow drivers of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft to unionize over pay and working conditions. The legislation the City Council approved Monday is seen as a test case for the changing 21st century workforce. The companies strongly oppose it and are expected to challenge it in court. The council passed the measure on an 8-0 vote. It requires companies that hire or contract with drivers of taxis, for-hire transportation companies and app-based ride-hailing services to bargain with its drivers, if a majority show they want to be represented. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Samsung asks court to overturn award to rival Apple
Samsung Electronics Co. is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a $399 million patent award it was ordered to pay Apple Inc. for copied iPhone designs, in what would be the court's first case involving design patents in 120 years. In a petition filed Monday, Samsung asked the court to consider the scope of design patents and how damages are calculated in such cases. It's challenging an Appeals Court ruling that Samsung had infringed the design patents and that the law entitles Apple to a cut of Samsung's total profits from smartphones that used patented designs. If the high court takes up the case, it will be the first time it's looked at the law regarding design patents since disputes involving spoon handles in the 1870s and carpets in the 1890s. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
China found to file applications at record pace in 2014
GENEVA — The World Intellectual Property Organization said that China cranked out patent applications at a record pace last year. The Geneva body said China's patents increased by 12.5 percent in 2014 to 928,000. China's total outstripped the combined total emanating from the United States and Japan. The United States had the second-most patent applications at 578,000 while Japan came in third with 325,000. Japanese companies, led by Panasonic, made up seven of the top 10 applicants. Korea's Samsung was third and US-based IBM eighth. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Newell Rubbermaid to buy Jarden Corp.
ATLANTA — Newell Rubbermaid is buying Jarden Corp. in a cash-and-stock deal that it says will generate about $16 billion in revenue per year with brands such as Paper Mate, Sharpie, Elmer's, Rubbermaid, Lenox, Yankee Candle, and Graco. Jarden shareholders will receive $21 in cash and 0.862 shares of Newell Rubbermaid stock for each share they own. The implied total value is $60 per share worth about $13.2 billion. The company says that holders of convertible bonds also qualify for the deal, boosting the price of the overall transaction to about $15.4 billion. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
New Yorkers agree fantasy sports games constitute gambling
ALBANY, N.Y. — Two-thirds of New York voters agree with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman that daily fantasy sports games constitute gambling and are illegal in the state, according to a poll released Monday. The Siena College poll of 822 registered voters last week found 66 percent agree with Schneiderman, while 34 percent believe the games are mainly skill-based and legal as the companies maintain. Schneiderman has sued market dominators DraftKings and FanDuel to stop them from taking New Yorkers' entry fees. Justice Manuel Mendez on Friday granted Schneiderman's request to temporarily halt the activity while he rules, but an appeals court blocked that order. That allows FanDuel and DraftKings to keep operating in New York through at least next month. A full panel of the judges will then rule on whether the companies can do business in the state while the court process unfolds. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
AstraZeneca, drug firm talking options
LONDON — The British drugmaker AstraZeneca said it was exploring "potential strategic options" with Acerta Pharma, a privately held cancer drug developer with operations in the Netherlands and California. An acquisition would be the latest such deal by AstraZeneca as it seeks to bolster its pipeline of cancer treatments. — NEW YORK TIMES
Mass. gasoline prices approaching $2
Gasoline prices in Massachusetts inched closer to the $2 a gallon mark last week, falling two cents to $2.04 as crude oil prices plummeted. AAA Northeast said in its weekly survey that Massachusetts gasoline prices are at their lowest point since the spring of 2009, and the combination of falling oil prices and plentiful supplies make it likely prices will drop even further. AAA said prices across Massachusetts ranged from a low of $1.92 to a high of $2.68. On the website GasBuddy.com, consumers reported prices of $1.84 a gallon at Costco in Dedham and at JP Oil in Jamaica Plain. Nationally, the average price of regular, unleaded, self-serve gas hit $2.01 last week, down 59 cents from this time last year. — GLOBE STAFF AND WIRES