For consumers who pay for prescription drugs out their own pockets, a new price study by Yonkers-based Consumer Reports finds it pays to shop around.

The consumer publication’s research showed that not only that prices vary from store to store for the same, but the differences can be dramatic — even within the same chain, depending [...]

Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, D-Ossining, will host a forum aimed at helping Lower Hudson Valley residents to start their own businesses.

Galef will be joined by a panel of more than half-a-dozen experts to discuss small-business start up and growth opportunities in Westchester and Putnam counties.

In addition, participants will explain how local and state organizations can assist [...]

Two consumer-advocacy organizations are criticizing a U.S. Food and Drug Administration investigation into a generic version of a popular, once-daily dose antidepressant, calling the regulatory agency’s review “inadequate.”

White Plains-based ConsumerLab.com and The People’s Pharmacy, of Durham, N.C., faulted a affirmative determination by the FDA that a generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300, manufactured by Impax [...]

IBM Corp. acquired Diligent Technologies Corp., a Framingham, Mass., technology company, the Armonk-based computing giant said today.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Diligent, which has operations in Tel Aviv, Israel, develops “de-duplication” software that helps organizations reduce the amount and cost of of physical storage needed in data centers. Diligent will be folded into Armonk-based IBM’s [...]

The North Rockland Business Alliance is sponsoring a job fair and career expo tonight and tomorrow at North Rockland High School at 106 Hammond Road in Thiells.

The event starts at 6 p.m. this evening and runs until 9 p.m. Tomorrow, hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free.

The event allows visitors to learn about [...]

HomeGoods, a discount home-furnishings retailer, plans to open its first Rockland outlet in Nanuet, according to Metro Commercial, a commercial real-estate firm.

HomeGoods signed a lease to occupy the bulk of the space Office Depot once occupied in the Rockland Center shopping center at Route 59 and Smith Street, said Metro Commercial, which represented the landlord, [...]

Hudson Valley Bank plans to open a new branch in Brooklyn, the Yonkers-based financial-services company said today.

The planned office, at 16 Court Street, will focus on serving the needs of attorneys and nonprofit organizations, as well as other businesses and individuals, in downtown Brooklyn, bank President and Chief Executive Officer James J. Landy said.

The branch [...]

Five Westchester enterprises will be honored this evening at the Business Council of Westchester’s 2008 Business Hall of Fame awards dinner, being held at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle.

Three of the businesses are run by women, representing the first time the business association has recognized so many women in one year, said [...]

Emisphere Technologies Inc. reported today that studies involving dogs have provided additional evidence that a technology the company is developing enhances absorption of oral vitamin B12 supplements.

The results confirm an earlier report of effectiveness in studies conducted in rats using Emisphere’s Eligen technology, which reportedly improves absorption of orally administered drugs.

About 40 million Americans undergo [...]

General Patent Corporation International said today it has licensed a cell-phone patent to LG Electronics Inc., the South Korean maker of consumer electronics, including cell phones.

The license gives LG non-exclusive rights to technology to improve communications between cell-phone transmitters and handsets, as well as devices, such as Bluetooth wireless headsets.

The patent is held by a [...]

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has entered into a $375 million loan agreement with various lenders as part of an amended credit agreement, the hotelier disclosed in a regulatory filing today.

Proceeds from the loan will be used to repay debt, to pay fees and expenses related to the repayment and for general corporate purposes, [...]

Fantastic Sams hair salons said today it will open its first Hudson Valley store Saturday in Hartsdale in the Dalewood III shopping center on North Central Avenue.

The Westchester salon will offer free haircuts Saturday as part of its grand opening, the company said.

Fantastic Sams, based in Beverly, Mass., operates more than 1,400 salons across North [...]

In an effort to boost aluminum recycling, Pepsi-Cola North America will begin placing messages on Pepsi products reminding consumers to recycle cans and keep them out of the waste stream.

The ads, which will appear on some 500 million Pepsi cans and about 250 million Diet Pepsi cans each month, or 7 billion cans by year-end, [...]

Jarden Corp. said today it expects to meet or exceed earnings estimates for the first quarter.

Analysts predict the Rye-based company will earn 20 cents a share for the quarter that ended March 31, based on a consensus estimate of five analysts provided by Zacks Investment Research.

The maker of appliances and other consumer products reported net [...]

The Finkelstein Memorial Library in Spring Valley will host a jobseekers’ seminar April 28 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The “How to Get a Job in the U.S.A.” workshop is geared toward immigrants, foreign nationals or anyone entering the U.S. job market, the library said.

To register, call the library at 845-352-5700.

Hudson Valley Bank has opened a new branch on Manhattan’s West Side, it said today.

The office, at 112 W. 34th St., near Herald Square and Penn Station, joins three others the Yonkers-based financial-services company operates in Manhattan.

Hudson Valley Bank is a unit of Hudson Valley Holding Corp., which also owns NYNB Bank.

IBM has released a report outlining new risks to people, cargo, and worldwide flows of information, finance and transportation, the Armonk-based technology giant said today.

Based on research and interviews with more than 200 former and current government officials and policy experts, the report highlights the complexity and vulnerability of these systems and provides recommendations for [...]

ON2 Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement to share its video encoding and publishing technology with European sports satellite and cable network Eurosport, the Greenburgh-based company said today.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

ON2’s Flix Engine technology will allow Eurosport to provide high-quality programming through its various Web sites to viewers with slower connection speeds and [...]

Drew Industries Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Leigh J. Abrams will relinquish his role as president next month, the company said today.

Chief Financial Officer Fred M. Zinn will assume the role of president May 28, in keeping with the company’s management-succesion plan. Zinn, 57, has served as CFO since 1986 and as executive vice president since [...]

A listing on a popular Internet jobs board for a new general manager at Palisades Center means the county’s largest retail complex may soon be under new leadership.

Postings on Monster.com yesterday showed “immediate openings” for both a general manager and the newly created position of assistant manager.

The mall’s current general manager, Peter Janoff, who has [...]