MIDDLETOWN, N.Y., Dec. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orange County Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company” - Nasdaq: OBT), parent company of Orange Bank & Trust Co. and Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc., today announced that its Board of Directors declared a two-for-one forward stock split (the "Stock Split”) of the Company's common stock. Each record holder of common stock on Thursday, January 9, 2025 will receive one additional share of common stock after the market close on Friday, January 10, 2025. Trading is expected to commence on a split-adjusted basis at market open on Monday, January 13, 2025. The Stock Split will be effectuated by the filing of an amendment to the Company's Certificate of Incorporation and will result in a proportionate increase in the number of shares of authorized common stock. The Company anticipates that the outstanding shares of common stock after the Stock Split will increase from approximately 5.7 million shares to 11.4 million shares. The par value per share of the Company's common stock will be reduced from $0.50 par value to $0.25 par value. Michael Gilfeather, President and CEO, noted, "We are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors has determined that this Stock Split in in the best interest of our shareholders, as we anticipate the reduced trading price per share and the additional amount of shares outstanding will make stock ownership more available and promote new investor interest. Our strategy remains focused on the consistency of our performance and a commitment to enhancing shareholder value.” About Orange County Bancorp, Inc Orange County Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Orange Bank & Trust Company and Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc. Orange Bank & Trust Company is an independent bank that began with the vision of 14 founders over 125 years ago. It has grown through innovation and an unwavering commitment to its community and business clientele to approximately $2.5 billion in total assets. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors, Inc. is a Registered Investment Advisor in Goshen, NY. It was founded in 1996 and acquired by the Company in 2012. Forward Looking Statements Certain statements contained herein are "forward looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may,” "will,” "believe,” "expect,” "estimate,” "anticipate,” "continue,” or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the real estate and economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, inflation, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, increased levels of loan delinquencies, problem assets and foreclosures, credit risk management, asset-liability management, cybersecurity risks, geopolitical conflicts, public health issues, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity. The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. The Company does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For further information: Michael Lesler EVP & Chief Financial Officer [email protected] Phone: (845) 341-5111PG&E Is A Buy On Its Improving Profitability, Dividend Growth Potential
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France has a new government, again. Politics and crushing debt complicate next steps( MENAFN - Gulf Times) World number one Aryna Sabalenka says she is“fresh and ready to go” in her bid for a third straight Australian Open title, warning she has plenty of room for improvement. The 26-year-old enjoyed a sensational 2024, reaching seven finals and winning four titles, including the US Open. Her year was kickstarted by defending her Australian Open crown, beating China's high-flying Zheng Qinwen in the final. Should she win it again, she will become the first woman to claim three straight Melbourne Park singles titles since Martina Hingis between 1997-1999. “I feel fresh and ready to go,” the Belarusian said, according to the WTA website on Thursday, after arriving for the Brisbane International which starts on Sunday ahead of the Australian Open from January 12. “I love Australia and I always come here hungry and always come here ready. “I feel all the support here, and I think that's the best thing about Australia, that people are really, really, into tennis.” Reaching Brisbane finalSabalenka also began 2024 in Brisbane, reaching the final without losing a set only to crash to Kazakstan's Elena Rybakina in the decider. She spent time in the off-season at her home in Florida before heading to the Middle East to prepare for Australia and will use the Brisbane tournament to fine-tune her Grand Slam preparations. “You work hard on lots of things in the pre-season,” she said. “The first tournament before the major tournament is the one where you can try it out and see what's going to work well for you, and what's not.” Despite her rise through the ranks to be the player to beat heading into 2025, Sabalenka said there were still parts of her game that need work. “Oh, there is so many things to improve,” she said.“I mean, I'm not that good with maybe my game at the net in singles. There is a lot of things to improve in my touch game. “There is so many things, even my serve is not as good as I want it to be, so there is always (elements) to improve.” Halep to skip AO and delay start of season due to injury Simona Halep will delay her start to the 2025 season and skip the Australian Open due to pain in her knee and shoulder, the former world number one said in a social media post on Thursday. Halep, whose career stalled due to a doping ban that was reduced on appeal this year, had received a wildcard for the Australian Open qualifying tournament last week. She had finished runner-up at the Melbourne major in 2018. The 33-year-old had also been scheduled to play at a tune-up tournament in Auckland. Halep last played at the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week. “After playing in Abu Dhabi, unfortunately I felt pain in my knee and shoulder once again,” Halep said. “After discussing with my team at length, we agreed it is sensible to delay the start of my season,” Halep wrote on Instagram. “It's not what I wanted but I would like to thank the tournament organisers in Auckland and Australia for the wild cards and I'm sorry I won't be able to take them this time.” The Romanian said she intends to return at her home event in Cluj in early February. Halep was provisionally suspended in October 2022 after she tested positive for roxadustat - a banned drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells - at the US Open that year. She was later banned for four years, a period which was cut to nine months in March following an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The 2019 Wimbledon champion has denied knowingly taking roxadustat, blaming contaminated supplements for her positive test. MENAFN26122024000067011011ID1109033795 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
