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YAVNE, ISRAEL – Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. named Meir Zelzer VP of research and development.

Zelzer joined Valor after serving as senior development VP at SAP, managing the user interaction division of the company’s Netweaver platform.

Zelzer has 20 years’ experience in research and development and software development management.

WASHINGTON, DC – Recent scientific tests have revealed that Apple's iPhone contains hazardous chemicals, says Greenpeace. According to the environmental organization, tests have uncovered two types of hazardous substances,which have already been eliminated by other mobile phone makers.

Read more: One Bad Apple: Is the iPhone Toxic?

BOSTON -- Afer a slow start, demand for air freight grew in late September.

Many carriers announced higher fuel surcharges, and transit cargo backlogs were reported in regional air hubs in Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Most carriers in Asia expect demand to build later this month and carry forward through November as the peak shipping season kicks in.

In Southeast Asia, Trans Global Logistics reported increased demand for space from most

countries. Carriers have been raising rates or demanding express/priority service to maintain normal transit windows. Transit times have also been adversely impacted by congestion at regional transit hubs.

PHILADELPHIA -- Rohm and Haas said its third-quarter results will include an after-tax, non-cash charge of $42 million to cover a recent court decision regarding the company's domestic pension plan.

As disclosed in a Sept. 4, 8-K filing, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision of an Indiana Federal District Court that participants in Rohm and Haas' U.S. pension plans who elected a lump-sum benefit during a class period have the right to a cost-of-living adjustment as part of their retirement benefit. If this decision stands, the U.S. pension trust would be required to pay these amounts, but the company will take the necessary steps to modify the plan to ensure pension expenses will not increase.

Tthe Rohm and Haas pension plan is currently overfunded and therefore the company will not have any current requirement to add cash to the fund if this decision stands.

Rohm and Haas also announced that it expects underlying third-quarter earnings per share, excluding restructuring, asset impairments and the one-time pension charge, to be in the range of $0.85 to $0.87.

FOREST GROVE, OR -- Merix Corp.'s board has adopted a shareholder rights plan with a 15% trigger.

In a company-issued announcement, Merix said under the plan, each shareholder will receive a dividend of one right for each common share held of record on Nov. 16, and the rights will expire on Oct. 16, 2017.

BANGALORE – Cookson Electronics will open a state-of-the-art research center here later this month. The 32,000 sq. ft. facility will aid semiconductor and alternative energy research, and help boost Asian sales, which currently make up 60% of the company's assembly materials business.

The center, which opens Oct. 23, will focus on semiconductor manufacturing and packaging materials, and renewable energy, including solar technologies, said Dr. Bawa Singh, vice president of technology and chief technology officer. "We are building a strong foundation in nano-technology-based materials that will allow our customers to achieve paradigm shifts in their product performance.”

The company's original center is on the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bangalore. The company has outgrown that site.

“Several years ago our company made a strategic decision to establish an R&D center in Bangalore and develop a close relationship with the Indian Institute of Science," said president and chief executive Steve Corbett in a statement. The new center is "extremely important to our continued growth in Asia."

Currently, 60% of Cookson's assembly materials business is derived from the Asia Pacific.

"It is critical in our business that our research and development be close to our customers so we can respond quickly to new product development opportunities,” Corbett said.