HOUSING
Trio of developers chosen to rehab Jamaica Plain complex
A trio of veteran affordable-housing developers are teaming up to redo the Mildred C. Hailey public housing complex in Jamaica Plain. The Boston Housing Authority named Community Builders, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Urban Edge — a partnership dubbing themselves Centre Street Partners — as redeveloper of the complex, formerly known as Bromley-Heath. They plan to renovate a senior citizens building and tear down several buildings along Centre Street in the complex, replacing 232 existing apartments for low-income renters and adding 393 market-rate apartments in three new buildings. It’s an approach the Housing Authority is using to rebuild its aging complexes across Boston, partnering with private developers who add market-rate housing and use the proceeds to pay to rebuild the existing stock for low-income residents. Corcoran Jennison Associates and SunCal are undergoing Boston Planning & Development Agency review for an overhaul of BHA’s Bunker Hill complex in Charlestown, and the Housing Authority plans soon to pick a developer for its Mary Ellen McCormack complex in South Boston. While those projects received multiple bidders, the Centre Street team was the only one to file a proposal for Mildred Hailey. — TIM LOGAN
SNACK FOOD
Cheetos pop-up restaurant to open in New York
Frito-Lay is getting in on New York City’s restaurant week by opening a pop-up eatery with a menu full of Cheetos-themed cuisine. The Spotted Cheetah opens its doors in Lower Manhattan for just three days next week. Some of the dishes on the three-course menu created by chef Anne Burrell include Cheetos Crusted Fried Pickles, Mac n’ Cheetos, and Cheetos Sweetos Crusted Cheesecake. Prices run from $8 to $22 per dish. Frito-Lay says recipes created by fans inspired the company to ‘‘bring a full Cheetos culinary experience to life.’’ The Spotted Cheetah is completely booked for its brief run, which begins Tuesday, but Cheetos fans can add their names to an online waitlist. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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INSURANCE
Allstate to expand in North Carolina
Allstate Insurance Co. announced on Wednesday plans to more than double its North Carolina workforce by expanding in the Charlotte area, investing more than $22 million and creating 2,250 new jobs by 2020. Governor Roy Cooper and leaders of the nation’s largest publicly traded personal insurance company were joined by local leaders in announcing the expansion, beginning in 2018, at the Charlotte Chamber office. Allstate listed a wide range of jobs to be filled, but a company official said they were still working on specifics. Allstate already has a large call center in Charlotte. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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MATCHMAKING
Woman sues high-end service for setting her up with married men, felons
A retired corporate executive says in a lawsuit that a high-end matchmaking service set her up with a string of highly unsuitable suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable, or felons. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Darlene Daggett, former president for US commerce for the West Chester-based home shopping channel QVC, settled a lawsuit against Corte Madera, Calif.-based Kelleher International hours after it was filed in federal court last week. However, court filings shed light on what Daggett alleged were a series of bad courtships that fell short of what the dating service promised. Daggett says she paid $150,000 for a membership that guaranteed her matches from around the globe. Kelleher chief executive Amber Kelleher-Andrews (right) says ‘‘it doesn’t always work out,’’ but her company works to end courtships ‘‘fairly and reasonably.’’ — ASSOCIATED PRESS
FINANCE
Newly minted MBAs eschew Wall Street
Wall Street? A new survey shows that jobs outside of Wall Street are becoming increasingly enticing to recent MBA graduates. According to data from Training the Street, investment banks were a top employment choice for just 19 percent of respondents. Not only is that a drop of 7 percent from last year, it’s also the lowest level in the eight-year history of the survey. The survey, conducted in June, included more than 200 recent graduates. Other employment options hit record levels of preference this year. Top choices included consulting firms at 20 percent, corporate development at a Fortune 2000 company at 13 percent, and boutique banks at 12 percent. One sector that lagged behind was startups, as people become increasingly worried about valuations and stability at a number of firms as they either delay going public or struggle in the public market, such as Snap Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc. Startups were the top choice for a mere 5 percent of MBAs.
— BLOOMBERG NEWS
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FOOD
Kraft Heinz teams up with Oprah
Kraft Heinz Co., struggling to ignite sales growth amid punishing grocery-industry competition, is turning to media magnate Oprah Winfrey to break out of a prolonged slump. Winfrey, pivotal to the turnaround at Weight Watchers International Inc. since she bought a stake in that company and agreed to pitch the brand, is the face of a new line of refrigerated soups and side dishes made without artificial flavors and dyes. The products have begun hitting shelves and will be available nationwide in October, Kraft Heinz said Wednesday. Winfrey’s wide-ranging appeal makes her an attractive spokesman for products, and Kraft Heinz is hoping that a bit of her mojo will help it ignite sales growth. The company describes the new products, which will be sold under the “O, That’s Good!” brand, as “nutritious twists” on comfort foods like mashed potatoes and broccoli cheddar soup. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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PAYMENT PROCESSING
Vantiv to buy British company for $10.4 billion
Payments processor Vantiv has agreed to buy British rival WorldPay in a $10.4 billion deal that will create a giant in the sector. Vantiv, based in Cincinnati, will pay 3.97 pounds a share in cash, stock, and dividends for Worldpay, 24 percent more than the closing price on July 3, when news of the talks became public. The takeover will combine Vantiv’s US-focused business with WorldPay’s operations around the world. The combined group will process about $1.5 trillion of payments annually through over 300 payment methods in 146 countries. The company will be called Worldpay and will be led by Vantiv chief executive Charles Drucker, who will become executive chairman and co-CEO of the new company. WorldPay boss Philip Jansen will be the other co-CEO. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook hires 500 people in Germany to police hate speech
Facebook Inc. said it’s adding 500 content control staff in Germany and bolstering psychological support for workers who delete hate speech from its site, amid pressure in the country to crack down on offensive posts. The social media company plans to start adding workers from the Austrian outsourcing firm Competence Call Center in the western German city of Essen over the next few months, Facebook said in a post on its German site Wednesday. They’ll supplement what will be 700 post-deleting staff in Berlin who work for Arvato, a unit of Bertelsmann. The 1,200 staffers will work under the direction of Facebook’s so-called community operations team, based in Dublin, and respond to reports by Facebook users. The issue of violent or hateful postings on the world’s largest social network has gained currency in Germany, where Facebook has 30 million members. The country’s parliamentary lower house in June passed legislation threatening fines of up to $59 million on large social networks that fail to let users report hate speech or fake news stories, or to remove illegal postings. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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