IBM Corp. of Armonk said this morning it has gotten a contract to help the Australian government with a project to reduce the burden businesses face in reporting information to regulators.

The company said its subsidiary IBM Australia Ltd. will earn $9.7 million (based on today’s exchange rates) for providing technology services as part of the [...]

Bunge Ltd., the agricultural and food processing company based in White Plains, has an agreement to buy the London-based international sugar trading operations of Tate & Lyle Plc. for an undisclosed price, the two companies said today.
The deal still needs regulatory approval.

The employees of Tate & Lyle will be transferred to Bunge.

The sugar division had [...]

IBM Corp. of Armonk said today it has acquired Platform Solutions Inc., a privately held technology company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., for an undisclosed price.

IBM said PSI’s technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System z business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group.

“IBM’s strategy is to continually evolve our mainframe [...]

Drew Industries Inc., the White Plains company that provides parts for recreational vehicles and manufactured homes, said its subsidiary, Lippert Components Inc., completed its acquisition Goshen, Ind.-based Seating Technology, Inc. and its affiliated companies.

The purchase price of $28.4 million was funded from available cash.

Seating Technology makes products for towable RVs. This acquisition adds an [...]

Haights Cross Communications Inc. of White Plains said it closed on the sale of its Oakstone Publishing business to private equity firm Boston Ventures. The terms of the deal were not released.

The company also said it has put off plans to sell its test-preparation business, Triumph Learning, and its audiobook publishing business, Recorded Books.

Paul J. [...]

Electro-Optical Sciences Inc., an Irvington company seeking to develop an instrument to help doctors detect melanoma, has joined the Russell Microcap stock index. The company said Russell bases inclusion in its indexes on market-capitalization rankings and other attributes.

LeCroy Corp., the Chestnut Ridge company that supplies oscilloscopes, said today it has a new product line. The WavePro 7 is the first product series in the new Zi family of oscilloscopes. LeCroy’s oscilloscopes measure the strength of signals in computer chips.

Vision-Sciences Inc., the medical instruments company in Orangeburg, lost $4.6 million, or 12 cents a share, during the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2008, compared with a profit of $24 million, or 67 cents, a year earlier, when the company had a gain from the sale of a manufacturing license.

Sales in the quarter that [...]

Par Pharmaecuticals Co., which employs some 440 workers in Rockland County, said today it has gotten U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to market a generic version of Solvay Pharmaceutical’s Marinol. The drug treats nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy treatments. The drug has annual U.S. sales of $190 million, Par said, citing industry data.

IntegraMed America Inc., the Purchase-based company that runs fertility centers and vein clinics, said its preisdent and chief executive, Jay Higham, received the Ernst & Young Metro New York Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 Award in the healthcare category. The company said a panel of judges that included business, academic and civic leaders chose Higham. [...]

An Armonk man will become the 18th chief executive in the history of New York Life Insurance Co., the largest mutual life insurance company in the country.

Theodore A. Mathas, 41, who has been the company’s president since last July, will add the chief executive’s duties starting tomorrow. He replaces Sy Sternberg, who is retiring as [...]

Emisphere Technologies Inc., the biopharmaceutical company with research and development operations in Eastview, said this morning that Novartis Pharma AG has launched a study to determine whether a drug is effective in treating osteoporosis in women who are past menopause. Novartis will test oral PTH134 using Emisphere’s Eligen technology. The testing is being done in [...]

Another survey, another big increase in gasoline prices.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded in Westchester County stands at $4.44, according to a survey by the county’s Department of Consumer Protection. The average price rose 14 cents since the previous survey, which was conducted June 2.

Prices have shot up $1.14 a gallon [...]

Shares of struggling Armonk-based bond insurer MBIA Inc. rose for a second straight day today after the company said it might pay out a special dividend, buy back shares or start a new insurance company.

MBIA shares closed at $5.87, up 56 cents, or 10.56 percent. On Thursday, MBIA shares rose 46 cents, or 9.48 percent.

The [...]

MasterCard Inc., the giant credit card company based in Purchase, said this week it will drop 40-year-old transaction fees that European regulators have declared illegal.

The European Commission said last December the company had to devise an alternative to its interchange fees that doesn’t harm consumers. The commission said MasterCard would face a daily penalty of [...]

The Private Office, a company that offers shared office space, said a pair of law practices have moved into 800 Westchester Ave. in Rye Brook. The offices of attorney Scott M. Sherman and Charles J. Favata have taken space in the building.

PepsiCo Inc., the soda and snack food company in Purchase, said this morning its chief financial officer, Richard Goodman, will tell investors at a conference in London next week that the company continues to expect fiscal 2008 earnings of $3.72 a share.

Nutrition 21 Inc., the Purchase-based company that markets nutritional supplements, this morning confirmed its earnings forecast for its fiscal fourth quarter. The company said it continues to expect revenues for the quarter to be in the range of the $10.8 million reported for the third quarter, which ended in March.

Nutrition 21 also said it expects [...]

Drew Industries, the White Plains-based company that supplies parts for recreational vehicles and manufactured homes, said Fredric M. Zinn, who has been chief financial officer since 1986 and executive vice president since 2001, has been promoted to president. He was also elected to the board of directors.

Leigh J. Abrams will give up the president’s role [...]

Those looking to buy property in a down real estate market will have the chance to bid on houses, condominiums, commercial buildings at an auction to be held June 8 at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in White Plains.

United Country – Absolute Auctions Realty Inc. of Pleasant Valley will take bids on about 50 properties from [...]