You deserve a better browser than Google Chrome - Vox.comWhen Bashar al-Assad's government brutally cracked down on protesters in 2011, former President Barack Obama wanted to ramp up sanctions but faced a dilemma. was already so heavily sanctioned that few cords connecting it to the global financial system were left to cut. "We're talking about a country whose economy is about the size of Pittsburgh's," a US official the New York Times in 2011. Those deliberations are worth remembering as 2024 comes to a close and Western and regional governments look to engage Syria's new government, which is led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Human rights groups and aid organisations will look to expand aid into Syria, where an estimated 90 percent of the country lives in poverty. Turkey, which enjoys close ties to HTS, is eyeing Syrian reconstruction opportunities. Oil-rich Gulf states including the , and could expand their influence in Syria, sandwiched in the heart of the Levant, at a time when Iran is in retreat. If reconstruction does get underway in Syria it could also be a boon to European and American engineering firms, an Arab official told MEE. Recently, talk about sanctions relief has focused on HTS, a former Al Qaeda affiliate that is sanctioned by the US and EU. In December, the US lifted a $10m bounty on HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, after he met senior US officials in Damascus. MEE previously that the US weighed removing the bounty as a "first step" to engage Syria's new rulers. HTS is still sanctioned and designated a US terror group. But the reality is that the sanctions on HTS are a drop in the bucket, compared to an overlapping sanctions regime on Syria that was five decades in the making, predating even the 2011 Arab Spring and Syrian civil war. When Hafez al-Assad took power in Syria in a 1970 coup, Syria was receiving financial and military aid from the Soviet Union. The elder Assad was renowned for keeping channels open to the US and its Cold War foes, but in 1979, he fell out with the US over Lebanon, and Syria was a state sponsor of terrorism. Those sanctions came after Assad's Baath party imposed sweeping nationalisation that chased out Syria's old bourgeois business class and deterred western investment. The designation put Syria in the same bracket as Cuba and Iran as a terror sponsor and imposed sweeping new restrictions on US foreign aid, a ban on defence sales, export controls for dual-use items and other financial restrictions. Despite the designation, Syria was still courted by the West and sanctions mainly applied to transactions involving the Syrian government. Ties between the US and Syria improved briefly after the elder Assad joined a US-led coalition to fight Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War, but over Syria's ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the flow of foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq after the 2003 US invasion. These tensions sparked the first massive wave of sanctions on Syria. Congress the Congressional Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act in 2003 and the following year former President George W. Bush imposed sweeping sanctions. American exports to Syria were all but prohibited, except for food and basic medicines. Then in 2006, the US banned transactions with the Commercial Bank of Syria. Syria's financial ties to the US were severely restricted, but not totally severed from the US. For example, the US federal government also continued to fund Arabic language students with five-figure grants to at Damascus University almost right up until 2011. US sanctions on Syria ramped up massively after Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters and as the civil war raged. The US slapped sanctions on Syrian businessmen, banks and the government. Bilateral US-Syria trade which still stood at roughly $900m in 2010 dropped below $60m in 2012. US economic ties have since revolved around northeast Syria, which is controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. In 2020, a US company was a sanctions waiver to develop oil fields in the region, but that project After 2011, the European Union also imposed sanctions on Syria similar to the US. The web of sanctions fell broadly into two categories. The first targeted individuals with travel bans and asset freezes. The second sought to prevent the Syrian government from accessing global financial channels, curb Syrian imports from Western countries and embargo Syrian oil exports. US sanctions in particular carry weight because the dollar is the world's reserve currency, and most international trade is conducted via the greenback. After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the US then began implementing secondary sanctions which means that anyone who did business with a sanctioned Syrian entity could see their access to the US-dollar-based economy curbed. The sanctions meant that even after the Assad government wrested control of two-thirds of Syria from rebels it could not emerge out of isolation. Assad visited the UAE in 2022 and the next year rejoined the Arab League, but the Gulf states who invest widely in the US and trade their oil in dollars refused to contribute to reconstruction. Similarly, in 2021, the US's top geopolitical foe, China, welcomed Syria into the Belt and Road Initiative. The multi-trillion-dollar programme for development and infrastructure was almost tailor-made for Syria's pummeled cities and highways, but Syria saw hardly a penny of Chinese investment, analysts because of US sanctions. One of the most restrictive measures on Syria is US sanctions on the Central Bank which go back to 2011, making it virtually impossible for the Syrian government to tap international financial markets or receive aid. The sanctions on the bank were reaffirmed under the 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act which was named after a Syrian military photographer who smuggled tens of thousands of gruesome photos out of the country that documented evidence of war crimes. On Thursday, the Gulf Cooperation Council called for sanctions to be lifted "provide all means of support to the brotherly Syrian people". Some in the US have gone even further, underscoring their vision for a post-Assad Syria. "A Trump tower in Damascus one day would be a welcome development!" Republican US Congressman Joe Wilson, a prominent architect of recent Syria sanctions, in December, advocating for Syria to be swiftly reconnected to the global economy. Wilson said he wanted "private and commercial investment" to fuel Syria's reconstruction, which the UN estimates will cost $400bn. Many groups are united in wanting to see Syria emerge out of isolation, for humanitarian, political and business reasons. But before the signature gold-lettered "Trump" sign can emblazon Damascus's skyline, a thicket of sanctions must be undone that prevent Syria from tapping the global financial system or western goods.Governing smartly