USA Bank of Port Chester lost $4.3 million, or 75 cents a share, for the year ended Dec. 31. A year earlier, the company lost $4.5 million, or $1.11 a share. Assets at Dec. 31 were $169.9 million. USA Bank opened in December 2005 and has a branch in Port Chester at 601 N. Main [...]

Hudson Valley Holding Corp. of Yonkers said its board of directors has approved a plan to repurchase up to 250,000 shares of stock for $52.75 per share. The offer expires May 27. The stock last traded at $59.50 on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board. Hudson Valley is the parent company of Hudson Valley Bank, [...]

Purchase-based PepsiCo will promote its SoBe soft drink brand in Times Square with a new presentation on video walls in the historic outdoor venue. The SoBe Lizards will also be promoted on a huge billboard at the intersection of New York City’s 7th Avenue and 47th Street. The campaign follows the Super Bowl ads for [...]

The board of directors of Armonk-based IBM Corp. today authorized an additional $15 billion to buy back shares of the company’s stock. The sum adds to the $400 million left at the end of February from a previous authorization. IBM plans to spend up to $12 billion of the money on stock buybacks this year. [...]

The Dannon Company Inc. of White Plains is facing a potential class action lawsuit accusing the company of falsely claiming health benefits for its Activia and DanActive yogurt. A Los Angeles law firm yesterday filed the suit in federal court on behalf of plaintiff Patricia Wiener and “tens of thousands of consumers� who have purchased [...]

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received a U.S. patent for its Seasonique extended-cycle oral contraceptive that will expire in January 2024. The company received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for Seasonique in May 2006. The drug followed Barr’s 2003 introduction of Seasonale, another oral contraceptive intended to extend a woman’s cycle.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. of White Plains plans to sell three hotels in Italy $229 million to  EST Capital, an asset management company. Under the deal Starwood would sell the Westin Excelsior and the Hotel Des Bains in Venice Lido and the Villa Cipriani in Asolo, as well as some office, retail and [...]

PepsiCo, the Purchase-based purveyor of Diet Pepsi, Lipton Iced Tea and Tropicana juices, is working to ensure that people around the world have safe water to drink by granting $6 million through its PepsiCo Foundation to the Earth Institute at Columbia University. In many parts of the world, the water supply is under stress. The [...]

Fortune magazine is again ranking the “100 Best Companies to Work For,” and several of the best have operations in the Lower Hudson Valley, including: Starbucks (No. 7); Whole Foods (16); Container Store (20); Stew Leonard’s (26); Nordstrom (36); Bright Horizons Family Solutions (89); and FedEx (97). The No. 1 best company to work for? [...]

D’Agostino Supermarkets is extending the deadline to Feb. 29 for college students to enter its contest to design a new, recyclable D’Ag Bag. Students can enter the contest by visiting the Web site. A panel of judges will pick the best four entries, and the public will be invited to vote for a favorite between [...]

The Rockland Business Association will host a women’s forum titled “Mind Your Own Business: Planning for a Great ‘08” from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 30. The free event will be held at Dominican College, Hennessy Center, Holt Room, 495 Western Highway in Blauvelt. For more information, call (845)735-2100.

Chocolate lovers and Valentine’s Day shoppers take note — the Chocolate World Expo is coming to the Palisades Center in Nyack on Feb. 10 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The expo, which will cost $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and children, will feature chocolates, wines, cheeses and related foods from more than [...]

The White Plains law firm of Gravett & Gravett will host a “pre-nup/post-nup” marital planning workshop at 6 p.m. on Feb. 6 at the firm’s offices at 445 Hamilton Ave., Suite 1102. Matrimonial and family law attorneys Willem and Margaretha Gravett as well as Daniel Timins, president of T&D Financial, will host the event. The [...]

Armonk-based Grand Lux Realty Inc. is expanding its service to include the Greater Hudson Valley Multiple Listing System, which includes the counties of Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan. The company already serves Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess and the Bronx. Grand Lux Realty is a discount listing service that charges a $495 fee to place their customers’ [...]

Verizon is expanding its FiOS TV service to Briarcliff Manor, Sleepy Hollow and the town and village of Ossining. Consumers in those towns can now place orders for the service, which is available in more than 145 New York communities. Consumers can log onto www.verizon.com/ny/savebig to see if FiOS is available in their area.

Armonk-based IBM Corp. and Germany’s SAP AG are jointly creating software to integrate IBM’s Lotus Notes and SAP’s Business Suite. The companies said they have thousands of mutual customers who have been asking for software that allows them to use SAP’s business analysis tools from within Lotus Notes, an e-mail, calendar and instant messaging program. [...]

Nutrition 21 Inc., a Purchase-based maker of nutritional supplements under the Chromax, Diabetes Essentials and Iceland Health brands, reported a 171 percent increase in revenues in its first quarter ended Sept. 30. Revenues climbed to $12.7 million, up from $4.7 million a year ago. The company lost $4.1 million, or 7 cents a share, in [...]

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide of White Plains said that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of an additional $1 billion worth of stock. In the first nine months of the year, Starwood bought back 19.2 million shares at a cost of $1.22 billion.

Customers of Cablevision’s Optimum Online service in Peekskill, Pleasantville and Pelham can now connect wirelessly to the Internet while sitting outside at parks, cafes or while waiting for the train. The rollout of free wireless Internet, or WiFi, is part of Cablevision’s move to improve service for customers of its high-speed Internet service, said John [...]

Nutrition 21 Inc., a Purchase-based maker of nutritional supplements, is introducing new nutritional supplement called Core4Life Advanced Memory Formula. The supplement combines chromium picolinate, phosphatidylserine and DHA, ingredients Nutrition 21 says play an important role in helping improve memory and maintain brain health.